Responsible Gambling Tools and Practices for New Zealand
Problem gambling can affect anyone. Online casinos are available at almost any time, which can make it harder for some players to keep gambling within safe limits. In New Zealand, gambling should be treated as paid entertainment, not as a way to make money.
Responsible gambling is the shared work of casinos, regulators, support services, and players. Its goal is to reduce gambling harm and help players stay in control. This includes tools such as deposit limits, time-outs, self-exclusion, safer marketing rules, and access to support.
Responsible gambling support for New Zealand
Some countries have national self-exclusion systems for licensed gambling sites. However, NZ players can use local gambling harm services, land-based venue exclusion, and blocking tools.
New Zealand problem gambling helplines and organisations
If gambling is causing stress, debt, secrecy, or harm, free support is available in New Zealand.
Here are the main organisations you can contact:
PGF Services / Problem Gambling Foundation
- Freephone – 0800 664 262
- Text – 5819
- Email – help@pgf.nz
- Other – Live chat at pgf.nz
- Location – Main offices are in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. Other satellite offices are around the country. Video calls if there is no office available.
- Website – https://www.pgf.nz/
Safer Gambling Aotearoa / Gambling Helpline Aotearoa
- Freephone – 0800 654 655
- Text – 8006
- Other – Live chat at gamblinghelpline.co.nz
- Location – Nationwide, local services organised by region.
- Website – https://www.safergambling.org.nz/
Note: Smaller and local problem gambling charities can be found at this site.
These services can help players and their friends and family understand gambling harm. They can also help set safer limits, arrange self-exclusion from venues, and find counselling or debt support. Blocking tools and casino limits can help, but they are not a replacement for professional support when gambling feels hard to control.
Self-exclusion schemes outside of NZ
NZ players at online casinos outside of the country can use these systems. They’re available until the new NZ online casino framework comes into effect, at which point offshore casinos will not be able to accept NZ players.
- GAMSTOP is the UK’s national online self-exclusion scheme. It applies to gambling sites licensed in Great Britain.
- Malta Gaming Authority tools apply to casinos licensed in Malta, and can be applied for at the MGA website.
For localised New Zealand support, contact Gambling Helpline, Safer Gambling Aotearoa, or a local gambling harm service.
Responsible gambling limits and settings
To enable players to gamble responsibly and comply with regulations, online casinos generally offer multiple responsible gambling options you can activate.
In most cases, these options are offered by each casino on a per-site basis, so the responsible gambling options you choose at one casino will apply to that casino only.
However, some casinosoffer group-wide responsible gambling options, which means limits and blocks apply to all related sites.
Self-exclusion
If you want to stop playing completely for a certain period of time, most casinos allow you to self-exclude from playing. During self-exclusion, the casino should block you from playing until the chosen period ends.
The available time periods generally differ from one casino to another, but these are the most common options:
- 12 hours
- 1 day
- 1 week
- 1 month
- 6 months
- Indefinitely
To self-exclude from playing, locate the responsible gambling section at your online casino, find the self-exclusion option, select your desired time period, and then turn it on. You will not be allowed to play during the self-exclusion period, even if you contact customer support and ask them to let you play.
In New Zealand, land-based casino and pokies venues can use exclusion orders. These orders can stop a person from entering gambling areas at one or more venues. Multi-Venue Exclusion can help players exclude from several venues without visiting each one. This is designed for land-based gambling, not online casinos.
Additionally, online casinos will stop sending marketing information to players during their self-exclusion period. This is a regulatory requirement, and casinos can be hit with heavy fines, or even lose their licence, if they do so.
Permanent self-exclusion is also possible and will mean that your account cannot be reactivated. You will often be unable to register at other casinos under the same regulator, too, so be sure to check what the limits are with customer support to ensure you’re protected.
Deposit limits
It's possible to establish a deposit limit that will help you control how much you spend on gambling, by allowing you to deposit only a certain amount of money over a selected period of time.
You can generally choose from the following times for the deposit limit to reset:
- 1 day
- 1 week
- 1 month
Other casinos apply a daily limit for any continuous 24-hour period.
