The aim of the study was to indicate efficacy of various psychological therapies for pathological and problem gambling. The literature on psychotherapy of gambling (1983-2012) was reviewed and particular attention carried out to meta-analysis studies during the period in question. The definition and the place of pathological gambling in the international classifications of diseases DSM-IV and ICD-10, and the prevalence of this disorder was briefly explained. This article provides information about the therapeutic approaches applied for the treatment of the pathological gambling problem: Gamblers Anonymous groups, the psychodynamic approach, behavioral therapy, cognitive approach, cognitive-behavioral therapy, marriage and family therapy, motivational interviewing therapy, multimodal treatment. This review provides an assessment of the effectiveness of therapeutic approaches used to treat people suffering from addiction to gambling. The cognitive behavioral approach is currently rated as the most effective in the treatment of gambling addicts. A meta- analysis performed on the previous study of gambling psychotherapy are the source of two types of recommendations. The first recommendations relate to methodological rigour. The second recommendations set the following research problems e.g. finding a common factor of different therapeutic approaches, gender as a moderator or an issue of dual diagnosis in treating gamblers.