Urgent gambling help in Malta

If gambling is causing immediate distress, stop playing and move away from any gambling account or venue. Malta’s Supportline 179 is free and available 24 hours a day for immediate support and referral. The National Gambling Supportline 1777 also provides confidential gambling-related support in Malta.

If there is immediate danger

Call Supportline 179 when you need immediate emotional support or help finding an appropriate service. Malta’s national line is free, operates 24 hours a day and can provide support and referral.

If anyone is in immediate physical danger, contact Malta’s emergency services. Do not stay alone while waiting for help if being alone would increase the risk. Move to a safer place, ask a trusted person to remain with you and put distance between yourself and anything that could cause harm.

Gambling losses can feel overwhelming, but there is no need to solve every financial or personal problem at once. The first priority is safety. Avoid gambling in an attempt to recover losses, as this can expose you to further spending at a moment of distress.

Contact the right support line

The two supplied services have different recorded roles. Choose the one that best matches what is happening now.

The Responsible Gaming Foundation states that confidential support is available through the National Gambling Supportline 1777. You can call whether the concern affects you directly or you are worried about someone close to you.

The supplied records do not establish opening hours for 1777, so do not delay urgent help while waiting for that service. Supportline 179 is the recorded round-the-clock option for immediate support and referral.

Make gambling harder to access

Create a pause before making any further deposit or bet. Sign out of gambling accounts, close gambling applications and remove saved payment details where you can do so without creating another problem. Avoid keeping gambling accounts open merely to watch results or check offers.

Licensed operators must provide responsible-gambling tools and self-exclusion mechanisms. Available controls may differ between services, so inspect the account’s responsible-gambling area or ask its support team to explain the controls that apply to your account.

A limit may slow spending, but it is not the same as self-exclusion. If you feel unable to stop, ask specifically about self-exclusion rather than relying only on a deposit limit. Keep confirmation of any request and note when it was submitted.

Further practical information is available under responsible gambling.

Put temporary barriers around money

Take simple steps that reduce the chance of an impulsive transaction. These are practical barriers, not guarantees.

• Pause non-essential gambling payments and withdrawals of cash intended for gambling.
• Ask a trusted person to sit with you while you review immediate bills.
• Separate money needed for food, housing, utilities, transport and medicine.
• Contact your bank or payment provider to ask what controls are available on your account.
• Avoid borrowing, taking cash advances or opening new credit to recover gambling losses.
• Do not share passwords, security codes or unrestricted control of your finances.

If a payment is disputed, record the amount, date, payment method and account involved. Keep statements and correspondence. The payments guide explains how payment records can help when tracing a transaction.

Do not make a rushed promise to repay everyone immediately. First identify essential living costs and obtain appropriate financial or professional support where needed.

Ask the gambling business for action

Contact the gambling business if you need an account restriction, self-exclusion, transaction information or a formal complaint. Licensed operators must provide complaint procedures, responsible-gambling tools and self-exclusion mechanisms.

State the action you want in direct terms. For example: “Please tell me how to self-exclude and confirm when the restriction takes effect.” Include only the information needed to identify your account. Never send a password or one-time security code.

Save the request, reply and any confirmation number. Note the date, time, account name and the address of the service you contacted. If the response does not resolve the issue, ask for the formal complaint procedure and follow its stated steps.

The existence of a complaint procedure does not mean every dispute will be decided in the player’s favour. Keep the facts separate from assumptions and describe disputed events in chronological order.

Check that you are dealing with the correct address

Before sending identity documents or account details, check the exact address shown in the browser. Similar names do not prove that two services are connected.

The Malta Gaming Authority’s URL checker can return the current named record captured for an exact address query. An exact match matters: a result for one address should not be treated as confirmation of a different spelling, subdomain or website.

The supplied evidence does not establish that every address has a record or that a checker result resolves an individual complaint. Use it as an identity-checking step, not as a promise about safety, payments or dispute outcomes. General context on regulatory checks is available under licence and law.

Keep a clear record

A short factual record is easier to use than a long account written during distress. Start with the event that requires action now.

Record the account name, exact website address, relevant dates, amounts and payment references. Save copies of account messages, self-exclusion requests and complaint replies. If a balance or transaction is disputed, record what the account displayed and when you observed it.

Do not alter screenshots or correspondence. Store sensitive records securely and share them only with the service handling the matter. Avoid posting identity documents, payment details or private account information publicly.

Separate confirmed facts from what you suspect. A useful note might say that a request was sent at a particular time and no reply had been received by a later time. It should not claim why the business has not replied unless that reason is documented.

Helping someone else

Speak calmly and focus on immediate safety rather than blame. Ask whether the person is in danger, whether they can stop gambling for the moment and whether they are willing to contact support.

You can offer to stay with them while they call 179 or 1777. Help them find account controls, organise essential bills or write a factual message requesting self-exclusion. Do not take control of their money or accounts without clear permission, and do not ask them to reveal passwords or security codes.

Avoid lending money to chase losses. Financial rescue without access barriers may leave the gambling pattern unchanged. Encourage specialist support and practical restrictions instead.

If the person will not talk, leave the support numbers with them and check in again. If you believe there is immediate physical danger, contact emergency services rather than trying to manage the situation alone.

mga.org.mt · rgf.org.mt · fsws.gov.mt · mgaurlchecker.mga.org.mt

Frequently asked questions