Talk to someone now
Gambling Help Online — 1800 858 858. Free, professional and confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by phone, live chat or email at gamblinghelponline.org.au. You don't need to be in crisis to call, and family members and friends of someone who gambles can use it too.
Lifeline — 13 11 14. 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention. If talking is hard, text 0477 13 11 14.
Stepping away from pokies in a venue
Dragon Link is a venue game: it lives in clubs, pubs and casinos, so venue tools are the ones that matter most for it.
- Self-exclusion from venues is run state by state. You can ask to be barred from one venue or from several at once. Staff in any gaming room can start it, or you can ask Gambling Help Online how it works where you live.
- Pre-commitment lets you set a time or spending limit before you play. In Victoria it's called YourPlay, and at Crown Melbourne it's compulsory. In Western Australia every player at Crown Perth needs a Crown Rewards card, and limits are set on it.
- Leave the cards at home. Take the amount you've decided on in cash and nothing else.
Blocking online betting: BetStop
BetStop is the national self-exclusion register, an Australian Government initiative. Signing up takes about five minutes and blocks you from every licensed Australian online and phone betting provider for the period you choose.
BetStop covers licensed Australian bookmakers. It doesn't reach pokies in venues, and it doesn't reach offshore casino sites, because they operate outside Australian licensing. For those, use the venue programs above and the blocking tools on your own devices.
What a Dragon Link spin really is
Every spin is settled by the machine's random number generator the moment you press the button. The last spin, the time of night and how long it's been since the Grand dropped change nothing. A return-to-player figure is an average over millions of spins; one night can land anywhere, and most nights end below what you put in.
So the only plan that works is the one you make before you sit down: an amount, a time, and the decision to leave when either runs out. If you notice you're chasing losses, that's the moment to stop and call 1800 858 858.