Banning yourself from online gambling

Online gambling is gambling you do on your phone or computer. Apps and websites allow you to bet on horses or sports and play casino games and pokies.

Some people gamble without problems. Others find gambling leads to money worries, arguments at home and stress.

If you are having problems with online gambling, there are things you can do to stop playing so much or even ban yourself from playing altogether.

Many online betting providers have ways to help you reduce your gambling.

• Deposit limits – limit how much money you can put into your account.
• Take a break – turn off your account for short periods.
• Permanent closure – close your account and ask the provider not to contact you again.
• Account statement – get a record of how much money you are spending.
• Set maximum bet – agree to limit on how much money you can spend on an individual bet.

Each gambling site or app is slightly different.

There are two ways to ban yourself from gambling online:

1. Ban yourself

• Go to the settings on your account or app
• Look for something like ‘manage this account’ or ‘responsible gambling’
• Choose the option/s that best suit you.

2. Ask the online gambling provider to help you

• Contact the provider by email, online chat or phone and ask them to help you ban/exclude yourself from the site.

You can stop receiving online gambling ads. Have a look in the settings in your betting account or app for something called alerts or messages. Choose ‘no messages or notifications’.

Banks can help you to limit how much you spend on online gambling. You can ask them to:

• stop you from using your credit or debit card to gamble
• help you put in place a plan for managing financial problems or payments.

Talk to your bank to see how they can assist you and/or have a look on their website for this information before contacting them.

If you are not comfortable contacting the bank yourself, you can ask a financial counsellor to assist you – call 1800 858 858 for free, confidential advice and assistance.

Gambling websites or apps based overseas are not allowed to operate in Australia, but some do.

To block these sites or apps:

• try to cancel your account
• stop payments to the account from your bank or credit/debit card
• install software filtering products that block access to international gambling websites
• install ad blockers that help stop ads and pop-up promotions.Information about software filtering and ad blockers is available at self-exclusion.