Help for Families of Problem Gamblers: Counselling and Support

Helplines you can call

The fastest thing you can do, before any paperwork, is pick up the phone. Most of the helplines below are free, confidential and open to relatives, not just the person gambling.

In the Philippines, PAGCOR runs the National Problem Gambling Helpline on (02) 8248-9568. It is a 24/7 support platform for people struggling with gambling-related issues, and it is staffed by trained para-counselors and mental health professionals who give confidential assistance and counseling¹.

In Singapore, the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) helpline is 1800-6-668-668². The NCPG also runs a webchat alongside the phone line, so you can start a conversation in writing if talking is hard⁶. The same service covers counseling, self-exclusions and visit limits, family exclusions and visit limits, third-party exclusions and visit limits, and exclusions by law, which means one call can point you to whichever route fits your situation⁶.

In Hong Kong, the Ping Wo Fund supports the delivery of counseling service, treatment and support to problem gamblers, and the Jockey Club's responsible gambling pages carry a help section for families as well as players⁷. The Hong Kong Jockey Club also runs a Problem Gambling Counselling and Treatment Centre, reachable on 6829 8764⁸.

In Japan, the Public Sports Gambling Addiction Counseling Center offers phone counseling, a self-check tool and email counseling⁹. If you are in the Nagoya area, the local keiba guide also points to dependence support¹⁰.

In Australia, GambleAware counselors will speak to family members on their own, separately from the person gambling. The service notes that your family member can even have their own confidential counseling sessions with a GambleAware counselor¹¹. That is worth knowing if you have been putting your own needs last.

In the UK, the National Gambling Helpline is free of charge, 24 hours a day, seven days a week¹². It is a useful fallback for British expats and visitors who want to talk to someone in a familiar system.

Counseling and family support sessions

Counseling is not only for the person placing the bets. Several services in the region will take a call from a spouse, parent, adult child or sibling, and some run sessions designed specifically for relatives.

Singapore's NCPG lists counseling services as one of its core offerings, alongside the exclusion schemes⁶. You can also take a self-test on the NCPG site if you are not sure whether what you are seeing at home counts as a problem¹³. The self-test is a way to put words to behavior that has been worrying you for a while.

In Japan, the National Family Association for Gambling Addiction holds family meetings every month across the country, and it also runs seminars. These are for families and friends of people with gambling problems, and they are a chance to learn about the illness. You can reach the association by phone as well¹⁴.

The same association runs its family meetings at venues spread across a wide range of prefectures, so if you cannot travel to one, ask by phone what is available near you. The meetings are for families and friends of people with gambling problems, and they are a place to learn about the illness¹².

In Hong Kong, the Ping Wo Fund exists specifically to fund counseling, treatment and support for problem gamblers, which is where a lot of the family-facing work is paid for⁷. The Jockey Club's responsible gambling pages also carry a help section aimed at people worried about someone else's betting¹⁵.

In Australia, GambleAware's family support offer is explicit: relatives get their own confidential sessions, not a joint appointment where they have to talk in front of the person gambling¹¹. That structure matters. Many spouses will say things to a counselor alone that they would never say with their partner in the room.

Family Exclusion Order: barring a relative from Singapore casinos and betting

Singapore is the clearest place in Asia to bar a relative from gambling, and the process is built for families rather than for the gambler.

A Family Exclusion Order is imposed upon application by a family member. The NCPG can ban or limit visits where the person's gambling behavior has caused harm to his or her family¹⁶. The application is for individuals who want to exclude a family member whose gambling has caused serious harm to the family¹⁷.

What the order covers is broad. Exclusions in Singapore can ban an individual from one or more of the following:

• Casinos at Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands
• Jackpot machine rooms at private clubs
• Singapore Pools online betting³

That last item is the one families often do not realize is included. If your relative bets on football or horse racing through a Singapore Pools account, an exclusion can reach that too.

There is also a Family Visit Limit, which limits rather than bans casino visits. As of September 21, 2026, breaching a Family Visit Limit for casinos is criminalized, for parity with other exclusion orders¹⁶. In plain terms, a visit limit is no longer a soft option.

Two related schemes are worth knowing about even though you cannot apply for them yourself. A Third-Party Exclusion Order is imposed by the NCPG without an application, to ban or limit casino visits by individuals who have a poor credit record or are vulnerable to financial harm because of their gambling¹⁶. An Exclusion Order by Law is imposed automatically on financially vulnerable groups, including undischarged bankrupts and people on social assistance programs or subsidy schemes funded by the Government or any statutory body¹⁶. If your relative falls into one of those groups, they may already be barred.

