Gambling Addiction Treatment: Counselling, Therapy and What It Costs

NCPG Harm Assessment and Counselling: how to book

Singapore's National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) runs the region's most clearly documented route into treatment. It starts with a Harm Assessment or a Counselling appointment, and you can book either one yourself. No referral from a doctor, employer or family member is needed.

The normal route is the online booking form on the NCPG website. That form was offline from 11 Sep 2026 to 10 Oct 2026, and the outage has ended, so you can book online again. The NCPG also gives one number for appointment bookings: 6354 8154¹. You can also email admin@ncpg.org.sg, which is the address NCPG publishes for inquiries and applications⁶.

What happens after you book depends on which service you asked for. A Harm Assessment is a structured conversation about how gambling is affecting your money, work, relationships and health. Counseling is the ongoing version: regular sessions with a counselor, aimed at changing the pattern rather than just describing it. Both are delivered by trained professionals, and NCPG states that all information is treated in strict confidence⁷.

If you are not sure which one you need, say so when you call. The person taking the booking can route you. If you would rather not speak to anyone yet, start with a gambling self-test and bring the result to the first session.

Online booking outage: 11 Sep to 10 Oct, now ended

Online booking for Harm Assessment and Counselling appointments was unavailable from 11 Sep 2026 to 10 Oct 2026⁸. That was the whole of the outage: one month, one service, one booking channel. It ended on 10 Oct 2026, and the online form is available again.

What the outage did not affect matters as much as what it did. Self-exclusion applications, Family Exclusion Order applications and Voluntary Visit Limit applications were handled online throughout through NCPG e-Services⁹. You could still check your exclusion status and your visit limit status online through the same login¹. The National Problem Gambling Helpline, 1800-6-668-668, was unaffected and continued daily from 8am to 11pm².

So the practical position now is simple. If you want to book a counseling or harm assessment appointment, use the online form or pick up the phone. If you want to apply for an exclusion or check one, use the website as normal.

The online form is the current booking route. If anything changes again, check the NCPG site for the latest booking information before you book.

Booking by phone: helpline 6354 8154

The booking number is 6354 8154¹. It appears on NCPG's appointment pages, its self-exclusion guidance and its support-services pages, always with the same instruction: for appointment bookings, contact the hotline¹⁰.

A few practical points about using it:

• Have your name, contact number and general availability ready. The call is a booking, not a session.
• Say whether you want a Harm Assessment or ongoing Counselling if you already know.
• If you are calling about someone else, say so at the start. NCPG publishes separate guidance for people worried about a relative or friend¹¹.
• If you have already submitted a self-exclusion application and have not heard back within 10 working days, NCPG asks you to follow up on the same number, or by email at admin@ncpg.org.sg¹².

The booking line is not the same as the support line. 6354 8154 is for appointments. If you need to talk to someone now, use 1800-6-668-668, which is the National Problem Gambling Helpline and runs daily from 8am to 11pm².

Who the counseling service is for

The service is for anyone whose gambling is causing harm, and for the people around them. You do not need a diagnosis, a court order or a crisis to book. NCPG's own guidance for concerned relatives and friends sits alongside the counseling pages, and it treats the family member as someone who can make the first call¹¹.

The National Problem Gambling Helpline is staffed by trained para-counselors and mental health professionals, and it runs daily from 8am to 11pm². In the Philippines, PAGCOR describes the National Problem Gambling Helpline there as a 24/7 support platform for people struggling with gambling-related issues¹³. That description is broad on purpose. It covers someone who has just lost a large amount, someone who has been gambling quietly for years, and someone who is not sure whether they have a problem at all.

If you are trying to work out whether your own gambling has crossed a line, the signs of a gambling problem page walks through the behavioral markers, and what gambling disorder is explains how clinicians define it. Neither is a substitute for an assessment, but both make the first call easier.

For expats, visitors and international students in Singapore, the same NCPG services are open to you. The one place nationality changes the answer is cost, and that is covered below.

Self-exclusion and counseling: how they connect

Self-exclusion and treatment are separate tools, but they are designed to work together. Exclusion removes access; counseling addresses what drove the gambling. Most people who get lasting results use both.

