Gambling is entertainment, and it stops being that when it costs more than you decided to spend or takes more time than you meant to give it. This page covers the controls available in your account, how to recognise when something has shifted, and where to get free confidential help in Australia. Using any of these is ordinary and sensible, not an admission of anything.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Every game on every platform is built with a mathematical house edge. A pokie with 96% RTP is designed to retain 4% of everything wagered through it over the long run. That's not a flaw or a temporary run of luck — it's how the product works.
What follows from that is simple: the longer you play, the more likely you are to be behind. No strategy, bet size, time of day or game selection changes it. Anyone telling you otherwise is selling something.
This matters because it reframes what a session is. If you're playing for entertainment, the money you spend is the cost of that entertainment, the same as a night out. If you're playing to make money or to recover a loss, the maths is working against you and will keep working against you.
These are in your account settings. All of them take a couple of minutes to set and none of them require explaining yourself to anyone.
A cap on how much you can deposit over a set period — daily, weekly or monthly. Once reached, further deposits are blocked until the period resets.
This is the most useful tool for most people, because it works at the point where money enters rather than relying on willpower mid-session. Set it when you're calm, not when you're up or down.
A notification showing how long you've been playing. Time passes strangely during a session, and an hour can feel like twenty minutes. A reminder interrupts that, which is often enough to prompt a decision you'd otherwise not make.
A short break from your account — typically anywhere from a day to several weeks. Your account is locked for the duration and reopens automatically afterward.
Useful when you want to step back without making a permanent decision: after a bad session, during a stressful period, or simply when playing has started to feel compulsory rather than enjoyable.
A longer or permanent closure of your account. Unlike a cool-off, self-exclusion is not designed to be reversed on request — that's the entire point, and it's what makes it work when nothing else has.
If you're considering it, that consideration is itself worth taking seriously. People rarely arrive at this option casually.
To set any of these up: open your account settings and look for the responsible gambling or account limits section. If you can't find an option or it isn't working, contact support and ask directly — this is a routine request and you don't need to give a reason.
These aren't a diagnosis. They're patterns that commonly show up before things get difficult, and noticing one early is much easier than dealing with where it leads.
If several of these are familiar, the helplines below are free, confidential, and used by a lot of people who wouldn't describe themselves as having a problem.
All of these are free and confidential. None of them require you to have hit a crisis point.
1800 858 858 — 24 hours, 7 days
Phone, online chat and email counselling, available Australia-wide. Also offers support for family members and friends.
13 11 14 — 24 hours, 7 days
Crisis support and suicide prevention for anyone in Australia going through a difficult time.
Australia's National Self-Exclusion Register
A free service that lets you exclude yourself from all licensed Australian online and phone wagering providers at once, for a period you choose.
0800 654 655 — Gambling Helpline
Free, confidential support for New Zealand residents, available 24 hours.
Gambling harm affects the people around it too, and support exists for family and friends as well as for the person gambling.
Gambling is strictly for adults aged 18 and over. Identity verification exists partly to confirm this, and accounts that can't be verified as belonging to an adult cannot be used.
If children have access to your devices, keep your login credentials private and consider parental control software. Family filtering tools such as Net Nanny and Qustodio can block gambling sites at the device level.
Open your account settings and look for the responsible gambling or account limits section. You can usually choose a daily, weekly or monthly cap. If you can't find the option, ask support directly — it's a routine request and no explanation is needed.
Lowering a limit usually applies immediately. Raising one typically involves a waiting period, so that a decision made in a difficult moment can't take effect straight away. That delay is the point of the tool.
A cool-off is a short break — days to weeks — after which your account reopens automatically. Self-exclusion is longer or permanent and is not designed to be reversed on request. Cool-off is for stepping back; self-exclusion is for stopping.
Account limits are part of your own settings. Setting one is an ordinary thing to do and doesn't require explaining yourself to anyone.
Australia's National Self-Exclusion Register. It's a free government service that lets you exclude yourself from all licensed Australian online and phone wagering providers at once, rather than account by account, for a period you choose.
Gambling Help Online is a confidential service and you don't have to give your name. Their counsellors talk to a wide range of people, including many who wouldn't say they have a problem but want to think something through.
Yes. Gambling Help Online supports family members and friends as well as people who gamble, on the same number. You don't need the other person's involvement or permission to call.
18. Identity verification exists partly to confirm this. Accounts that can't be verified as belonging to an adult cannot be used.