Deposit limits
A cap per day, week or month, set in your account settings. Lowering applies immediately; raising carries a cooling-off delay.
Section
Staying in Control of It
The tools that work are the ones set before they are needed. This page covers what is in the account, what is available outside it, and the questions worth answering honestly.
- Gambling Help Online
- 1800 858 858
- Lifeline
- 13 11 14
- National Debt Helpline
- 1800 007 007
- Age limit
- 18+
Set the limit while it costs nothing
Every control here is trivial to set on a quiet afternoon and close to impossible to set in the middle of a losing session. That asymmetry is the whole reason limits work, and it is why the right moment is before the first deposit rather than after the tenth.
A deposit limit is the most effective single tool. It caps what can enter the account regardless of what you decide later, reductions apply immediately, and increases carry a waiting period. The delay is deliberate and it is the part that does the work.
What the account offers
Reality checks
A periodic reminder of session length. Easy to dismiss, but it breaks the flow state that turns an hour into three.
Cooling-off
A short break, typically days or weeks, after which the account reopens automatically.
Self-exclusion
A longer or permanent closure that support cannot lift early and that a new account will not circumvent.
Controls outside the casino
These matter because they do not depend on the operator and are harder to undo in the moment.
- Bank gambling blocks. most Australian banking apps offer one, usually with a mandatory delay before it can be switched off again.
- Operating system limits. Screen Time on iOS and Digital Wellbeing on Android can cap time on a specific site behind a passcode.
- Cash-only deposits. Neosurf vouchers mean depositing requires leaving the house, which is a genuine and effective limit.
- BetStop. Australia’s national self-exclusion register. It covers licensed Australian operators rather than offshore sites, but it is worth knowing about.
- Deleting the home screen shortcut. restores the friction that installing it removed.
- Telling someone. the most effective control, and the one people use last.
The questions worth answering honestly
Nobody sets out for gambling to become a problem. It moves gradually, and the useful signals are behavioural rather than financial.
Have you deposited again to win back a loss? Played longer than intended, more than once? Been vague about what you spend when asked directly? Used money set aside for something else? Thought about the next session while doing something unrelated? Felt anger rather than disappointment at a loss?
One yes is worth noticing. Several is worth acting on. None of these questions ask about amounts, because the amount is not what defines the problem.
Free help in Australia
All confidential, all free, and none require you to have decided anything in advance.
| Service | Contact | What it offers |
|---|---|---|
| Gambling Help Online | 1800 858 858, gamblinghelponline.org.au | 24/7 phone, chat and email counselling |
| Lifeline | 13 11 14 | 24/7 crisis support |
| Beyond Blue | 1300 22 4636 | Anxiety and depression support, which often accompanies gambling harm |
| National Debt Helpline | 1800 007 007 | Free independent financial counselling |
| BetStop | betstop.gov.au | National self-exclusion register for licensed Australian operators |
| Your GP | Local | Referral into subsidised psychological support |
If it is someone else
Gambling Help Online supports family and friends as well as gamblers, and you do not need the person’s agreement to call.
Useful: naming the behaviour rather than the person, declining to cover debts, resisting the urge to supervise. Counterproductive: ultimatums, and reading a relapse as proof the whole effort failed.
Free financial counselling through the National Debt Helpline is often more immediately useful than anything else on this list, because it addresses the consequence while the rest addresses the cause.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I set a deposit limit?
In your account settings. Reductions take effect immediately, while increases carry a delay so a limit cannot be raised on impulse.
- Can a self-exclusion be reversed?
Not early. Support cannot shorten it, and opening a second account to bypass it results in that account being closed.
- Does BetStop cover this casino?
No. BetStop applies to licensed Australian operators. Offshore sites sit outside it, so pair the casino’s own exclusion with a block set at your bank.
- Where can I get free help?
Gambling Help Online on 1800 858 858 offers free confidential counselling 24 hours a day by phone, chat or email.
- What is a bank gambling block?
A setting in most Australian banking apps that blocks payments to gambling merchants, usually with a delay before it can be turned off again.
- How do I know if it is a problem?
The signals are behavioural: chasing losses, playing longer than planned, hiding spending, borrowing to play. The amount involved is not the measure.