Responsible Gambling — Resources for Australian Players

Help is available right now

If you're worried about your gambling — or someone else's — there are several places to start. All are free, anonymous, and available 24/7.

You don't need to be "addicted" to call. If you're worried, that's enough. Calling early — when gambling is starting to feel uncomfortable — is much easier than calling once it's a crisis. The professionals at these services have heard everything; nothing you say will surprise them.

Signs gambling has become a problem

Problem gambling rarely arrives suddenly. It usually develops over months or years — and the early signs are often missed because they look like normal gambling. The shift from recreational to problematic is gradual, and frequently invisible to the person experiencing it.

Common patterns of problem gambling

• Spending more time or money than you intended. "Just one more spin" repeatedly becomes hours and hundreds of dollars.
• Chasing losses. Playing to win back what you've lost, rather than for enjoyment.
• Hiding gambling from family, friends, or partner. Lying about how much you played or how much you lost.
• Borrowing money to gamble. Credit cards, personal loans, payday loans, asking friends or family for money, taking money from joint accounts.
• Missing work, study, or family responsibilities because of gambling.
• Mood changes around gambling — irritable when you can't gamble, anxious when you do, depressed after losses.
• Thinking constantly about gambling even when not playing.
• Feeling unable to stop even when you want to.
• Gambling to escape stress, sadness, loneliness, or boredom rather than for entertainment.
• Increasing the stakes to get the same level of excitement that smaller stakes used to provide.

If three or more of these apply to you over the past three months, please call Gambler's Help on 1800 858 858. The conversation is free, anonymous, and the counsellor will not pressure you into any specific action.

BetStop — Australia's National Self-Exclusion Register

BetStop is the Australian federal government's national self-exclusion register, operated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). It launched on 21 August 2023.

What BetStop does

Registering on BetStop self-excludes you from all Australian-licensed online wagering services — including Sportsbet, TAB, Ladbrokes Australia, Bet365 Australia, PointsBet, Neds, BlueBet, and every other AU-licensed sports bookmaker and online lottery service.

How to register

1. Visit betstop.gov.au.
2. Click "Register".
3. Verify your identity using your driver's licence, passport, Medicare card, or other approved Australian ID.
4. Choose your exclusion period: 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, or lifetime.
5. Confirm.

The process takes about 10 minutes. There is no cost. The registration is confidential and is not visible to anyone other than the operators legally required to honour it.

How BetStop works behind the scenes

Once registered, your details are added to the national register. AU-licensed gambling operators check the register before opening any new account in your name, and before processing any new bet on existing accounts. If you're on BetStop, the operator legally cannot accept your wagers.

BetStop and offshore casinos

This is important and worth understanding. BetStop is legally enforceable against Australian-licensed gambling operators. The offshore online casinos we review (which are Curaçao-licensed, not Australian-licensed) are not within BetStop's direct legal scope.

In practice, however, every reputable offshore operator we've spoken to honours BetStop registrations voluntarily. The operators in our top-10 list link to BetStop from their account-settings page and accept BetStop confirmation as a reason to close an account permanently. If you're on BetStop and want to ensure offshore operators honour it, contact each operator individually to request exclusion-by-policy.

Lifting an exclusion early

Exclusions cannot be lifted early. Once you register, the period you chose runs to completion, regardless of any change of mind. This is a deliberate design feature — the friction of the cooling-off period is part of how BetStop helps.

After the chosen period ends, exclusion lifts automatically. You then have the option to register again if you wish.

BetStop is one tool among several

BetStop is the broad-scope choice. For something narrower (a single operator, a single product, a shorter time window), the operator-level tools (described below) may be more appropriate.

Operator-Level Responsible Gambling Tools

Every casino we recommend supports a complete suite of RG tools through their account settings. Use them. Set them before your first spin, not after.

Deposit limits

Cap how much you can deposit in a defined window (daily, weekly, monthly). Once you hit the cap, the cashier blocks further deposits until the window resets.

How to use it: in your account settings, find "Responsible Gambling" or "Deposit Limit." Choose an amount that genuinely fits your discretionary budget — not your "could-afford-if-everything-went-perfectly" budget.

Decreasing the limit is instant. Increasing the limit applies a cool-off period (typically 48–72 hours) — by design, so that you can't impulsively raise the limit mid-session.

Loss limits

Cap how much you can lose (rather than how much you can deposit). Once you've netted out a loss equal to the limit, the operator blocks further play until the window resets.

Loss limits are more directly tied to harm prevention than deposit limits because they cap your worst-case outcome.

Session timers

Set a timer (30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours) that prompts you when the session has run that long. The prompt asks if you want to continue or stop.

