If an influencer’s gambling promotion has made you want to bet, step away from the post and don’t click its link or place a bet while the urge is active. Give yourself time, tell someone you trust what happened, and add practical barriers if the urge is difficult to manage. An urge is a reason to seek support—not a personal failure.
What to do right now
- Close or scroll past the promotion. Don’t follow its link, sign up, or place a bet while you feel pulled to act. If seeing the account makes the urge stronger, mute or unfollow it and use the platform’s ad controls to reduce similar content.
- Create some distance before deciding anything. Put your phone down or move to a different activity. Pausing is a practical way to avoid making a quick decision in response to persuasive content; it is not a guaranteed treatment for gambling urges.
- Tell a trusted person. You can say, “That post made me want to bet, and I don’t want to act on it right now.” Ask them to stay with you or check in while the urge passes.
- Contact a gambling support service if the feeling is hard to manage, keeps returning, or connects with previous gambling harm. You do not need to wait until a crisis to ask for help.
Choose barriers that fit your situation
Different tools interrupt different routes to gambling. Availability and eligibility depend on where you live, and none should be treated as a guarantee that gambling will be impossible.
| Option | What it can do | Limits to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Social-feed and ad controls | Reduce some gambling-related recommendations or promotional exposure. | They may not remove every promotion or prevent access to gambling elsewhere. |
| Bank gambling-payment block | Restrict a payment route to gambling businesses where your bank offers the feature. | Availability and coverage vary by bank and location; it does not block every possible way to gamble. |
| Gambling-site blocker | Limit access to covered gambling websites or apps. | Coverage depends on the software and its settings. It is one safeguard, not a foolproof barrier. |
| Operator restriction or self-exclusion | Restrict your account or access to participating gambling operators, depending on the scheme. | Rules, eligibility, and coverage vary. A restriction may not cover every operator or form of gambling. |
| Trusted person or helpline | Provide human support and help you make a plan for the urge. | Support does not itself block payments or access, so it can be combined with practical barriers. |
The UK Gambling Commission describes tools including platform controls, bank blocks, self-exclusion and support services. Its TalkBanStop information also lists free Gamban blocking software alongside GAMSTOP and helpline support: safer-gambling guidance and common customer enquiries.
Self-exclusion in Great Britain
GAMSTOP is Great Britain’s online, multi-operator self-exclusion scheme. Gambling businesses must participate, and one request can cover participating online operators. Check the scheme’s terms and eligibility before relying on its scope. The Gambling Commission describes self-exclusion as a formal agreement and recommends seeking support as well: UK Gambling Commission self-exclusion guidance.
Where to get support
England and Scotland
The UK Gambling Commission lists 0808 8020 133 as a free helpline available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Wales
The Commission lists 0808 2819 265 as a free helpline available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Contact details can change; check the Commission’s safer-gambling page for current information.
Australia
Australia’s communications regulator, ACMA, points people who may have a gambling problem to Gambling Help Online and identifies BetStop as a self-exclusion option. These are Australian services, not global ones. See ACMA’s warning to social media influencers.
Elsewhere
Look for a gambling support service, bank controls, and gambling regulator in your own country or state. UK phone numbers and schemes, and Australian services, do not necessarily apply where you live.
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A promotion can prompt an urge, but a single setting or restriction cannot guarantee that someone will not gamble. The UK Department for Culture, Media & Sport put the limitation plainly in its 2023 gambling reform white paper: “No self-exclusion or gambling cessation tool in isolation can be completely effective in preventing someone who is determined to gamble online from doing so.” The tools above work in different ways, so pairing a practical barrier—such as a bank block or self-exclusion—with support from a trusted person or helpline may address more than one part of the problem. That is a sensible precaution, not a promise of abstinence. Read the 2023 white paper.
If the promotion seems unlawful or misleading
Whether a gambling promotion breaks rules depends on the country, the service being promoted, and the details of the post. Don’t assume a specific post is illegal based on the fact that it is an influencer promotion. If you are concerned, save relevant post details and consult the regulator’s local reporting route rather than engaging with the link.
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In Australia, ACMA warns that influencers promoting illegal online gambling services to Australians may face civil penalties and provides a route for complaints about illegal services and advertising: ACMA’s warning and guidance. Its warning concerns illegal services under Australian law; it does not establish that every gambling promotion by an influencer is illegal.
In Great Britain, the Gambling Commission says people can tell the operator and the regulator if self-exclusion fails. See its self-exclusion guidance.
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Rules differ by jurisdiction, and promotional content can blur the line between entertainment and advertising. In a 4 March 2026 release, Liquor & Gaming NSW identified social-media personalities and influencer arrangements as a regulatory priority for 2026. Its Deputy Secretary, Tarek Barakat, said the agency was targeting paid and unpaid promotional partnerships, content that normalises betting or glamorises gaming products, and platforms with large youth or vulnerable audiences. That is a statement about regulatory priorities in New South Wales, not a finding about any particular post or a rule that applies everywhere. Read the Liquor & Gaming NSW release.
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