Responsible gambling: where to get help, and how to block yourself from every bookie

Talk to someone

• Gambling Help Online: call 1800 858 858, or chat and email at gamblinghelponline.org.au. Free, professional and confidential, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Lifeline: 13 11 14, 24-hour crisis support.

Your state or territory also runs its own gambling help service; Gambling Help Online will point you to the one near you.

Block yourself: BetStop

BetStop is the national self-exclusion register, run for the Australian Government. Registering takes about five minutes at betstop.gov.au and blocks you from every licensed Australian online and phone bookie, for anywhere from three months to life. Licensed bookies must check the register, close your account and stop sending you marketing.

BetStop covers licensed bookies. It doesn't cover offshore casino sites, which aren't licensed in Australia in the first place.

Limits you can set today

• Set a deposit limit in your bookie account, weekly or monthly, before you bet rather than after.
• Decide a weekly amount you're comfortable losing, and stop when it's gone.
• Turn off marketing emails and app notifications from bookies.
• Take a break from the apps between rounds.

Signs it's worth a call

• Betting more to win back what you've lost.
• Borrowing money, or using money meant for bills, to bet.
• Feeling anxious or low about betting, or hiding it from people close to you.

Any one of these is reason enough to call 1800 858 858. You don't need to be in crisis to talk to someone.

This site is for people aged 18 and over. Tips here are one punter's opinion and never a promise of any result.