Bailout

Recovery language

Definition

When family, friends, or a lender cover gambling debts. Repeated bailouts are a diagnostic feature of gambling disorder, and they are the most common way harm spreads from one person to a household.

Preferred phrasing

safe to use as written; avoid framing the family as "enabling," which blames the wrong person.

Source

https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm

Cite this

Betttr. "Bailout." The Gambling Recovery Glossary. https://betttr.net/glossary/bailout/ (accessed 2026-09-20).

Last updated: 2026-09-20.

Corrections: support@betttr.net