When you wish to set a deposit limit, this gets applied instantly. The same happens if you wish to lower it. However, to increase your limit, there is generally a cooling-off period. This could be anywhere from 24 hours to 7 days, and you can cancel the increase request at any time.
Note: A cooling-off period is the amount of time a player has to wait until a new limit is put in place. A request to raise a limit can be cancelled at any point during the cooling-off period.
Loss limits
Some casinos let you set a loss limit. This limits how much you can lose over a set period, such as one day, one week, or one month. Once you hit this loss limit, gameplay will stop, to prevent you from losing more than you’re comfortable with.
The loss limit is usually a net loss limit, which takes into account how much you've played over your set period as well as how much you've won from your bets. So as a result, if you set a net loss limit of $100 for a week and then win $50, you could still lose $150 in total bets that week before the limit kicks in, because the $50 win offsets some of the losses.
Wagering limits
The wagering limit controls how much you can bet during a certain period of time. The results you achieve when playing (winning or losing money) don't influence the wagering limit in any way.
If you set up a daily wagering limit of $100 and play pokies at $1 per spin, you will be allowed to play 100 spins, regardless of the results. It doesn't matter if you end up with a $100 loss, or even $1,000 in wins, once you place bets worth $100, you will not be allowed to play any more. You have to wait until the selected time period expires before you can place another bet.
Session length limits
Some casinos offer session length limits. These let you choose how long you can play within a set period. After reaching the limit, you will not be allowed to gamble until the predetermined time period expires. Some casinos will automatically log you out, while others will simply stop you from betting.
A session length limit of one hour per day means that after gambling for 60 minutes, you will not be able to play again until the day has ended.
Some casinos don’t set hard time limits, but will instead use reality checks, such as a popup after a certain period of time with a reminder of the time you have played and the amount you have lost.
Bet size limits
A bet size limit lets you set the highest amount you can stake on one round, spin, or hand. This can help reduce the risk of placing larger bets after a loss, and to keep your gameplay sensible.
Introducing a bet size limit could help you to avoid chasing losses. Bet limits are a great complementary tool to go along with deposit, loss, and time limits.
Reality checks
A reality check gives you information about your gambling session after you've been playing for a certain amount of time.
A reality check usually contains the following two pieces of information:
- How much time has passed since you started playing
- How much money you have won or lost since you started playing
Additionally, a reality check generally gives you an option to continue playing or log out from the casino. An option to view gambling history is often present as well, to check gambling history.
A reality check might look something like the example below.
You've been playing for 2 hours. During this time, you've lost $43.80.
Continue playing – Log out – Gambling history
Reality checks may not be enough for players who are already experiencing gambling harm. Seeing losses on screen may even trigger an urge to keep playing. If this happens, stronger tools such as self-exclusion, blocking software, or support from a problem gambling service should be used as soon as possible.
Opting out of marketing messages
Many casinos allow their players to opt out of receiving marketing communication to prevent casinos from sending them promotional emails and messages, or other promotional info.
You can generally choose which forms of communication you prefer, including if you don’t want to receive anything at all.
Note: It is important to keep in mind the casino can still send you important emails related to your account even if you opted out, but not marketing or promotional material.
Account closure
Completely closing your casino account is another method to avoid playing, but it’s not perfect.
All casinos should give you an option to completely close your account, usually by contacting support. This will either be part of self-exclusion options, or a separate "close account" option. The main difference is that closing your account means you can reopen it, but self-excluding permanently will lock it and stop you from opening another one.
As a responsible gambling practice, self-exclusion works much better as it provides a block which can’t be avoided.
Responsible gambling and related casinos
There are many groups of casinos that share the same owner, management, or are related in some other way such as operating under the same regulator.
When a player wants to apply one of the responsible gambling options in a casino that's a part of a bigger group, the selected option is sometimes applied to all casinos within that group.
What can we learn from all of this? It is not possible to give a general recommendation for every site, as each casino handles this situation differently, but you should always be aware that:
- Casinos do not always operate individually. Many of them are part of a bigger group of casinos.
