Our Women’s Chatroom: find the support you need

Every year our National Gambling Helpline hears from over 40,000 people, 30% of whom are women. Our Women’s Chatroom is a safe space where women, no matter who they are or where they live, can find the support they need. 

We understand that for women it can be difficult to take the first steps to get the support you need. You might feel withdrawn or find yourself isolating from your family and friends. You might worry about what others think, or that you’ll face a lot of social-stigma. We know that you might even experience feelings of shame, or of guilt. Feelings that can lead you to turn inwards rather than reaching for help. You might even feel silly, like it’s ‘not that big of a problem’. Many other women feel like this. We want you to know there is no need to struggle with this on your own.

You might feel that you don’t have anyone in your life who’ll understand, or who you can turn to. Our Women’s Group Chatroom is a community that gets it. A chance to talk openly, and in complete confidence, with other women in similar positions. A space to share your experiences and support one another. Our chatroom runs on the first Thursday of every month at 7pm and is moderated by a trained advisor. The next session takes place 1st December.

Registering to join couldn’t be simpler. To participate in our group chatroom, you just first need to register. Once you’re registered, the chatroom will be visible on the chatroom page and you can drop in anytime after 7pm to be connected.

When you register, we’ll ask for a username. It isn’t necessary to use your real name or any identifier as a username as this is the name which is publicly displayed whilst messaging on our chatroom. We’ll ask for your email and first name when you sign up, but this information will not be publicly displayed and can only be accessed by the GamCare team. This means that it is possible to be anonymous whilst speaking in the chatroom, as well as on our forum. 

If you need to speak to someone right now instead, our Helpline is there 24/7. Completely free and confidentially, speak to us on the phone or via live chat.