The NCPG can also substitute one safeguard for another. Under changes effective September 21, 2026, it can immediately replace an Exclusion Order with a Visit Limit, or the reverse, and impose more stringent safeguards where necessary, such as replacing a Visit Limit with an Exclusion Order¹⁶.

How to apply online via the NCPG website and what the committee considers

You can start a Family Exclusion Order application online. The NCPG lists "Apply Family Exclusion Order" among the services available through its website¹⁵. The same portal lets you check exclusion status and visit limit status through NCPG e-Services, and apply for a voluntary visit limit¹⁵.

If you would rather not do it all on a screen, the NCPG can be reached by email at admin@ncpg.org.sg¹⁸. The consolidated application form used for self-exclusion and family exclusion applications is published on the NCPG site, so you can read it before you commit to anything¹⁶.

The application can be made by or on behalf of a person below 21 years of age under section 160 of the Casino Control Act⁵. That provision matters for parents. If your son or daughter is under 21 and gambling is already causing harm at home, you do not have to wait until they turn 21 to act.

When the committee looks at an application, the test is harm to the family. The order is available where the person's gambling behavior has caused harm to his or her family¹⁶, and the guidance describes the applicant as someone seeking to exclude a family member whose gambling has caused serious harm to the family¹⁷. In practice, that means you will be asked to describe what has actually happened: money problems, debt, missed obligations, household stress, and how the gambling is affecting the people around the person.

One practical note on timing. Online booking for Harm Assessment and Counselling appointments is unavailable from September 11, 2026 to October 10, 2026¹⁵. If you want a counseling appointment in that window, call the helpline rather than trying to book online.

What the order covers: casinos, jackpot rooms and Singapore Pools online accounts

It helps to see the full list in one place, because families often assume an exclusion only stops casino visits.

Sources:³

The Singapore Pools account is the piece families most often miss. A Singapore Pools Account gives access to the only official online betting service for lottery, sports and horse racing¹⁹. Account holders can apply for Online Betting Self-Exclusion through the NCPG website¹⁹. Separately, a Singapore Pools Betting Account exclusion also excludes the applicant from accessing account-related services¹⁸.

If your relative is an excluded person under the Gambling Control Act 2022, they must not engage in any gambling in or from Singapore in contravention of any applicable gambling ban²⁰. That is the legal backstop. The practical effect is that the ban follows them across the activities listed in the order, not just the one venue you named in your application.

Family exclusion in Japan: the subscriber objection period

Japan does not have a single national family exclusion order, but two routes let relatives act.

The first is racecourses. Since October 1, 2018, entry to racecourses and ticket shops, including off-course sales venues, can be restricted based on an application from the family of a person in a state of gambling addiction or a similar condition⁴. The system is described as a family-application entry restriction system, and it applies to people visiting racecourses and ticket shops⁴.

The second is keirin telephone betting. Under the keirin telephone voting terms, a person whose daily or social life is harmed, or at risk of being harmed, by ticket purchases cannot remain a subscriber, and family members can apply for suspension of use²¹. In other words, if your relative holds a keirin telephone betting account and their betting is damaging family life, you can ask for the account to be suspended.

For casino-style exclusions requested by family or related persons, the operator's prevention rules set a minimum period of one year or more, with the exact period set by the operator as it considers reasonable, taking expert advice where needed²². After one year from the start, the measure may end before the period expires if continuing it is not necessary for gambling addiction prevention and the person wishes it to end²². So the family-requested route in Japan is not indefinite by default, and it can be reviewed.

When scheduled family sessions are canceled

Support schedules change, and it is worth checking before you plan around a session.

In Japan, the National Family Association's online family consultation sessions are listed on its schedule, and individual dates are sometimes canceled¹⁷. If the session you were going to join is no longer running, look for the next available date rather than assuming the program has stopped.

In Singapore, the online booking system for Harm Assessment and Counselling appointments is unavailable from September 11, 2026 to October 10, 2026¹⁵. During that period, use the helpline on 1800-6-668-668².

In the Philippines, the National Problem Gambling Helpline runs 24/7, so there is no schedule to miss¹. The same is true of the UK National Gambling Helpline, which is free and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week¹².

If you are not sure whether your relative's behavior has crossed the line, the signs a family member or partner has a gambling problem page walks through what to look for, and the gambling self-tests page explains the screening questionnaires that services use. If money has already gone, gambling and debt help covers credit and debt counseling. For a wider view of what is available across the region, see safer gambling in Asia.