Gambling Addiction Screening Test

About This Test

What is Gambling Disorder?

Gambling disorder, also known as compulsive gambling or gambling addiction, is a behavioral addiction characterized by persistent and recurrent problematic gambling behavior that causes significant distress or impairment in personal, family, social, educational, or occupational functioning.

Like other addictions, gambling disorder can have serious consequences for your finances, relationships, and mental health. However, it is treatable with professional help, and many people recover fully with the right support.

Common Symptoms

Symptoms of gambling disorder can include preoccupation with gambling, needing to gamble with increasing amounts of money to achieve excitement (tolerance), repeated unsuccessful attempts to stop or reduce gambling, lying about gambling behavior, jeopardizing relationships or work opportunities, and relying on others for financial relief.

Understanding Risk Factors

• Family history: Having parents or siblings with gambling or substance use disorders increases risk.
• Early exposure: Beginning to gamble during childhood or adolescence is associated with higher rates of problem gambling later in life.
• Co-occurring conditions: Depression, anxiety, ADHD, and substance use disorders frequently co-occur with gambling problems.
• Personality traits: Impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and difficulty tolerating uncertainty are linked to higher risk.
• Environmental factors: Easy access to gambling venues (especially online), social norms that normalize gambling, and stressful life events can all contribute.

Interpreting Your Results

This screening test provides an indication of whether you may be experiencing symptoms associated with gambling disorder. A higher score suggests more symptoms, but only a qualified healthcare professional can diagnose gambling disorder.

Scores should be interpreted as one piece of information, not a definitive assessment. Your current circumstances, stress levels, and life context all influence how you respond to this screening.

When to Seek Professional Help

• You have tried to cut down or stop gambling but find yourself unable to do so despite wanting to.
• Gambling is causing financial strain — borrowing money, missing payments, or depleting savings.
• Your relationships are suffering due to gambling — arguments, secrecy, or broken trust.
• You experience intense distress, irritability, or restlessness when not gambling.

Self-Help Strategies

While professional help is often necessary for gambling disorder, these strategies can complement treatment and support recovery:

• Set strict limits on time and money spent gambling, and use blocking software if needed.
• Identify triggers — emotional states, environments, or social situations — that prompt urges to gamble, and develop alternative coping responses.
• Replace gambling activities with healthier sources of reward and stimulation: exercise, hobbies, creative projects, or social activities.
• Practice financial transparency: share access to accounts with a trusted person, remove stored payment methods from gambling sites.
• Build a support network: connect with friends, family, or support groups like Gamblers Anonymous who understand the challenges.

Support Resources

• National Problem Gambling Helpline (USA): 1-800-522-4700
• BeGambleAware (UK)
• GamCare (UK)
• Gambling Therapy (International)

References

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
• Petry, N. M. (2005). Pathological gambling: Etiology, comorbidity, and treatment. American Psychological Association. DOI: 10.1037/10895-000
• Gooding, P., & Tarrier, N. (2009). A systematic review and meta-analysis of cognitive-behavioural interventions to reduce problem gambling. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 82(2), 185–95.
• National Council on Problem Gambling
• Ferentzy, P., & Turner, N. E. (2013). A history of problem gambling. Springer.
• Gainsbury, S. M., Parke, J., & Weinstock, J. (2019). Interventions to reduce gambling problems: Theoretical and empirical base of using pop-up messages to encourage self-awareness. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 17(4). DOI: 10.1007/s11469-018-9840-2
• Lorains, F. K., Cowlishaw, S., & Thomas, S. A. (2011). Prevalence of comorbid disorders in problem and pathological gambling: Systematic review and meta-analysis of population surveys. Addiction, 106(11), 1946–956.