Gambling terms, explained straight

Responsible Gambling & Harm

Gambling harm

Gambling harm describes the negative consequences that gambling can have on a person's health, finances, relationships, and wider community.

Also called
gambling-related harms or gambling-related harm15
Applies to
all forms of gambling, affecting health, finances, relationships, and communities, including people other than the gambler12
How it occurs
through financial distress, relationship breakdown, crime, and deterioration of physical or mental health23

Key points

  • Harm can occur even below clinical thresholds for gambling disorder and may be short-lived or enduring.12
  • Gambling harm is broader than gambling disorder; it can happen without a diagnosis.42
  • Effects extend beyond the gambler to families and communities, including financial and social damage.35

Common questions

Why is gambling bad for society?

Gambling can cause financial distress, relationship breakdown, crime, and health deterioration, affecting not just the gambler but also families and communities.23 These harms can be long-lasting and occur even without a gambling disorder diagnosis.12

Where this term is used

Responsible play Addiction and gambling Explains the relationship between gambling and addiction, including how gambling disorder develops. Responsible play Gambling addiction signs Lists common signs of gambling addiction to help identify problem gambling. Responsible play Self-exclusion gambling Describes self-exclusion programs that allow gamblers to ban themselves from venues. Responsible play Responsible gambling Defines gambling as the activity of risking money or value on an uncertain outcome. Responsible play Chasing losses gambling Explains the behaviour of trying to recover losses by gambling more, often worsening harm. Responsible play Self-exclusion form for gambling Provides information on how to fill out a self-exclusion form to restrict gambling access.

Sources

  1. Glossary of terms used in our evidence gaps and priorities gamblingcommission.gov.uk Defines gambling harm and its scope, including that it applies to all forms of gambling and people other than the gambler.
  2. Gambling who.int Describes how gambling produces harm through financial distress, relationship breakdown, crime, and health deterioration.
  3. Problem gambling and gambling-related harms gamblingcommission.gov.uk Explains that gambling harm can occur below clinical thresholds and affects families and communities.
  4. Understanding gambling related harm: a proposed ... pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Distinguishes gambling harm from gambling disorder, noting harm can occur without a diagnosis.
  5. Gambling-related harms - NCBI Bookshelf ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Supports the definition of gambling-related harms and their broader impact on health and society.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.