Gambling issues
If you are becoming reliant on gambling as a source of making money, or if you are betting more than you can afford to lose, you may have a gambling problem.
Overview
While some people are able to gamble as a one-off occurrence for fun, this is not true for everyone and gambling can quickly become addictive and unmanageable.
If you believe that gambling is having a negative impact on your life, it's important to seek support as soon as you recognise the issue.
What is a gambling addiction?
A gambling addiction is where you are struggling to control the urge to gamble, even when it's having a negative and disruptive impact on your life.
How can gambling affect my life?
Frequent gambling can lead to
- financial difficulties, eg debt
- relationship issues, eg social isolation
- health issues, eg low self-esteem or anxiety
- academic or work issues, eg decreased attendance and performance
What support is available?
University support
If you believe there is an underlying problem to your gambling, there are a variety of support teams at the University that can help with this:
offers mental health and wellbeing support for students.
External support
The following external agencies can offer confidential advice and support to help manage gambling addictions:
- runs local support groups and has a similar approach to Alcoholics Anonymous to help with recovery with the addiction. Just as the AA runs support groups called Al-Anon for friends and family, Gamblers Anonymous has something similar called .
- offers information, counselling and support for people with gambling problems and they run the National Gambling Helpline (+44 808 8020 133), which also offers face-to-face counselling.
- is an online support group for advice and support.
- The is a self-referral specialist NHS clinic for people in England and Wales who are aged 16 or over.
I'm in financial hardship and I'm struggling to pay my bills – what should I do?
If you are a current student worried about your current financial situation, you should speak with a Money Adviser at the .
If you are a prospective student, please seek external support.