Staying in control

Set your limits before you play

Decide what you can afford to lose before you open a game, and treat that amount as spent. A deposit limit set in advance is easier to keep than a decision made mid-session, when the urge to continue is strongest. Our partner's cashier lets you set a deposit limit, and it is worth doing that before your first deposit rather than after a losing run.

Session limits work the same way. Choose a length of time before you start and stop when it ends, whether you are ahead or behind. A return figure published for any game is a long-run average across many plays; it says nothing about what a single session will do. No limit changes the odds, but it does keep a session inside the money and time you have already decided to spend.

How loss chasing tends to appear

Chasing losses is the pattern of increasing stakes or depositing again to win back money already lost. It often feels like a plan at the time, but it turns a session you could afford into one you cannot. Signs include depositing more than you intended, playing past a limit you set, and telling yourself one more round will fix the result.

If you notice any of that, stop and step away rather than adjusting the limit upward. The long-run average does not move in your favour because you have lost, and there is no strategy that recovers a loss reliably. A break, or closing the session entirely, is the only move that keeps the decision in your hands.

Support services and contacts across Australia

Gambling Help Online offers free and confidential support, including chat and counselling, for anyone affected by gambling. BetStop is the national self-exclusion register, and joining it blocks you from gambling with registered operators for the period you choose; it is worth considering if limits alone have not held. Under-18s cannot use gambling services, and age verification applies.

If gambling is affecting your money, relationships or mood, talk to a GP or a counsellor as well as using the services listed here. Help is not only for people in crisis, and asking early is easier than waiting until debts or other problems have built up. Treat any return-to-play as a decision to make only after that support, not during a session.

Can I change my deposit limit after I set it?

Limits are usually easier to tighten than to loosen, and any increase may take effect only after a delay. That delay exists to protect you from a decision made mid-session, so set the limit at a level you are comfortable keeping.

Is joining BetStop the same as closing my account?

BetStop is a national self-exclusion register that blocks you from gambling with registered operators, rather than a single account closure. It is a stronger step than a limit, and it is worth using if limits have not been enough on their own.