Responsible Gambling
Gambling is entertainment with a price: the odds favour the house, so over time most players lose. Played with money you can afford to lose, within limits you set in advance, it stays entertainment. This page covers how to recognise when it is becoming something else, the tools that keep it in check, and where to get free help in New Zealand — today, if you need it.
Recognising problem gambling
Problem gambling rarely announces itself. It builds through small changes in behaviour that are easy to explain away one at a time. Run through this list honestly — each "yes" is a warning sign:
- You gamble with money set aside for rent, bills, food or debt payments.
- You chase losses — depositing again the same day to "win it back".
- You hide gambling from your partner, family or friends, or lie about how much time and money it takes.
- You gamble for longer than you planned, or lose track of time while playing.
- You feel restless, irritable or low when you try to cut back.
- You borrow money, sell things or use credit to fund gambling.
- You gamble to escape stress, boredom, loneliness or a bad day — rather than for fun.
- Wins get re-staked immediately instead of withdrawn; winning no longer feels like stopping money.
- Work, study, sleep or relationships are suffering, and gambling is part of why.
- You have promised yourself or someone else you would stop, and have not.
Two or three of these together are a strong signal to act — set hard limits now, or take a break entirely. Five or more means it is time to talk to someone: the Gambling Helpline exists exactly for this conversation, and it is free.
Practical tools, and how they work at offshore casinos
The sites reviewed on Aurum are offshore operators. Most offer the tools below, usually in the account settings under "Responsible Gambling" or "Player Protection" — and if you cannot find them, their live chat support can apply any of them to your account. The single most important rule with every tool: set it before you play, while you are thinking clearly, not mid-session.
Deposit limits
A cap on how much you can deposit per day, week or month. Once you hit it, further deposits are refused until the period resets. Set it from your budget — money you could lose entirely without consequence — and note the asymmetry most sites apply: a request to lower a limit takes effect immediately, while a request to raise one is delayed, typically by 24 hours to 7 days, precisely so you cannot raise it on impulse during a losing session.
Loss limits
A cap on net losses over a period, regardless of how much you deposit and win back. Where offered, a loss limit is stronger protection than a deposit limit, because it closes the loop of "deposit, win, lose it all, deposit again" that a deposit limit alone can miss. Not every offshore casino offers one — the reviews on this site note which do.
Session reminders
Also called reality checks: a pop-up at an interval you choose (say every 30 or 60 minutes) showing how long you have played and your net result for the session. Pokies are designed to make time disappear; a reminder interrupts that. Treat each one as a genuine decision point — stand up, check the net figure, and ask whether you would start this session now knowing that number.
Time-outs (cooling-off periods)
A short self-imposed lock — usually 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days — during which you cannot log in or deposit. A time-out cannot be cancelled early, which is the point. Use one after a heavy loss, during a stressful patch, or whenever gambling stops feeling like a choice. It keeps your account and balance intact; it just removes access while the urge passes.
Self-exclusion
The strongest tool: a ban of six months, a year, five years or permanent. During self-exclusion the operator must close your access, refuse new accounts it can match to you, and stop all marketing. At offshore casinos, request it through support in writing (live chat plus a follow-up email creates a record), and ask for written confirmation. Be aware of the key limitation: offshore self-exclusion applies per operator. There is no national register covering offshore sites, so excluding from one casino does not block its sister brands or competitors — if you are self-excluding, do it at every site where you hold an account, and consider blocking software such as Gamban or BetBlocker (both block gambling sites device-wide, and BetBlocker is free) to cover the rest.
Offshore sites and the gap in NZ protection
New Zealand's Gambling Act 2003 covers gambling inside New Zealand. Offshore casino and betting sites sit outside it: the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) does not license them, and its complaint process cannot help you with an offshore operator. It is not illegal for New Zealanders to gamble on overseas sites — but if an offshore operator treats you unfairly, no NZ regulator can order it to pay you.
That gap is why prevention matters more offshore than anywhere else. The tools above — limits set in advance, time-outs, self-exclusion, blocking software — are the protection. There is no safety net behind them, so set them before you need them.
Free help in New Zealand
Every service below is free and confidential. None of them will lecture you, and none require you to call yourself an addict to get support.
| Gambling Helpline NZ | 0800 654 655, 24/7, or text 8006. Phone and text support, with dedicated lines for Māori, Pasifika and youth. The first call to make. |
|---|---|
| PGF Services | pgf.nz — free face-to-face and online counselling nationwide for gamblers and for people affected by someone else's gambling, in multiple languages. |
| Salvation Army Oasis | Free professional gambling-harm counselling at centres across New Zealand, for gamblers and whānau alike. |
| Safer Gambling Aotearoa | safergambling.org.nz — self-help tools, self-assessment quizzes and real stories from people who have cut back or stopped. |
| Gamblers Anonymous NZ | Peer-support meetings run by people in recovery, in cities around the country. No referral needed — find a meeting and turn up. |
For family and whānau
Gambling harm reaches well beyond the gambler — partners, children, parents and friends carry it too, and you do not need the gambler's permission to get help. Gambling Helpline (0800 654 655), PGF Services and Salvation Army Oasis all offer free support specifically for affected whānau: how to talk about it without triggering a wall of denial, how to protect household money, and how to look after yourself while someone you love is struggling.
Practical steps that help: keep your own finances separate and protected before anything else; talk about what you have observed ("three paydays in a row the account was empty") rather than making accusations; do not lend money to cover gambling debts, however convincing the one-time-only story is — it removes the consequence that prompts change; and do not try to carry this alone. The counselling is free, and it works whether or not the gambler ever attends.
Under 18? Not here
Everything on this site is R18. Underage gambling is harmful and operators will confiscate underage winnings — but more importantly, the younger gambling starts, the higher the lifetime risk of harm. If you are under 18, close this site. If you are worried about a young person's gambling or gaming-gambling crossover (loot boxes, skins betting), the Gambling Helpline youth line on 0800 654 659 is free and confidential.