Record number of people supported through Gambling Care’s service providers in 2024.
Almost 3,000 counselling sessions for family members and friends of problem gamblers.
More women than ever before seeking the help they need.
More than 2,500 people impacted by problem gambling were provided with the support they needed in 2024 – more than five times the number in 2020.
Launching its 2024 Annual Report today (Thursday 18th September), Gambling Care, the national independent charity which funds research, education and treatment services to help minimise gambling-related harm in Ireland, welcomed the increase in uptake of services as evidence of significantly increased awareness of the impact of problem gambling on families across Ireland.
Gambling Care’s figures show that women made up a significantly higher proportion of people seeking support than in previous years, up from just 19% of service users in 2021 to 31% in 2024.
The increase coincides with a higher number of family members and friends of problem gamblers, known as ‘affected others’, looking to Gambling Care for support. In 2024, Gambling Care facilitated almost 3,000 counselling sessions for people who needed support in dealing with a loved one’s problem gambling.
Gambling Care CEO, Jackie Murphy, said:
“Gambling Care can be rightly proud of our work in 2024 and 2025 to date, helping a record number of people to find the right care for them at all stages of their recovery journey.
“The high volume of traffic to gamblingcare.ie and calls to our 24-hour helpline show awareness of the issue and Gambling Care’s ability to help are growing amongst the public. We facilitated a record-breaking 17,000 counselling sessions for more than 2,500 people in 2024 and we are well on track to match or even pass that figure this year.
“I also welcome the increase in the number of women coming forwards to seek support. For too long, gambling addiction has been seen as a ‘male problem’ and we know from our work that this just isn’t the case in reality. We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure no one who needs help falls through the gaps.”
Record investment in support services
In 2024, Gambling Care oversaw investment of almost €2million into vital gambling addiction supports, with €2.4million committed in 2025.
Every year, this funding provides:
- Almost 14,000 counselling sessions for problem gamblers;
- Almost 3,000 counselling sessions for family members and friends of people with gambling issues;
- Funding for over 320 residential programme places; and
- Management of a freely accessible, comprehensive directory of services in Ireland on our website, gamblingcare.ie
- The national Gambling Care helpline, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The helpline handles more than 4,000 calls every year.
Launch event
Gambling Care launched its 2024 Annual Report today by welcoming more than 50 leading service providers, policy makers and people with first-hand experience of problem gambling at Buswells Hotel in Dublin.
Today’s panel included expertise from all levels of the gambling support journey, including addiction treatment centres, family resource centres which provide supports at grassroot level, people with first-hand experience of living with a problem gambler in the family and Gambling Care’s ambassador, Oisín McConville.
An All-Ireland football champion with Armagh, Oisín spent three months in residential treatment for gambling addiction in 2005. He has worked in counselling and gambling recovery since overcoming his own struggles.
Speaking at today’s event, Oisín said:
“My life, like so many who’ve been affected by problem gambling, was very nearly torn apart. At my worst, I’d travel town to town to place bets on a daily basis in hope I could hide it and ended up owing a huge sum of money with no way to pay it back. Even while I was playing in big matches, I had one eye looking over my shoulder.
“The residential treatment I received truly turned my life around and I’ve tried ever since to pay that back by advocating for services and raising awareness, particularly amongst people like myself who maybe got into gambling at a young age as a social activity with teammates and wind up in a difficult position with no idea who to turn to.
“Seeing first-hand today the incredible people working in this space in Ireland is inspiring and, very simply, we must make sure these services are protected at all costs and given the support they need to help the thousands more every year who need support. Gambling Care does a remarkable job of raising awareness and giving people who might otherwise feel lost the direction and tools they need to overcome their gambling problems.”
Today’s event is timely, with Ireland’s first Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRAI) now in operation. The Gambling Act which established the GRAI commits to the creation of a mandatory ‘social impact fund’ to provide services for people affected by gambling addiction. Gambling Care continues to work tirelessly to ensure advice and services remain accessible during any transition in funding to service providers.
