Responsible gambling in New Zealand
Pokies and casino games are entertainment, and entertainment has a price. If the price has stopped feeling like one, help in New Zealand is free, confidential and available at any hour.
Free help, right now: Gambling Helpline 0800 654 655 (24/7) · text 8006 · free-call or text 1737 to talk with a trained counsellor · in an emergency, call 111.
Support services across the country
| Service | Contact | What it offers |
|---|---|---|
| Gambling Helpline | 0800 654 655 · text 8006 | Free 24/7 phone and text support for gamblers and their families, with referrals to local counselling. |
| Need to Talk? 1737 | Call or text 1737 | Free national mental health and addiction line staffed by trained counsellors, any time of day. |
| Salvation Army Oasis | Centres nationwide | Free face-to-face counselling for gambling harm in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and other centres. |
| PGF Services | 0800 664 262 | Free counselling, financial mentoring and family support for gambling harm. |
| Gamblers Anonymous NZ | Local meetings | Peer support groups following a twelve-step programme, in person and online. |
| Department of Internal Affairs | dia.govt.nz | The government regulator for gambling in New Zealand, including harm-minimisation information. |
Family and whānau can use every service on that list too. You don't have to be the person gambling to be affected by it, and counsellors deal with that side constantly.
Signs it has stopped being a game
- Chasing a loss with a bigger deposit, then another, to "get back to even".
- Playing with money that was meant for rent, power, kai or the mortgage.
- Hiding how much you play, or how much you've lost, from people close to you.
- Borrowing, selling things or using credit to fund deposits.
- Feeling restless, flat or irritable when you can't play.
One of those on a rough weekend doesn't mean much. Several of them, repeating over a month or two, is worth a free phone call — and calling early is the difference between a conversation and a crisis.
The account tools Casiny provides
Casiny includes harm-minimisation settings in account preferences, and they cost nothing to switch on. Set them while you're calm, not while you're chasing.
Deposit and loss limits
Cap what can go in per day, week or month. Lowering a limit applies straight away; raising one is held back by a cooling-off delay, which is the point of it.
Session reminders
A reality-check prompt that interrupts play at an interval you choose and shows how long you have been in the lobby. Easy to ignore once, harder to ignore twice.
Time-out
A short lock — from a day to a few weeks. The balance stays where it is, the account reopens on its own, and no explanation is required.
Self-exclusion
A longer closure, usually six months or more, that cannot be lifted early. Marketing stops, deposits are blocked, and any withdrawable balance is returned.
To use any of them, sign in, open account settings and look for the responsible gambling section. If you can't find it, live chat will apply the setting for you — support staff are required to act on that request, and they will not try to talk you out of it.
Blocking gambling at the source
Account-level tools stop one casino. Device-level and bank-level blocks stop the next one you find at 1am. Gamban and BetBlocker install on phones, tablets and computers and refuse to load gambling sites at all. On the money side, several New Zealand banks can apply a merchant block or card control that declines gambling transactions outright — worth asking ANZ, Westpac, ASB, BNZ or Kiwibank what they offer, because the answer differs between them.
Free financial mentoring is available through MoneyTalks on 0800 345 123 if gambling has left debts behind. They deal with creditors, budgets and hardship applications, and it costs nothing.
Habits that keep it entertainment
- Decide the amount before you open the lobby, and treat it as the price of the evening rather than an investment.
- Set the deposit limit on day one, when it feels unnecessary. That's exactly when it's easiest to set.
- Never deposit to recover a loss. The odds do not know what happened ten minutes ago.
- Keep a clock in view — the lobby is deliberately built without one.
- Take the win occasionally. Withdrawing a good session is more satisfying than watching it drain back.
Under 18s
Online casino play is for adults. Casiny requires identity documents before it pays out, partly for anti-money-laundering rules and partly to keep minors off the platform. If children share your devices, put a passcode on the phone and use parental controls — a saved session is the most common way an underage player gets in.
Questions people ask
The Gambling Helpline is free on 0800 654 655, 24 hours a day. You can also text 8006, or free-call and text 1737 to reach a trained counsellor. Face-to-face services run in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and most regional centres.
Open account settings, find the responsible gambling or limits section, and set a daily, weekly or monthly deposit cap. Reductions take effect immediately, while increases are held for a cooling-off period.
A time-out locks your account for a short defined period, usually from 24 hours up to several weeks. Your balance stays intact and the account reopens automatically when the period ends.
Self-exclusion closes your account for a longer fixed term, typically six months or more, and cannot be reversed on request during that term. Marketing emails stop and you cannot deposit or play.
Yes. Blocking software such as Gamban or BetBlocker installs on phones and computers and stops gambling sites and apps from loading, which is useful alongside a casino self-exclusion.
Chasing losses, gambling with money set aside for bills, hiding play from family, borrowing to deposit, and feeling irritable when you cannot play are all recognised signs it has stopped being entertainment.
Several New Zealand banks can apply merchant blocks or card controls that decline gambling payments. Ask your bank directly, as availability differs between ANZ, Westpac, ASB, BNZ and Kiwibank.
Yes. Helpline and counselling services are free and confidential, and you can call anonymously. Support is also available for family members affected by someone else's gambling.