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Victorian Gambling Screen (VGS)3

Victorian Gambling Screen (VGS) Test

In four minutes, the Victorian Gambling Screen (VGS) Test presents 21 questions about gambling experiences, control, financial consequences, emotional impact, and effects on a partner. Your result offers a concise profile of gambling-related difficulties, enjoyment, and harm, supporting focused self-reflection about patterns that may need attention.

Questions: 214 minutes

Victorian Gambling Screen (VGS) Test: sample question card

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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2,500 completions

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Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Self-Harm ScaleSHS

Measures the degree of personal negative consequences and self-damaging impacts associated with gambling (e.g., financial, emotional, and social losses).

example score10/15

10/15Moderate impactexample score

0 – 5Low impact

6 – 10Moderate impact

11 – 15High impact

A score of 10 falls in the Moderate impact range, suggesting notable personal harms related to gambling with emerging difficulties in self-control.

Partner Harm ScalePHS

Measures the extent to which the respondent’s gambling is associated with negative impacts on their partner and the relationship.

example score1/3

1/3Some harmexample score

0Low harm

1 – 2Some harm

3High harm

A score of 1 falls in the “Some harm” range, suggesting occasional or limited partner-related negative effects linked to gambling.

Gambling EnjoymentGE

Measures how strongly a person experiences positive emotions and satisfaction from gambling activities.

example score2/3

2/3High pleasureexample score

0 – 1Low pleasure

2 – 3High pleasure

A score of 2 indicates relatively strong enjoyment from gambling, suggesting it may be a meaningful source of positive feelings.

Total ScoreTS

The Integral scale measures the overall severity of gambling-related problems and potential negative consequences.

example score10/21

10/21Moderate issuesexample score

0 – 8Low / minimal issues

9 – 14Moderate issues

15 – 21High issues

A score of 10 falls in the Moderate issues range, suggesting noticeable gambling-related difficulties that may be affecting functioning or wellbeing.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Concerned gamblers

41%OF USERS

People who suspect their gambling is getting out of control take it to gauge personal harm, lost control, and how much the thrill is driving them.

Partners and family members

34%OF USERS

Loved ones use it to understand how gambling is affecting the relationship, finances, and day-to-day stability at home.

Clinicians and researchers

25%OF USERS

Counselors, psychologists, and study teams use it for quick screening and to pinpoint which areas need deeper assessment or support.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

Self-Harm ScaleSS

You?

Average11

Typical rangeTypical8.9 – 13

Possible0 – 15

Scale of Harm Caused to a PartnerSoHCtaP

You?

Average1.7

Typical rangeTypical1.2 – 2.1

Possible0 – 3

Gambling Pleasure ScaleGPS

You?

Average1.1

Typical rangeTypical0.7 – 1.6

Possible0 – 3

Integral scaleIs

You?

Average13.5

Typical rangeTypical10.2 – 16.9

Possible0 – 21

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

You will be presented with 21 questions, each with several response options. Read each question and its response options, and select one option that best reflects your view. Please follow these guidelines: • Base your responses on the past 12 months of your life. • Do not spend too much time thinking about your answers; choose the response that comes to mind first. • Respond as honestly as possible. Do not try to create a favorable impression; your answers should reflect your actual experience.

- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Always
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Always
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Always

These are 3 of the 21 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Victorian Gambling Screen (VGS) Test - Description and methodology of the test

addiction

gaming addiction

People who want to examine whether gambling is affecting control, money, emotions, or relationships can use the Victorian Gambling Screen (VGS) Test as a structured self-report profile. As a gambling problem screening test, it helps people reflect on both harmful consequences and the appeal of gambling. Its results organize these concerns into dimensions that can guide closer attention to current patterns.

What This Assessment Explores

The assessment looks beyond gambling frequency. Items cover urges, preoccupation, chasing losses, gambling to manage distress, concealment, guilt, unaffordable spending, borrowing, and effects on a partner. The Victorian Gambling Screen questionnaire captures both gambling's appeal and its visible personal or interpersonal consequences.

In practical terms, the displayed dimensions are:

Self-Harm Scale (0-15) measures personal financial, emotional, or social losses and control difficulty: Low impact 0-5; Moderate impact 6-10; High impact 11-15.
Partner Harm Scale (0-3) measures gambling's effect on a partner: Low harm 0-0; Some harm 1-2; High harm 3-3.
Gambling Enjoyment (0-3) measures positive emotion and satisfaction: Low pleasure 0-1; High pleasure 2-3.
Total Score (0-21) summarizes overall problems: Low / minimal issues 0-8; Moderate issues 9-14; High issues 15-21.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

The item format combines a five-point frequency response-Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, or Always-with partner-focused choices such as Yes, Partly, No, and No spouse/partner. This captures recurring experiences while allowing relationship questions to reflect whether a partner is relevant.

Online scoring aggregates responses into separate domain results and an overall score. The questionnaire does not state a per-answer weighting scheme, so the result should be read from the displayed outputs rather than reverse-engineered from the score ranges.

The domains are conceptually consistent with the published Victorian Gambling Screen (VGS), a gambling-problem screening instrument. Later validation work and clinical studies evaluated the instrument's reliability and validity. These studies support the source instrument's measurement framework, but they do not establish identical norms or administration conditions for this online presentation.

For interpretation, this gambling self-assessment is strongest when the pattern is considered alongside recent gambling behavior and context. Self-report can be influenced by memory, concealment, self-awareness, and current circumstances, so the profile should not be treated as a diagnosis.

Author: Alex Blaszczynski, Lia Nower

Literature:

Ben-Tovim, D. I., Esterman, A., Tolchard, B., and Battersby, M. W. The Victorian Gambling Screen: Project Report. Melbourne: Gambling Research Panel, 2001. ISBN 9780731114405.
Wenzel, M., McMillen, J., Marshall, D., and Ahmed, E. Validation of the Victorian Gambling Screen. Gambling Research Panel Report No. 7. Melbourne: Gambling Research Panel, 2004. ISBN 0975119168.
Tolchard, B., and Battersby, M. W. The Victorian Gambling Screen: Reliability and Validation in a Clinical Population. Journal of Gambling Studies, 26(4), 623-638, 2010. DOI 10.1007/s10899-009-9172-6.

Updated: 2025-10-02