Free, confidential gambling help is available in Australia right now, including if you are worried about someone else. Call the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858, any hour of the day.
You do not need to have lost a specific amount, hit a rock bottom, or explain yourself well to use it. The people on that line talk to gamblers, partners, parents and friends every day, and the call costs nothing.
Talk to someone who does this for a living
Gambling Help Online offers free chat and email counselling if a phone call feels like too much. Both services are confidential, and neither will try to sell you anything.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 000. For a personal crisis or suicidal thoughts, Lifeline is on 13 11 14, 24 hours a day.
Five things that actually help, in order
- Stop the bleeding first. Remove saved cards from gambling sites and delete the apps. Chasing losses is the single most reliable way to make them bigger.
- Put a block between you and the money. Ask your bank about gambling transaction blocks, and check exactly what the block covers before relying on it.
- Register for self-exclusion if your gambling is with licensed Australian wagering providers. Details below.
- Tell one person. Secrecy is what keeps a gambling problem running. One person who knows is enough to start.
- Deal with the debt separately. A free financial counsellor can rank debts and talk to creditors. Gambling help services can refer you.
Self-exclusion and what it does not cover
BetStop is Australia’s National Self-Exclusion Register. Registration is free, and the exclusion period runs from three months up to a lifetime, covering all Australian-licensed online and phone wagering providers.
Be clear about the limit: BetStop covers licensed wagering. It does not cover online casino services, and it does not cover physical venues, which run their own exclusion schemes. If you need broader coverage, ask Gambling Help Online what else applies to your situation rather than assuming one registration closes every door.
If you are the one watching
You cannot control someone else’s gambling, and trying to monitor it usually damages the relationship before it changes the behaviour. What helps is being specific about the money and the household: shared accounts, direct debits, rent and bills that are now at risk. A support service will talk to family members directly and can help you decide what to say.
Where to read next
Australian online gambling law explains what is permitted here and why an offshore casino sits outside it. Online gambling scams covers the fraud patterns that take money even from people who were never gambling heavily. How pokies work explains why the games cannot be beaten by timing or patterns.
This page is general information and does not provide medical or legal advice. If you need urgent help, call the numbers above rather than reading further.