How to Stop Gambling: Strategies & Prevention

What Is a Gambling Addiction?

Gambling in moderation is generally socially acceptable and enjoyed by many, but doing so uncontrollably may be more indicative of a gambling addiction. While the frequency and kind of gambling can vary, people with this addiction typically succumb to temptation and persistently wager regardless of the negative outcomes it may entail. More alarming, if left unchecked, this condition can worsen over time and wreck your financial, social, and psychological well-being.^1,2,3,4,5

The signs of a gambling addiction can manifest differently depending on the person and severity of their dependence. Some common patterns that gambling addicts usually exhibit include hiding their addiction or relentlessly pursuing bets regardless of consequences. In extreme cases, some pathological gamblers may go as far as depleting their life savings, or even resort to illegal activities in desperate attempts to finance their habit or repay large gambling debts.^1,2,3,4,5

Signs of gambling addiction may include:^1,2,3,4,5

• Inability to stop despite the negative implications or life consequences
• Failed attempts to control, cut back, or quit gambling
• Lying about gambling activity and losses
• Gambling large amounts of money to achieve an emotional “high”
• “Chasing” the losses – a cycle of losing money and constantly trying to win it back
• Obsessive thoughts of gambling, and brainstorming on ways to support the addiction
• Gambling as a way to manage stress or uncomfortable emotions
• Interpersonal conflicts
• Vocational distress
• Health issues
• Relying on others for money to sustain the addiction or pay off huge debts
• Withdrawal symptoms when not gambling

Is It a Real Addiction?

Pathological gambling was considered an impulse control disorder in prior versions of the DSM. However, in 2013, it was reclassified as an addictive disorder in the DSM-5, thus becoming the only behavioral addiction included in the manual. The decision to reclassify this condition came after decades of research discerning addiction myths and facts, which indicated that a gambling addiction can affect people similarly to substance-related addictions.^2,4,5

The act of gambling generates an array of feel-good chemicals stimulating the brain’s reward system, therefore eliciting intense excitement. As such, an individual who repetitively gambles can develop a genuine dependence in pursuit of replicating the same exhilarating effect. Moreover, as with other substance-related addictions, an individual will experience withdrawal-like symptoms when they stop.^2,4,5

How to Quit Gambling: 15 Tips from a Therapist

Attempting to stop or control gambling can be challenging, but not impossible. If you’re set on tackling your gambling habit, a true desire to help yourself is paramount. Craft a strategy that includes understanding your intentions, establishing solid support systems, identifying your triggers, managing your emotions, and developing a maintenance plan.

Here are 15 action steps for how to quit gambling:

1. Acknowledge the Problem

The most important step in any addiction is acknowledging that there is a problem. Usually, it can be difficult for the person experiencing the addiction to recognize it for themselves. However, if you start to notice that you feel guilty after gambling, that you use it to cope with stressors, or that you have difficulty stopping once you start gambling, it is important that you acknowledge these as signs of a gambling addiction.

2. Know Why You’re Quitting

One of the most crucial initial steps in combating your gambling problem or possible addiction is understanding why you’re choosing to stop. Start by objectively and honestly analyzing different areas that comprise your circle such as your relationships, family, work, school, finances, health, etc. Envision what your life might look like if you were to break away from this habit. Developing a deeper understanding about why you are choosing to stop serves as internal motivation and encourages you to do the work that lies ahead.³

3. Identify Your Triggers 

People, places, and things is a term often used in recovery to identify what could lead you to rekindle your interest in gambling. When your brain picks up on this signal, it’ll make its best effort to bring you back to what feels familiar. Triggers can vary; for you it may be running into your gambling buddy, a clicking noise that sounds like a slot machine, a TV commercial of people having fun at a casino, etc. Identifying your own people, places, and things can prepare you for high-risk situations that can set you back or make your gambling spiral out of control. This also includes assessing the risk factors that make you vulnerable to relapsing.

