Responsible Gaming

Free help, available right now

If gambling has stopped being fun, these services are free, confidential and staffed by people who deal with this every day. You do not need to be in crisis to call, and you do not have to give your name.

Signs worth taking seriously

Problem gambling rarely announces itself. It usually shows up first as a change in behaviour around money and time. Any one of these on its own means little; two or three together are worth acting on.

• Depositing more than you planned, more often than you planned.
• Playing to win back what you lost rather than because you wanted to play.
• Borrowing, selling things, or using bill money to fund a session.
• Hiding how much you play, or how much you have lost, from people close to you.
• Sessions that keep running past the point where you stopped enjoying them.
• Feeling restless, irritable or flat on days when you do not play.
• Missing work, sleep, or commitments because of gambling.

If you recognised yourself in that list, the number at the top of this page is the fastest thing you can do about it. Talking to someone costs nothing and commits you to nothing.

Controls you can switch on

Every tool below is available from inside your account and takes effect straight away. Tightening a limit is instant; loosening one takes a cooling-off period, deliberately.

A limit set in advance is worth far more than one set in the middle of a bad night. Decide the number when you are calm.

Excluding yourself properly

Self-exclusion on a single site helps; the national register helps more, because it covers every licensed Australian online operator at once.

1. Go to betstop.gov.au and register with your name, date of birth and contact details.
2. Choose a minimum term — three months, six months, a year, or lifetime. A term cannot be shortened once it starts.
3. Operators are required to close your accounts and stop marketing to you within the deadlines set by the register.
4. Ask a bank to block gambling transactions on your cards as well; most Australian banks now offer this in-app.
5. Consider blocking software such as Gamban on every device you own, not just the one you play on.

Keeping under-18s out

You must be 18 or over to hold an account. We verify age at registration and again before a first withdrawal, and an account found to belong to a minor is closed with deposits returned and winnings void.

If children use the same device, do not save your password in the browser, sign out at the end of a session, and set up parental controls. Filtering tools such as Net Nanny, Qustodio and the family settings built into iOS and Android all block gambling categories by default.

Habits that keep it entertainment

• Decide the amount before you start, and treat it as the price of an evening out — money already spent.
• Never deposit money you have earmarked for something else.
• Set a clock, not a target. "One more hour" is a plan; "until I am even" is not.
• Do not play when you are tired, upset, or drinking.
• Take the wins out. A withdrawal that reaches your bank is real; a balance is not.
• Keep other things in the week that you look forward to.

None of this is complicated. It is just much easier to follow when you decide it in advance.

Where to find ongoing support

Support is also available for the people around a gambler. If you are worried about somebody else, the helpline on this page will talk to you too.