The point isn't the timer itself — it's the prompted moment to think clearly that the timer creates.

Reality checks

Recurring pop-ups (typically every 30 minutes during continuous play) that show your session length, net win/loss, and prompt you to continue or stop.

Time-outs

Self-imposed temporary account locks: 24 hours, 72 hours, 7 days, 30 days, 90 days. The account locks; you can't access it until the time-out period ends.

Time-outs are reversible after the period — they're a cool-off, not a permanent exclusion. Useful when you want to step back from a single operator without committing to BetStop-level finality.

Self-exclusion at the operator level

Single-operator permanent self-exclusion. Six months to indefinite, with full account closure. Different from BetStop in that it's operator-specific — you can self-exclude from Casino A while continuing to play at Casino B if you choose.

Setting Real Limits — A Practical Guide

Most operator limit-setting interfaces look the same. The hard part isn't using them; it's choosing the right numbers. Some guidance:

Calculate your gambling budget honestly

1. What's your monthly disposable income — what's left after rent/mortgage, bills, groceries, fuel, savings target, debt repayments, kids' costs, and standard discretionary spending?
2. What's the maximum of that discretionary budget you're comfortable losing entirely in a month? Not "lose if I get unlucky" — lose entirely, every dollar, no return. Because in a long-enough sample, that's the gambling outcome.
3. Halve that number. Your monthly deposit limit should be no more than half what you're comfortable losing entirely. Why halve it: because you'll occasionally lose more than your deposit (chase losses, second deposits, etc.), and you want a buffer.

Session limits

• Session length: 1–2 hours maximum at a single sitting. Set the session timer for the lower end of your tolerance.
• Daily loss limit: Your monthly deposit limit divided by, say, 8 — capping any single day's loss at one-eighth of your monthly budget.
• Daily deposit limit: Lower than your monthly limit by a factor of 7–10, so you can't burn the monthly budget in one bad day.

When you hit a limit

Limits are real signals, not arbitrary blocks to be worked around. When you hit a limit:

• Stop for the day. Don't try to raise the limit. Don't move to another operator.
• Don't chase. The single most common path from problem gambling to problem-gambling-with-consequences is "let me just win back what I lost."
• Wait the cool-off. If you want to raise a limit later, wait the full cool-off and reconsider with clear eyes.

State-by-State Gambler's Help — Australia

Gambling Help Online (1800 858 858) is the national entry point. The number routes to your state's local service. State-specific resources are also directly available:

New South Wales

• GambleAware NSW — gambleawarensw.org.au
• Phone: 1800 858 858

Victoria

• Gambler's Help Victoria — responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/getting-help
• Phone: 1800 858 858

Queensland

• Gambling Help Queensland — gamblinghelpqld.org.au
• Phone: 1800 858 858

Western Australia

• Gambling Help WA — phone 1800 858 858
• Local services through Centrecare and Anglicare

South Australia

• Statewide Gambling Therapy Service — phone 1800 858 858

Tasmania

• Tasmanian Gambling Help Service — phone 1800 858 858

Australian Capital Territory

• Gambling Help ACT — phone 1800 858 858
• Operated by Relationships Australia ACT

Northern Territory

• Amity Community Services — phone 1800 858 858
• Specifically resourced for the Northern Territory context

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Resources

Gambling-related harm in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities is shaped by specific historical, social, and cultural contexts. Culturally appropriate support recognises this.

13YARN

Phone: 13 92 76 — 13yarn.org.au

13YARN is a free, anonymous, 24/7 crisis support line. It is run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. While it's not specifically a gambling helpline, it is the right number to call if gambling stress is part of what you're dealing with and you want to speak with someone who shares your cultural context.

Gambling Help Online — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resources

Culturally adapted resources at gamblinghelponline.org.au.

Local community health services

Many Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) offer gambling counselling alongside other health and wellbeing services. NACCHO (National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation) at naccho.org.au lists member services across Australia.

Help for Family and Friends

If you're worried about someone else's gambling — partner, child, parent, friend — you also have options:

• Gambler's Help affected-others line: 1800 858 858 — Gambler's Help counsellors work with people affected by someone else's gambling, not just the gambler themselves.
• Gambling Help Online (chat): gamblinghelponline.org.au offers anonymous web chat as well as phone support.
• GAMBLERS Anonymous family groups (GAM-ANON): support groups for partners and families of gamblers.