- Application of a responsible gambling option in one casino could also apply to other casinos from the same group.
- You might not be aware of this relationship upon registration, so be sure to check the terms and conditions.
Apps and tools for online access
Apart from using responsible gambling options offered by individual casinos, or taking advantage of country-level programmes, there are a number of tools dedicated to helping players limit their access to gambling.
There are apps and tools dedicated to helping players avoid gambling websites or advertisements, in addition to apps which are good for general online content control.
Most of the tools in this section work in one of two ways (or a combination of the two):
- Blocking specific domains – Some tools use their own database of online casinos and online gambling operators which they block. They also usually let players find responsible gambling tools.
- Keyword-based filters – These work by blocking anything that contains words such as "gambling", "bet" or "casino", for example. The only downside is that these tools can also be pretty obtrusive, by blocking websites that have nothing to do with gambling but contain one of the gambling-related keywords.
Here are a couple of common internet control tools.
- BetBlocker – domain-level blocking, free for unlimited devices, available for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android, also has parental control functionality
- Gamban – domain-level blocking, $11.99 monthly, $69.99 annually. Available for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android
- Net Nanny – keyword-based filtering, parental control, yearly subscriptions of $39.99 (one device), $59.99 (five devices) or $89.99 (ten devices), available for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android
Note: It is important to protect all of your devices. If a single phone or computer does not have a blocker, it is extremely easy to pick up an unprotected device and start playing again.
Other responsible gambling principles
Responsible gambling is not only about tools and features that can be used by players to gamble more responsibly, but also the approach of gambling operators, game providers, and regulators:
- Underage gambling prevention – Gambling is for adults only. In New Zealand, casino gambling is restricted to people aged 18 and over. Casinos should verify a player’s age and identity before allowing them to gamble. The new online casino framework also includes age and identity checks as part of consumer protection requirements.
- Protection of vulnerable players – This is done by offering limits and tools, but also by offering support and resources to problem gamblers.
- Keeping player information safe – Online casinos collect a lot of information about their customers, including sensitive personal details. Casinos should implement up-to-date security measures to help them keep this information safe.
- Fast and reliable payments – Payments are also a big part of responsible gambling. Online casinos should make sure that withdrawals are processed without any unnecessary delays.
- Fair gameplay – Fair gambling covers many things such as games with fair RTPs (Return to Player percentage – the percentage a player could potentially get back if playing over an infinite number of games), ensuring that winnings are paid out to players, fair clauses within the terms and conditions, and more.
- Responsible marketing – Gambling operators shouldn't target minors or vulnerable players through their advertisements, or misrepresent gambling as a guaranteed win.
- Anti-money laundering procedures – Casinos must have checks in place to reduce financial crime, including money laundering. This is one reason casinos may ask players to verify their identity, payment method, and source of funds.
Our approach to responsible gambling
We believe gambling should be fair and safe. We have several in-house tools to help, including our Global Self Exclusion Tool, as well as questionnaires and assessments to help you assess and take control of your gambling. But what else does this mean, when picking a casino to play at?
When casinos don't try to trick their players, their terms and conditions contain fair clauses, bonuses have reasonable payout conditions, and players get their money when they win, these are all green flags.
Gambling is safe when it's exclusively available to people who are old enough to play, when vulnerable people are protected and not exploited, and when players have responsible gambling options available to them to regulate their gambling habits.
We also care about how gambling is portrayed. Unfortunately, casino games are often presented as a way to make money on the internet, when in reality you should only play with money you are willing to lose.
We remind visitors that casino games are built with a house edge, meaning a percentage likelihood that the casino will make a profit on losses. This means players are more likely to lose money over time. Our ratings focus on fairness, safety, and how casinos treat players, not on things that can’t be guaranteed, like wins. If you want more information on how to gamble safely, check out our safe gambling guide.
Tools, blocking software, and internet filters are useful, but they should not be your only line of defence if you are struggling with problem gambling. Reach out to a dedicated support organisation as well.
