Key takeaways
- The Gambling Helpline Aotearoa New Zealand (0800 654 655) is free, confidential, and available 24/7 by phone, text, or online chat.
- Face-to-face counselling services are available nationwide, funded through the Ministry of Health's Problem Gambling Levy, at no cost to the person seeking help.
- Support isn't limited to the person gambling — family, whānau, and friends affected by someone else's gambling can access dedicated support too.
- Reaching out early, before a crisis point, tends to lead to better outcomes than waiting until things feel unmanageable.
Gambling Helpline Aotearoa New Zealand
The Gambling Helpline (0800 654 655) is New Zealand's primary free, confidential support line, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can call, text, or use their online chat service, and the service covers everyone from someone questioning their own gambling to a family member worried about someone else's. Trained counsellors can talk through your specific situation and connect you with further local support if needed — you don't need to have a "serious enough" problem to reach out; the line is there for anyone with a question or concern, at any stage.
Face-to-face and phone counselling
New Zealand funds free problem gambling counselling nationwide through the Ministry of Health's Problem Gambling Levy, meaning cost is never a barrier to accessing support. Services are typically delivered through community-based organisations across the country, offering both in-person and phone-based counselling depending on your location and preference. The Gambling Helpline can connect you directly with the nearest funded service to you.
Support for family and friends
Problem gambling affects far more than just the person placing bets — partners, children, wider whānau, and friends often carry real financial and emotional impact too, and dedicated support exists specifically for people in this position, separate from support aimed at the person gambling. If you're worried about someone else's gambling, you're entitled to reach out for your own support even if the person themselves isn't ready to. The Gambling Helpline can point you toward services specifically designed for family members and friends.
Online tools and self-assessment
Alongside phone and in-person support, several New Zealand services offer online self-assessment tools that can help clarify whether your own gambling patterns (or a loved one's) are heading in a concerning direction, without requiring you to speak to anyone first if you're not ready to. These tools are a low-pressure starting point, though we'd encourage following up with the Gambling Helpline or a funded counselling service if a self-assessment raises real concerns, rather than treating the online tool as a complete substitute for professional support.
There's no wrong way to start this conversation
Some people start with an anonymous online self-assessment, others go straight to a phone call, and others mention it first to a trusted friend or family member before contacting a service at all. None of these starting points is more "correct" than another — what matters is that free, genuinely confidential support exists in New Zealand regardless of which door you walk through first, and reaching out earlier tends to make the whole process easier than waiting.
Frequently asked questions
Responsible gambling
If any part of this page resonated with your own situation or someone else's, reaching out to the Gambling Helpline Aotearoa New Zealand on 0800 654 655 costs nothing and commits you to nothing beyond a conversation.