Practical steps for family

• Don't enable. Don't lend money. Don't cover gambling debts. Don't bail out the gambler. This is hard but consistent with every evidence-based approach to harm reduction.
• Protect joint finances. Separate accounts. Review joint cards. Set a financial-stress safety net for yourself first.
• Don't accept blame. Problem gambling is not caused by anything you did or didn't do. It's a complex behavioural pattern with biological, psychological, and environmental components. The person gambling is responsible for the gambling.
• Stay connected. Isolation worsens problem gambling. Maintain the relationship, even if you need to set hard financial boundaries.

The Casino's Role — What We Require of Operators We List

Every casino on our top-10 list passes our RG-tooling check, which is criterion #10 of our editorial scorecard. To be ranked, the operator must offer:

• Working deposit limits (daily, weekly, monthly).
• Working loss limits.
• Working session timers.
• Working reality checks.
• Working time-outs (multiple duration options).
• Working permanent self-exclusion.
• Prominent BetStop link in account settings.
• 24/7 customer support that can apply any of the above immediately on request.

An operator that fails any of the above is not listed, regardless of bonus value.

We additionally check that operators don't game the RG framework — for example, by hiding limit-setting deep in a sub-menu, or by sending marketing emails to players who've recently set a loss limit. Operators that do this are flagged for removal.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I have a gambling problem? The most reliable shorthand is The DSM-5 Gambling Disorder criteria — nine behavioural patterns, of which four or more in the past 12 months indicates a likely problem. The patterns are similar to the list earlier on this page. The simpler self-test: if gambling is causing harm to your finances, relationships, work, or wellbeing — and you can't seem to stop the harm — call Gambler's Help. They'll work through the more detailed screening with you.

Can I get a refund of money I lost while having a gambling problem? Generally no. Australian gambling law treats wagers as legally binding contracts once placed. Operators are not required to refund losses, even where the gambling was harmful to the player. The rare exception is operators that fail to honour their own RG-tooling commitments (e.g. allowing deposits past a set deposit limit); in those cases, complaint via the licensing regulator may secure a refund.

Is BetStop confidential? Yes. Your BetStop registration is visible only to the AU-licensed operators legally required to honour it. It is not visible on your credit file, not visible to your employer, not visible to family unless you tell them.

Does registering on BetStop affect my credit score? No. BetStop is separate from any credit reporting system. Credit bureaus have no visibility of BetStop registrations.

Can I register on BetStop if I haven't gambled before? Yes. BetStop is open to any Australian adult — there's no requirement to have gambled before, or to have a gambling problem. Some people register pre-emptively as a behavioural safeguard.

What about gambling at offshore casinos while on BetStop? BetStop doesn't legally bind offshore operators. However: (a) the friction of the offshore-casino registration process and the (smaller) availability of casino-specific self-exclusion tools mean that BetStop registrants who try to play offshore still encounter meaningful barriers; (b) the offshore operators we recommend honour BetStop on request. If you're on BetStop and you want full coverage, request operator-level self-exclusion at each offshore casino you have or might have an account at.

Can my family put me on BetStop? No. BetStop requires the registrant's own identity-verification. A family member cannot register you against your will. (They can, however, encourage you to register, and can offer practical and emotional support while you do.)

I'm not a problem gambler but I'd like to set limits anyway. Where do I start? At the operator level. Open your account at any of the casinos we recommend, go to "Responsible Gambling" or "Account Settings," and set deposit limits and session timers in line with the practical-guide section above. Most operators allow this from day one; you don't need any sign of problem play to set limits.

A note from the editorial team

We make money when readers click affiliate links to the casinos we review. The same operators we earn commission from also fund part of what would otherwise be lost-to-gambling-harm in Australia — gambling is, by design, a negative-expectation activity for the player.

We've thought hard about how to write a casino review site that doesn't pretend this tension doesn't exist. The answer we've landed on:

• Be honest about risk. Every gambling page on this Site links here. The risks are not hidden in fine print.
• Be honest about the math. Where bonuses or game odds are punishing, we say so. Where wagering math costs the player more than the bonus gives, we work through the numbers.
• Be useful for harm reduction. This page is structured to be helpful to a player who's worried, not just to satisfy an SEO checklist.
• Be careful about who we list. Operators that game the RG framework don't appear in our rankings. We've removed operators for this reason.

If you have feedback on this approach — or on anything else on the Site — email us at [email protected]. We read every message.

Related

• BetStop self-exclusion guide →
• Gambler's Help by state →
• Self-exclusion explained →
• Setting deposit limits →
• 13YARN and Indigenous support →
• Lifeline and Beyond Blue resources →
• About us →
• Editorial process →

Last updated: 9 June 2026 · By Catherine Hartley · Reviewed by Daniel Marshall

You're not alone. Help is available right now. 1800 858 858 — free, anonymous, 24/7.