How do I know if I have a gambling problem?

Common signs are spending more time or money than you intended, chasing losses, hiding gambling from people close to you, borrowing to gamble, and feeling restless or irritable when not gambling. If two or more of these apply, take the self-test at spilavandi.is or speak to SÁÁ. Problem gambling is defined by its effect on your life, not by the amount involved.

Where can I get help for gambling addiction in Iceland?

SÁÁ provides assessment, outpatient and inpatient treatment for gambling addiction, funded by the state since 2025. Spilavandi.is offers information and guidance, and the Red Cross helpline 1717 is open around the clock by phone and web chat. Gamblers Anonymous (GA) groups also meet in Reykjavík and online.

Can I block myself from all online casinos?

Not through any Icelandic register, because Iceland has no licensing regime and the foreign casinos are not connected to one. You can self-exclude at each casino individually, and blocking software such as Gamban or BetBlocker on your devices covers thousands of gambling sites at once. Some Icelandic banks will block gambling transactions on a card if you ask.

Does self-exclusion at a foreign casino work?

At casinos licensed in Malta, Sweden or Estonia it is a licence condition and is enforced within that operator. It does not carry across to other casinos, and a sister brand of the same company may or may not apply it. Combine it with device-level blocking software and a bank card block for a more complete barrier.

Can I help a family member who gambles?

Yes. SÁÁ and Spilavandi both offer support for relatives, and the 1717 helpline is open to anyone affected. Practical steps include separating finances, not lending money to cover gambling debts, and encouraging the person to contact SÁÁ. GA's companion fellowship Gam-Anon is for family members.

Responsible Gambling – Help and Tools for Players in Iceland

Gambling as entertainment, not income

Every game at an online casino has a house edge. Slots keep 3 to 6 percent of stakes on average, roulette 2.7 percent, blackjack about 0.5 percent with perfect play. Over time the house wins by exactly that margin, and no strategy, system or bonus changes it. That is the basis for everything else on this page: the cost of gambling is the expected loss, and a sensible budget is one you would be content to spend on any other entertainment.

Practical rules that most people find workable:

Decide the amount before you start, deposit it, and stop when it is gone. Do not top up mid-session.
Never gamble with money set aside for rent, bills or debts, and never with borrowed money.
Set a time limit as well as a money limit.
Do not chase losses. A loss is the price of the session, not a debt the casino owes you.
Do not gamble when drunk, upset or bored. All three make it harder to stop.
Keep a record. Most casinos show deposit and withdrawal history; look at the net figure every month.

Tools available at online casinos

Casinos licensed in Malta, Sweden, Estonia and other European jurisdictions must offer the following; Curaçao-licensed sites usually offer some of them. All are found in the account or "responsible gaming" section.

Deposit limits per day, week and month. Set one when you register. Lowering the limit applies immediately; raising it is delayed by 24 hours to 7 days at properly regulated casinos.
Loss and wager limits cap the amount you can lose or stake in a period, independent of deposits.
Session reminders show a pop-up at intervals with time played and net result.
Time-out locks the account for 24 hours to 6 weeks. Useful after a bad session.
Self-exclusion closes the account for six months or more, up to permanently, and cannot be reversed early. Marketing must stop and any sister sites under the same licence should apply it too.
Reality checks and account history so you can see what you have actually spent.

We score these tools under the responsible gambling heading in our methodology, based on what the terms say is offered and on complaint records. A casino that hides them or requires an email to support to set a limit loses marks.

Blocking gambling beyond a single casino

Because Iceland has no licensing system for online casinos, there is no national self-exclusion register that covers foreign sites, unlike Spelpaus in Sweden or ROFUS in Denmark. To block yourself more broadly:

Blocking software. Gamban (paid) and BetBlocker (free) block access to tens of thousands of gambling sites and apps on phones and computers. Install them on every device and have someone else hold the password.
Bank card blocks. Ask your bank whether it can block gambling-coded (MCC 7995) transactions on your card. Not all Icelandic banks offer this, but it is worth asking, and some will at least block foreign online transactions on request.
E-wallet closure. If you use Skrill, Neteller or similar mainly for gambling, close the account.
Domestic operators. Íslensk getspá, Íslenskar getraunir and Happdrætti Háskóla Íslands each offer their own limits and self-exclusion through abyrgspilun.is.

Warning signs

Problem gambling is defined by harm, not by amount. Warning signs, adapted from the screening questions used by treatment services:

Gambling with larger amounts to get the same feeling.
Trying to cut down and not managing it.
Restlessness or irritability when not gambling.
Gambling to escape problems or a low mood.
Returning to win back losses.
Lying about how much you gamble.
Borrowing, selling things or using money meant for other purposes.
Gambling affecting work, study or relationships.

If several of these apply, the self-test at spilavandi.is takes a few minutes and gives an honest indication. Icelandic research over the past decade has consistently found that a significant share of young men in particular use foreign betting and casino sites, and that a small but real percentage of the adult population meets the criteria for problem gambling. You are not unusual in having a problem, and you are not unusual in getting over it with help.

Where to get help in Iceland

Service	What it offers	Contact
Rauði krossinn helpline 1717	Free, confidential, around the clock, for anyone affected; phone and web chat	Call 1717 or chat at 1717.is
SÁÁ	Assessment, outpatient treatment and inpatient treatment at Vogur for gambling addiction; support for relatives; state-funded since 2025	saa.is, tel. 530 7600
Spilavandi	Information, self-tests, guidance for players and families	spilavandi.is
Ábyrg spilun	Responsible gambling programme of the licensed Icelandic operators; limits, self-exclusion, list of resources	abyrgspilun.is
Gamblers Anonymous Iceland (GA)	Peer-support meetings in Reykjavík and online; Gam-Anon for relatives	gasamtokin.is
Heilsugæslan	Your local health centre can refer you to psychological services	heilsugaeslan.is

Since November 2025 the Ministry of Health has funded gambling treatment at SÁÁ under a formal agreement, so cost is not a barrier to getting assessed. If you are in immediate distress, 1717 is the number to call; in an emergency call 112.

Under 18s

All gambling on this site's subject matter is for adults only. Every casino we list requires players to be 18 or over and verifies age with identity documents before paying out. If you are a parent concerned about a young person's gambling, Spilavandi and SÁÁ both offer guidance, and the blocking software above works on any device.

What we do

This is an affiliate site and we earn a commission when readers sign up at the casinos we compare. We try to make the case for restraint anyway: we say plainly that no online casino is licensed in Iceland, we score casinos on the quality of their responsible gambling tools, we mark down casinos whose complaint records show self-exclusion requests being ignored and remove those that obstruct it, and we do not market to anyone who has told us they have excluded themselves. If you think any page on this site encourages gambling irresponsibly, tell us; contact details are on the about page.