GamCare’s Money Guidance Service handled 1,954 cases related to gambling losses in 2025. That’s more than double the 923 enquiries from the year before, according to data the UK charity released this week.

The total debt reported through the service hit £7.2 million, nearly three times what it was year-on-year, working out to an average of £21,269 per person. January 2026 alone saw 233 referrals. About three times the volume from January 2025.

Cost-of-Living Pressures Cited

Kathy Wade, Money Guidance Service Manager at GamCare, reckons the figures reflect the broader economic squeeze facing UK households. The service has been hearing from people who turned to gambling hoping it might cover essential bills, what with the cost-of-living crisis still grinding on. Instead, they’ve ended up in worse financial trouble.

Wade stressed that plenty of people gamble just for fun. But the organisation definitely wouldn’t encourage anyone to see it as a way to pay the household expenses.

Increased Coordination with Debt Services

The data came out alongside figures from PayPlan, a UK debt advice provider. They logged 21,000 contacts in January 2026, a 22% jump year-on-year. The organisation’s noticed more and more overlap between debt cases and gambling problems.

Direct referrals from GamCare’s treatment services to PayPlan totalled 243 in 2025. Up 34% from 181 the previous year. Emma Gibbons, PayPlan’s Vulnerability Lead, pointed out that early intervention and structured debt advice can actually help people stabilise their finances and get back on track. The partnership between the two organisations is designed to give coordinated support to those dealing with both gambling losses and financial strain.

Market Context

These figures land as the UK gambling sector continues under serious regulatory scrutiny. Operators have to fund research, education and treatment services through voluntary and statutory contributions. GamCare gets a big chunk of funding from the industry and sits right at the centre of the UK’s harm minimisation framework.

The charity’s data offers a window into demand for support services. Regulators and operators use it to shape policy and safer gambling initiatives across the market.

What the team thinks

Sheena McAllister says:

These figures are deeply concerning and should serve as a wake-up call for operators to reassess the effectiveness of their affordability interventions and early detection systems. While the cost-of-living crisis is undoubtedly a factor, the near-threefold increase in total debt suggests we may be seeing delayed consequences from gaps in safer gambling processes that need urgent attention from both industry and the UKGC. The January 2026 spike particularly warrants investigation into whether post-festive period monitoring and intervention protocols are sufficiently robust across licensed operators.