In Singapore, you can apply for Self-Exclusion, a Family Exclusion Order or a Voluntary Visit Limit online through NCPG e-Services⁹. The step-by-step guide to self-exclusion sets out the process, and the self-exclusion pages explain what happens to your accounts and access afterwards¹⁴. If you want to understand the difference between the schemes before you pick one, how to self-exclude from gambling in Asia compares durations and coverage across the region.

The link to treatment is explicit in one place. When you apply for Non-Casino Self-Exclusion, the form includes an option to request a referral for counseling. If you tick it, a counselor contacts you to arrange an appointment¹⁵. That is the simplest way to combine the two: one form, one follow-up call.

There is also a route back. If you have a self-exclusion and want it revoked, the Council may require you to undergo an assessment of harm from gambling, including a clinical assessment if necessary, by a suitably qualified person¹⁶. In plain terms, getting back in can depend on showing that you have addressed the problem. The same principle applies to revoking a Family Exclusion Order or varying a Third-Party Exclusion Order or Visit Limit¹⁷.

Macau takes a different approach. Under the DICJ self-exclusion and third-party exclusion program, the person being excluded has the right to choose whether or not to receive counseling from problem gambling prevention and treatment agencies¹⁸. Counseling is offered, not imposed.

Other support services and helplines in Asia

Treatment and support look different in each jurisdiction. Here is what is available and how to reach it.

Hong Kong's four centers are the main public route into counseling there, and the 1834 633 hotline is supported by all of them, so one call reaches the network³. The Hong Kong Jockey Club also publishes a self-test for people who want to check their own pattern before contacting anyone²¹.

Japan's system is split by product. The Public Sports Gambling Addiction Counseling Center handles the public sports betting side and offers phone counseling, a self-check tool and email counseling²². You can book by phone on 0120-321-153 during weekday booking hours, or through the web reservation form, which accepts bookings 24 hours a day⁵. SPAT4 runs a dedicated line for gambling-related problems on 03-5493-1790, open weekdays 10:00 to 17:00¹⁹. For pachinko and pachislo specifically, the Recovery Support Network provides telephone counseling²⁰.

South Korea's 1336 line is for gamblers with problems and their families, needs no area code, and runs every day of the year from 09:00 to 22:00⁴.

In the Philippines, PAGCOR has ordered gambling advertising to be replaced with problem gambling helpline materials, which means the helpline number is now published in the places gambling ads used to appear²³.

What treatment costs

Public counseling is free or close to it. Singapore's NCPG Harm Assessment and Counselling service and the National Problem Gambling Helpline are public services with no fee attached to booking or attending². Hong Kong's four counseling and treatment centers are publicly supported, and the 1834 633 hotline reaches all of them³. Japan's Public Sports Gambling Addiction Counseling Center uses a toll-free number for bookings⁵. South Korea's 1336 line is a public service⁴.

Private therapy is the paid option. If you want a specific therapist, a particular type of therapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy, or faster scheduling, you will generally pay per session. Costs vary by city and practitioner, so ask before you book. The gambling therapy page covers the multilingual online support service, which is another no-cost route.

Residential rehab is the most expensive option and the least standardized. Programs, lengths of stay and prices differ widely across the region, and residential gambling rehab centers in Asia sets out what is available and what it costs.

One cost detail is easy to miss. If you apply for Non-Casino Self-Exclusion in Singapore and ask to be referred for counseling, charges may apply to foreigners¹⁵. Singapore citizens and residents using the same route are not charged. If you are on a work pass, a student visa or a visitor visa, ask about the fee when the counselor contacts you.

What to expect at a first appointment

A first session is a conversation, not a test. You will be asked what you gamble on, how often, how much, and what has happened as a result. You will be asked about money, work, sleep and relationships. Nothing you say is shared outside the service; NCPG states that all information is treated in strict confidence⁷.

You do not need to prepare anything. If you have bank or betting records that show the pattern, bringing them can save time, but it is not required. If a family member is coming with you, say so when you book.

If you are not ready to speak to a counselor, there are lower-commitment first steps. A self-assessment test takes a few minutes and gives you a score you can act on. How to stop gambling sets out the practical first moves, including blocking tools and exclusion. If money is the immediate problem, gambling and debt help covers credit and debt counseling. And if you are in crisis, crisis lines across Asia lists the numbers that answer fastest.

For families, signs a family member has a gambling problem helps you decide whether to raise it, and counseling and support aimed at the people around the gambler are available through the same NCPG services.