4. Self-Regulate Your Gambling

If you’re on the fence about quitting gambling cold turkey, start by self-regulating your habit. This can entail designing a mindful gambling plan that encourages responsible engagement and self-accountability. As you draft this plan, outline specific details regarding financial or time limits, ways to enforce them, and other sensible strategies that can foster self-control. Trying to manage your gambling can allow you to develop safer practices and determine if you have the capacity to exercise self-control or need a more structured approach.⁶

5. Maintain & Reach Out to Healthy Supports

Overcoming any type of self-defeating behavior is especially hard if you don’t have anyone by your side. That is why having friends, family, or a support group to lean on and reach out to can make a huge impact in your recovery. Securing a solid support system can boost your resilience when facing gambling related hurdles and enable you to stay on track.

To create strong support systems in recovery, try to strengthen existing healthy relationships, participate in group therapy or support groups, and build new, positive connections.^5,7 It’s also a good idea to designate one or a few “go-to” people–mentor, sponsor, or close friend–that you can contact when you need to vent, struggle with a problem, or face self-control issues throughout your wellness process. Your “go-to” persons can assist you cope through a crisis, keep you grounded, and encourage you when you’re feeling down. Think about making a list of reliable and caring individuals in your circle who are willing to take on this role. From there, discuss how you’ll be able to reach them. Remember, you don’t need to do this alone.

6. Join a Recovery Program

Consider joining a support group like Gamblers Anonymous. These types of groups can offer moral support to combat gambling urges and bolster your own recovery. Whether online or in-person, being in a space where you can freely talk about your struggles with people who face similar issues can make you feel validated and less alone. You can obtain guidance, constructive feedback, and hear other inspirational testimonies, helping you to stay accountable and on course with your objectives.^4,5

7. Find Diversions

The urge to gamble can pop up at any time. The craving can be fierce and push you to the brink. Creating a diversion to buy you time until the craving fades is critical.  Diversions are short-term activities or distractions that can make urges easier to resist while you’re going through this sensation. Create a list of activities you can quickly turn to, like meditating, breathing exercises, or anything that can ground and distance you from your desire to gamble–but be mindful of forming a cross addiction.⁸

8. Create New Routines

When you’re trying to quit or control gambling, you might struggle with idle time and periods of boredom. Plan to fill your days with endeavors that can provide you with the opportunity for self-development and personal growth. Discover new passions or things that bring meaning to your existence like traveling, learning a new skill, volunteering, reading, etc. It may feel awkward at first as your brain tries to adjust, but with time, these can become part of your everyday life. It can take some trial and error, so be patient and stay consistent.

9. Avoid or Plan for Risky Situations

Don’t let people, places, and things catch you off guard. Instead, avoid tempting situations at all costs. Sometimes it can be as simple as taking an alternate route home, other times it might entail a significant life change like cutting off your gambling buddies, not visiting certain places, etc. If these are unavoidable, then prepare ahead and develop specific steps to confront those triggers. Following through with these strategies can bolster your confidence and determination to conquer your problematic gambling.

10. Learn to Manage Your Emotions & Stressors

Triggers can also surface as unmanaged emotions or stress. For example, you may gamble when you’re lonely or depressed, or because you’re experiencing work or relationship burnout. Gambling may be a way to deal with your feelings and problems. Once gambling is no longer your buffer, you may struggle to cope with stressors. Consider finding healthy outlets to address your emotional wellness, like turning to one of your new hobbies, exercising, relaxation techniques, journaling, using your social support. These tools can help to regulate your emotions and stressors instead of using gambling to push them down.

11. Self-Banning

If you feel you need to take stricter measures, you can try “self-banning.” Some gambling venues, mostly casinos and some racetracks, offer the option to “self-ban,” which generally entails submitting a written request asking to be prohibited from entering such establishments. Keep in mind that in some states, this is a legal process with criminal repercussions. If this is an option you’d consider, contact the gambling venues’ office, from State Councils on Problem Gambling, or from State-funded problem gambling treatment for more details.⁵

12. Aim for a Healthy Lifestyle

Unhealthy habits, like inadequate sleep, lack of exercise, and poor nutrition, have been linked to many forms of psychiatric conditions. On the other hand, pathological gambling is associated with poor health, comorbid mental issues, and substance use among other things. Prioritize your self-care by improving your quality of sleep, having a healthy diet, abstaining from alcohol and drugs, and just caring for your body well. A healthy lifestyle can prevent future health problems, enhance your recovery, and improve your quality of life.^2,4

13. Physical Exercise is Important

Pathological gamblers who aren’t involved in physical activity may be more prone to having cardiovascular problems, mental health conditions, and lower quality of life. Incorporating and maintaining an exercise regimen as a lifetime habit and part of your daily routine can yield many benefits to your physical and mental health.⁹ As a bonus, exercise can get your mind off gambling and serve as a diversion–although if you have an addictive personality, you should be mindful of developing an exercise addiction. The intensity and duration of the exercise depends on your specific situation, but keep in mind that, even if you experience limited mobility and chronic pain, there are still ways to reap the mental health benefits of exercise.

