About Gambling Helpline

The Gambling Helpline (New Zealand) is a 24 hour freephone service that you can call to receive immediate support, as well as referral and information services for gambling problems.  Our services are provided to people:

• Who are, or have been gambling
   
• Family and friends concerned about someone else's gambling, and
   
• The general public interested in what impact gambling has in New Zealand.

We are the first point of contact for many people wanting to talk about gambling problems and also provide ongoing support. Since 1998 we have provided our services to over 35,000 New Zealanders (as at December 2008).

We offer the following services:

• Phone support and counselling to motivate and encourage you to make the changes that you want
• We can call you back, discreetly, for ongoing support and encouragement
• We can offer you support and practical suggestions when in crisis, and if necessary, provide crisis intervention
• Dedicated services for Mori  and Pacific people, if you wish to use these
• A dedicated Gambling Debt helpline to support you and offer you practical programmes around your gambling financial issues
• Gambling self-help tools and other literature that you may find helpful
• We can refer you to your local (where available) face-to-face counselling agency, Gamblers Anonymous group, and any other gambling related services to assist you
• If you choose to attend face-to-face counselling we can provide ongoing support and encouragement between your appointments
• An online chat room/forum where you can share your story and receive support from others
• Support by email and text
• Support for youth via phone and website
• General gambling information
• Your consumer information

Our services are provided on a free basis throughout New Zealand by telephone counsellors who have specialist gambling problem training and experience.

When you call us we will:

• Listen to you
• Examine the problems or issues with you
• Explore possible ways to address these issues
• Assist you by working with you to determine your next steps
• Give you choices around what you want to do next, such as face to face counselling, strategies that may assist you, self-help resources to work with, and information for you. We also offer self-help options on this website.
• Offer continued future support.

Our free national phone number is:

0800 654 655
24 Hours 365 days

We also have a number of specialist services that you may choose to use, including community specific helpline's provided on the basis of Mori counselling Mori, Pacific Island people's counselling Pacific people and youth counselling youth.   Our Gambling Debt Helpline has counsellors with both financial and gambling counselling skills to provide you with support and practical programmes around gambling financial issues.

Mori Gambling Helpline  0800 654 656	(Mon 12 noon – 4pm Wed 5-9 pm, Sat 8 am- 12 noon)
Pasifika Gambling Helpline  0800 654 657	(Tue 6-10 pm, Thu 6-10 pm Fri 12 noon – 4pm)
Youth Gambling Helpline  0800 654 659	(Mon 5-8 pm)
Gambling Debt Helpline  0800 654 658	(Thurs 5 – 9pm Sat 12-4 pm)

You can also contact us by email or text

Clients can send an anonymous free text to 8006, and immediately receive an automated response to confirm the Gambling Helpline has received the text, which also contains the free phone number. A counsellor will then send a personalised response, encouraging the texter to phone for help or to provide details so that an information pack can be sent.

The New Zealand Government's Ministry of Health took over responsibility for managing the funding of, and relationships with, gambling problem support services in July 2004.  The funding comes from a mandatory levy on the gambling industry regulated through the Gambling Act 2003.  The level of the levy is recommended by an independent Gambling Commission.

Gambling Helpline Timeline