Getting Help for Others
Sometimes people who develop a problem with gambling don’t always realise it. Like any addiction, it can be heartbreaking to witness and you may experience feelings of helplessness, anxiety, anger or depression.
If you are concerned about a partner, family member or friend, you should consider whether the following applies to the person you are worried about:
- Do you think their gambling has begun to affect their work, university studies or extracurricular activities?
- Do you think they are lying to cover up the amount of money or time they spend gambling?
- Is their gambling becoming a focus for arguments and disagreements with family and friends?
- Do they borrow or steal money from family or friends in order to gamble?
- Has their gambling caused them to lose interest in other hobbies and family activities?
- Have they become violent or abusive towards family or friends or become withdrawn or depressed as a result of losing money while gambling?
- Are you concerned that someone under the age of 18 has begun gambling?
You can’t force a person to seek help. Sometimes, if they don’t think they need help, pushing too hard can make it worse. Offer the person your support, inform and encourage them to make use of tools and resources available to help.
Pre-Commitment and Self-Exclusion
All online bookmakers in Australia offer Pre-Commitment Limits and Self Exclusion options. These tools can help someone limit, or prevent access to gambling. Click here for more information.
Unfortunately due to privacy laws, we are unable to access or close a person’s account based on the concerns of family and friends. We understand this can be frustrating, however you can still help by encouraging the account holder to make use of the tools and resources available to help.
Phone and Face to Face Support
The following free resources are available to support you as a family or friend of a person affected by problem gambling.
Filtering Options
Our services are designed to appeal to and be used by persons over 18. If minors have access to the device that you use to access our betting platforms, we encourage you to use filtering software to prevent access to our betting platforms by minors.
The comprehensive list of filtering options available for download can be accessed through these sites: