Responsible Gaming

The five tools in your account

All of them are free, none of them affect your balance, and you do not need to explain yourself to anyone to use them. One rule applies across the lot: a limit takes effect immediately when you tighten it, and only after a waiting period when you loosen it. That gap exists so a decision made calmly cannot be undone in a moment of frustration.

A limit is not a target. Setting a $200 weekly deposit limit is not a plan to spend $200 every week. It is a ceiling you have decided not to pass.

Setting a limit, step by step

1. Sign in and open Account → Responsible gaming.
2. Pick the tool you want: deposit limit, loss limit or session reminder.
3. Choose the period — daily, weekly or monthly — and enter the figure. Use money you could lose entirely without it changing your week.
4. Confirm. A tighter limit is live the moment you save it.
5. If you later raise it, the new figure sits in a 24-hour queue. You can cancel it at any point before it takes effect.

If a limit is not holding — you keep raising it, or you find yourself counting down the 24 hours — that is information worth acting on. Take a cool-off instead and call 1800 858 858.

Signs worth taking seriously

Harm rarely arrives all at once. It usually shows up first as a change in the small habits around play. Any one of these on its own may mean little; two or three together are worth pausing over.

• Chasing. Depositing again straight after a loss to win it back.
• Borrowed money. Playing with funds meant for rent, bills, groceries or repayments — or with credit.
• Secrecy. Hiding how long or how much you play from the people you live with.
• Time slipping. Sessions running far longer than you intended, night after night.
• Relief, not fun. Playing to escape stress, boredom, loneliness or grief rather than to enjoy it.
• Rising stakes. Needing bigger bets to feel the same interest.
• Missed things. Work, study, sleep or family time dropping down the list.
• Guilt afterwards. Regret that arrives every time, and that you promise to fix next time.

Four honest questions

Answer them for yourself, not for anyone else. There is no score at the end, and we do not see the answers.

• Have you ever felt you should cut down on how much you gamble?
• Have people close to you been annoyed or worried about your gambling?
• Have you ever felt guilty about the way you gamble, or about what happens when you do?
• Have you ever gambled first thing in the day, or to settle your nerves?

If you answered yes to any of them, a free conversation with a counsellor costs you nothing and commits you to nothing. Gambling Help Online: 1800 858 858.

Taking yourself out of play

There are four layers, and they stack. Use as many as you need.

1. With us

Ask for a cool-off or self-exclusion through live chat, or set it yourself in account settings. It applies the moment it is confirmed, we stop sending you marketing, and we do not accept a new account from you during the term. Any withdrawable balance stays yours and can be paid out.

2. With BetStop

Register once at betstop.gov.au with your name, date of birth and identity details, choose a term from three months to lifetime, and every licensed Australian online wagering operator is closed to you for that period. Registration is free and takes a few minutes.

3. With your bank

Most Australian banks can block gambling transactions on a debit or credit card from inside their app, often with a delay before the block can be removed. Ask your bank what they offer — it is one of the most effective steps available, because it works no matter which site you land on.

4. On your devices

Blocking software such as Gamban or the free BetBlocker covers phones, tablets and computers. Install it on every device you use, not only the one you play on most.

How the maths actually works

The average return to player across our catalogue is 96.3%. That figure is measured over millions of spins, not over your evening. It describes what a game returns across its entire lifetime; a single session can land far above it or far below it, and both are ordinary.

Three things follow from that, and they are true of every licensed casino, ours included:

• Each result is independent. A slot that has paid nothing for an hour is no more "due" than one that just paid. The random number generator has no memory, and it is tested by an independent laboratory precisely so that it does not.
• Betting systems do not change the odds. Doubling after a loss changes how quickly you run out of money, not the maths underneath.
• Over enough time, the house edge shows up. That is the deal, and it is why the money you play with should be money you were happy to spend on an evening out.

Nobody under 18

Australian law and our Malta Gaming Authority licence both put the floor at 18. We verify identity and age before a first withdrawal, and earlier if anything about an account does not add up. An account opened by a minor is closed, any winnings are voided and deposits are returned.

If children use your devices, keep your password out of the browser, sign out when you finish, and consider parental controls — Family Link on Android, Screen Time on iOS, or filtering software such as Net Nanny or Qustodio. If you believe a minor has used your account, tell us immediately through our contact page.

If it is someone else's gambling

Living with somebody else's gambling is its own kind of hard, and the services above are for you as well — you do not need the person gambling to agree, or even to know, before you call.

• Look after the practical side first: separate accounts, protect essential money, and speak to the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 if bills are slipping.
• Gam-Anon and Relationships Australia (1300 364 277) run support for families and partners.
• If you hold the account details of someone at risk, ask us to close the account. We will act on a credible request from a family member.

What we do at our end

• We build the five tools above into every account and never charge for them.
• We verify age and identity, and we do not market to anyone who has excluded themselves.
• Our staff are trained to recognise the patterns on this page and to raise them with players directly.
• We do not offer credit, and we do not lend money to fund play.
• We report on player-protection measures to the Malta Gaming Authority as our licence requires.

If you think we have fallen short of any of that, write to us — the fastest route is our contact page, and the complaints route is set out in our terms.