GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS

GA Meeting Finder: Find a Gamblers Anonymous Meeting

A 12-step fellowship for compulsive gambling. Free, anonymous, peer-led.

1,129 meetings listed22 states covered

See the live meetings map

Real-time globe of every Gamblers Anonymous meeting happening now. Tap a glowing dot to join.

How Cope Compass fits

GA is the room. The step circle, the sponsor, the literature, the people who get it. It works because it is specific.

Cope Compass is everything between meetings. The Tuesday at 11pm urge tools, the financial recovery worksheet, the therapist who treats gambling disorder, the conversation with your partner, the day-by-day log. Different from GA. Compatible with GA. Many people in long recovery use both.

Find a GA meeting below. Come back here for the rest.

New to Gamblers Anonymous? Read what to expect at your first GA meeting — what happens, what to say, and how GA compares to SMART Recovery and therapy.

Gamblers Anonymous (GA) is the oldest 12-step fellowship for compulsive gambling, founded in Los Angeles in 1957. Like Alcoholics Anonymous, it asks no fees, takes no outside funding, and is led entirely by people in recovery. The program centers on admitting powerlessness over gambling, working through 12 steps with a sponsor, and showing up to meetings. Tens of thousands of people in the United States attend GA each week, in person and online. GA does not require religious belief, but most groups use the language of a Higher Power. If that framing does not fit, see the comparison strip below for secular and Buddhist-inspired alternatives. None of these programs is right or wrong; they are different tools, and many people in long-term recovery use more than one.

The 12 Steps, in plain English

These are paraphrased to make the program approachable. The exact wording GA uses lives in their own literature; the spirit of each step is what matters here.

1
Admit gambling has taken over
Acknowledge that the gambling has become unmanageable, that willpower alone has not been enough.
2
Believe help outside yourself is possible
Open to the idea that something larger, however you understand it, can restore some sanity.
3
Hand it over
Make a decision to turn the will and the life over to the care of that larger thing.
4
Take honest inventory
A searching and fearless moral inventory of your behavior, finances, and relationships.
5
Tell another person
Admit to yourself, to your higher power, and to one other human being the exact nature of what has gone wrong.
6
Become ready to change
Become entirely ready to have the patterns and character defects removed.
7
Ask for the change
Humbly ask the higher power to remove the shortcomings.
8
List who has been harmed
Make a list of every person harmed by the gambling, and become willing to make amends.
9
Make amends
Make direct amends wherever possible, except where doing so would cause further harm.
10
Keep checking yourself
Continue taking personal inventory and promptly admit when you are wrong.
11
Stay in contact with the larger thing
Through prayer or meditation, deepen contact with your higher power.
12
Carry the message
Having had a spiritual awakening, carry this message to other compulsive gamblers and practice these principles in everything you do.

GA is not therapy and is not a substitute for clinical care when clinical care is appropriate. It is a fellowship: a free, ongoing, peer-supported way of staying out of action one day at a time.

Find Gamblers Anonymous by state

We have editorial content for 22 states so far. Each state page links to active meetings, the state council, and the local helpline. More states are added weekly.

Other approaches to recovery

None of these programs is right or wrong. They are different tools. Many people in long-term recovery have used more than one.

SMART

SMART Recovery

Considering a secular, science-based alternative? SMART Recovery uses cognitive behavioral tools instead of a higher-power framework.

Dharma

Recovery Dharma

Looking for a Buddhist-inspired path? Recovery Dharma combines mindfulness, the four noble truths, and peer support.

Gam-Anon

Affected by someone else’s gambling? Gam-Anon is a parallel fellowship for family and friends of compulsive gamblers.

Frequently asked

How is Gamblers Anonymous different from Alcoholics Anonymous?

GA is structurally modeled on AA but applies specifically to compulsive gambling. The 12 steps are nearly identical in spirit. The day-to-day differences are the population in the room (gambling rather than alcohol) and the specific concerns discussed (debt, hidden accounts, sports apps, family financial exposure). Many GA members also attend AA or other fellowships in parallel.

Do I have to believe in God to attend GA?

No. GA uses the phrase Higher Power, which each member defines for themselves. Many atheist and agnostic members attend and stay sober long-term using the group itself, the principles, or any larger concept they choose. If that framing remains a barrier, SMART Recovery and Recovery Dharma are explicitly secular alternatives.

Is GA free?

Yes, in every state. Meetings are self-supporting through voluntary contributions, usually a dollar or two passed in a basket. There is no fee to attend, no membership form, no insurance to verify. Meetings welcome anyone with a desire to stop gambling.

Are GA meetings online or in person?

Both. Roughly 30% of US GA meetings are online (Zoom and conference call). The remainder are in person at church halls, community centers, hospital meeting rooms, and similar spaces. Online meetings run almost around the clock, so even at 3 AM there is usually a live meeting somewhere on the planet.

How do I find a GA meeting in my state?

Use the state grid below. Each state page lists the active GA meetings in that state, including online meetings hosted from there. The state pages also include the relevant state council and helpline.