Responsible Gambling in Ghana

The Two-Minute Self-Check

These are the nine questions health services around the world use to screen for gambling problems, known as the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). Think about the last 12 months and answer honestly; nobody sees your answers but you.

Your privacy: this check runs entirely on your phone. Your answers are never sent, stored, or shared, and they disappear when you leave the page.

Back Question 1 of 9

1. Have you bet more than you could really afford to lose?

Never Sometimes Most of the time Almost always

2. Have you needed to gamble with larger amounts of money to get the same feeling of excitement?

Never Sometimes Most of the time Almost always

3. When you gambled, did you go back another day to try to win back the money you lost?

Never Sometimes Most of the time Almost always

4. Have you borrowed money or sold anything to get money to gamble?

Never Sometimes Most of the time Almost always

5. Have you felt that you might have a problem with gambling?

Never Sometimes Most of the time Almost always

6. Has gambling caused you any health problems, including stress or anxiety?

Never Sometimes Most of the time Almost always

7. Have people criticised your betting or told you that you had a gambling problem, whether or not you thought it was true?

Never Sometimes Most of the time Almost always

8. Has your gambling caused any financial problems for you or your household?

Never Sometimes Most of the time Almost always

9. Have you felt guilty about the way you gamble or what happens when you gamble?

Never Sometimes Most of the time Almost always

Adapted from the Problem Gambling Severity Index (Ferris & Wynne, 2001), the standard nine-question screen used by health services worldwide. This is a screening tool, not a medical diagnosis. Whatever your score, a conversation with a professional is the only real assessment.

Warning Signs Worth Taking Seriously

Problem gambling rarely announces itself; it grows quietly out of habits that once felt harmless. In our experience reviewing how bookmakers are actually used in Ghana, these are the signs that matter most:

• Betting with essential money: stakes coming out of rent, food, school fees, or money borrowed from friends and family.
• Chasing losses: topping up again the same day to win back what you lost, or raising stakes after a losing run.
• Hiding the habit: lying about how much you bet, deleting MoMo messages, or feeling relief when nobody asks.
• Mood changes: anxiety, irritability, or low mood that tracks your wins and losses rather than your life.
• Crowding out: work, school, or relationships losing time and attention to betting.

One sign on its own is a prompt to set limits. Several together are a reason to talk to someone, starting with the free helpline above.

Tools That Put You Back in Control

You do not have to choose between betting freely and quitting entirely; there are steps in between. Every tool here is free, and using one early is a sign of control, not weakness.

• Deposit limits: most licensed bookmakers let you cap what you can deposit per day, week, or month. Set the limit before you deposit, when your head is clear, because increases typically take 24 to 72 hours to apply while decreases are immediate.
• Cooling-off breaks: a short timeout of 24 hours to a few weeks that locks your account while your balance stays safe. Useful after a heavy loss, when the urge to chase is strongest.
• Self-exclusion: a formal ban of six months, one year, or permanent, which the operator is required to enforce. The full Ghana process is below.
• Blocking software: free apps such as BetBlocker block thousands of gambling sites and apps on your phone, and a restriction cannot be lifted early once set.

How to Self-Exclude in Ghana, Step by Step

Self-exclusion is a formal instruction to keep you out: the bookmaker must close your access and refuse your bets for the period you choose. The Gaming Commission of Ghana runs a national self-exclusion programme, and licensed operators are required to honour it.

Very few people know it exists. The Commission received 68 self-exclusion requests in all of 2024 and 31 in the first quarter of 2025 alone, in a country with millions of active bettors; awareness is growing, but slowly.

1. Withdraw your balance first. Cash out any funds in your betting accounts before you request exclusion, so there is no reason to go back in.
2. Ask the bookmaker directly. Contact support through live chat or email and state plainly: "I want to self-exclude for [six months / one year / permanently]." Ask for written confirmation, and keep it.
3. Go through the regulator. Call the Gaming Commission of Ghana toll-free on 0800 454 545 or use the contact form on gamingcommission.gov.gh to ask about the national self-exclusion programme. Ask specifically about excluding from all licensed operators, not just one, and about what happens if an operator lets you back in.
4. Make it stick. Delete the apps, unsubscribe from marketing messages, and install a blocker such as BetBlocker for the same period. If you can, tell one person you trust; exclusion works best when it is not a secret.
5. Deal with the pull, not just the door. Self-exclusion closes accounts, but the urge needs its own support. The Mental Health Authority's free 24/7 line on 0800 678 678 is a good first call, whether or not you would call it an addiction.

If a licensed bookmaker accepts your bets while you are self-excluded, that is a complaint the Commission wants to hear about, on the same toll-free number.

Where to Get Help

Every contact below is free and confidential. We verify these details on a monthly cycle, the same one we use to check bookmaker licences.

• Mental Health Authority Ghana: toll-free helpline 0800 678 678, available 24 hours a day. Professional, confidential psychological support for you or someone you are worried about.
• Gaming Commission of Ghana: toll-free 0800 454 545, plus the online contact form. Self-exclusion, complaints against operators, and regulatory questions.
• Gamblers Anonymous: peer support meetings, including online meetings you can join from Ghana, via gamblersanonymous.org.
• Gambling Therapy: free online emotional support and practical advice worldwide, in text-based groups and one-to-one, at gamblingtherapy.org.
• BetBlocker: free blocking app for phones and computers, no payment details required, at betblocker.org.

Worried About Someone Else?

Most people with a gambling problem are brought to help by someone who cares about them, not by their own first move. Pick a calm moment, describe what you have noticed without accusing, and ask how they feel about it rather than telling them what they are.

The Mental Health Authority helpline on 0800 678 678 also advises family and friends, and Gambling Therapy runs dedicated support groups for loved ones. Protect your own money first if you share finances; a professional can talk you through how.

Understand the Game You Are Playing

The strongest protection is knowing how betting actually works: every market carries a built-in margin for the bookmaker, and long accumulators are exciting precisely because they almost never win. When you know the numbers, betting can stay what it should be, entertainment with a known price.

Start with our guide to spotting the signs and getting help in Ghana, the responsible gambling section of our FAQ, and how we test and verify bookmakers, including their licences.