14. Don’t Give Up

Your journey in combating a gambling addiction or problem is about making better choices and creating a healthier way of living. This process can involve some setbacks along the way. If you happen to experience a lapse in judgment, don’t give up. Instead, view it as a learning experience or opportunity that will allow you to grow through this process. Focus on how you can do better next time by finding healthier options to manage your gambling urges, turning to positive coping skills when faced with obstacles that can risk your wellbeing–but most importantly, continue trying.³

15. Develop a Maintenance Plan

Conquering problematic gambling can be challenging, but so is maintaining it. Thus, creating a wellness maintenance plan is vital to long-term stability. This plan may include things like continuing to maintain gambling control or abstinence, building upon your newly acquired skills, being aware of your warning signs and triggers, utilizing effective strategies for dealing with urges, preparing for possible obstacles that could hinder your wellbeing, attending a support group, and knowing when to get professional help.xistence.

Gambling Addiction Treatment

Treatment options aimed at effectively targeting a gambling disorder can involve an array of choices, modalities, and settings, such as therapy, medication, and recovery groups, among others. Your specific course of treatment depends on your personal needs, severity of your gambling, and the financial and health care resources at your disposal. In addition to formal treatment, there are many educational resources–blogs, podcasts, and apps–that can help with recovery.

Psychotherapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been found to be efficient in reducing gambling problems by focusing on identifying and altering faulty beliefs (i.e., the illusion that you can control your ability to win when you gamble), thus changing the behavior. CBT is believed to be the most effective treatment for a gambling addiction, as it specifically targets cognitive distortions that typically sustain disordered gambling.^4,5,7

Another evidence-based approach often used, either on its own or in combination with other treatments, is motivational interviewing. This therapeutic intervention is useful in cases when a person has mixed feelings about changing their maladaptive behavior or doubts their abilities to do so. The main objective of motivational interviewing is to encourage individuals to make long lasting life changes to improve their overall wellbeing.^4,5,7

Medication

Psychopharmacological treatment can also be beneficial for people battling a gambling addiction, especially when combined with psychotherapy. Certain antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and narcotic antagonists have been reported to decrease gambling urges and behavior. In certain cases, psychotropics may be used to treat other conditions that often co-occur with a gambling addiction.^4,5,7

Support Groups

Support groups or 12-step programs are also an effective and affordable (if not free) choice that can supplement existing treatment. People who layer their recovery with these peer-led support groups find additional value and encouragement. Many report that talking to other gamblers in recovery can help them feel validated and cope better in their process.^4,5,7

Rehabilitation & Recovery Programs

Additionally, entering an outpatient or inpatient rehabilitation treatment or a residential treatment facility can be beneficial for continued care, complement the main therapy, treat co-occurring disorders, or in instances of mental decline. However, the decision to enroll in rehab programs often boils down to a person’s specific mental health needs along with their financial resources or health insurance.^5,7 Another alternative includes professionally guided internet-based programs, which have been found to be moderately effective for addressing a gambling addiction on a short-term basis.¹⁰

When to Seek Professional Help

Gambling becomes a cause of clinical concern when an individual is unable to stop, and their behavior negatively impacts important life domains. At this point, professional help is warranted, especially if you experience co-occurring mental health issues–which is often the case with a gambling addiction. You can find a licensed therapist by asking for a referral from your doctor or a trusted loved one, or by browsing an online directory.^1,4,7

Final Thoughts

While you may feel powerless in overcoming your gambling addiction, know that you’re not alone and recovery is still possible. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources at your disposal that can empower you. These include establishing a strong support system, managing your triggers, entering professional treatment, and having a maintenance plan in place, among others. With deliberate effort, you can beat these self-defeating patterns and lead a more fulfilling existence.