Pokies are entertainment, not a way to make money. Every game carries a house edge, which means that over time the mathematics favours the house — that is how the category works, and any site telling you otherwise is not being straight with you.
This page covers the tools available to keep your play under control, the signs worth watching for, and where to get free confidential help in Australia.
If gambling is causing you difficulty, help is available at no cost, at any hour, and you do not need to have hit a crisis point to use it.
1800 858 858 — free, confidential counselling by phone or online chat, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Available across Australia.
13 11 14 — 24-hour crisis support if things feel overwhelming. You do not need to be in crisis to call.
Australia's National Self-Exclusion Register. One registration blocks you from all licensed Australian online wagering providers.
1800 007 007 — the National Debt Helpline offers free, independent financial counselling if gambling has affected your finances.
These can be set from your account settings, or support can apply any of them for you on request through live chat. There is no penalty or question asked for using them.
Cap how much you can deposit per day, week or month. Reductions take effect immediately; increases are subject to a delay so a limit cannot be raised in the middle of a session.
A periodic on-screen prompt showing how long you have been playing. Easy to lose track of time inside a game.
A short break from a day up to several weeks. Your account is locked and you cannot deposit or play until it expires.
A longer or permanent block. Once applied it cannot be lifted before its stated term expires, regardless of how you feel about it later. That permanence is the point.
Problem gambling rarely announces itself. It usually develops gradually, and the earlier it is recognised the easier it is to address. Any of the following is worth taking seriously:
Playing with money set aside for rent, bills, groceries or other essentials.
Chasing losses — increasing your stakes or extending a session to win back what you have lost.
Borrowing money to gamble, or selling possessions to fund it.
Hiding how much you play or how much you have lost from people close to you.
Feeling anxious, irritable or restless when you are not playing.
Gambling to escape stress, boredom, loneliness or low mood rather than for entertainment.
Repeatedly deciding to stop and then not stopping.
Neglecting work, study, family or friendships because of time spent playing.
Withdrawing money and then depositing it back within a short period.
If several of these ring true, contacting Gambling Help Online on 1800 858 858 is a reasonable next step. Counsellors are not there to lecture you, and the call is free and confidential.
Set a budget before you start, not during. Decide what you are willing to lose, treat it as the cost of the entertainment, and stop when it is gone. Deciding mid-session is far harder.
Set a time limit as well as a money limit. Hours pass quickly inside a game. A timer on your phone works better than intention.
Never chase a loss. Increasing stakes to recover a loss is the single most common path from recreational play to a serious problem. A lost bet is gone; the next spin has no memory of it.
Do not play under the influence. Alcohol and tiredness both degrade judgement about bet sizing and when to stop.
Do not play to fix a mood. If you are gambling because you are stressed, bored or upset, you are using it as a coping mechanism rather than entertainment, and that is where trouble usually starts.
Take regular breaks. Step away from the screen periodically rather than playing straight through.
Keep it a small part of your life. If it is the main thing you look forward to, that imbalance is worth addressing.
Every pokie has a published return-to-player percentage, typically between 96% and 97%. This describes what the game returns across an extremely large number of spins spread over every player on the network. It does not describe your session, and it cannot be used to predict anything about your next hundred spins.
The remaining few percent is the house edge, and it applies to every wager regardless of what has happened previously. A game that has paid nothing for two hundred spins is not "due" — each spin is independent, and the machine has no memory of the last one. This is the most common misconception in gambling and it costs people a great deal of money.
There is no strategy, betting system or timing method that overcomes a house edge on a random number generator. Anyone selling one is selling you something that does not work.
You must be 18 or over to hold an account. Keep your login details private and do not let anyone else use your account.
If children have access to your devices, consider parental control software such as Net Nanny, Qustodio or Family Zone, which can block gambling sites at the device level.
Log out when you finish, and avoid saving passwords on shared devices.
Gambling Help Online supports family members and friends as well as players, on the same number: 1800 858 858. You do not need the person's permission to seek advice about how to approach the situation.
What tends to help: raising it calmly and without accusation, focusing on specific things you have observed rather than character judgements, and offering to help them find support rather than issuing an ultimatum. What tends not to help: paying off gambling debts, which usually removes the consequences without addressing the cause.
We verify age and identity before any withdrawal is processed.
We apply deposit limits, cool-off periods and self-exclusion promptly when requested, without pressure to reconsider and without retention offers.
We do not send promotional communications to accounts that are self-excluded or on a cool-off period.
We do not present gambling as a solution to financial difficulty or as a way to make money.
We do not offer credit, and we do not encourage players to deposit beyond a limit they have set.
You do not need to have reached a crisis to talk to someone. Gambling Help Online is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day on 1800 858 858, with online chat also available for anyone who would rather not speak by phone.
If you would like a limit, cool-off or self-exclusion applied to your Crown96 account, contact live chat and it will be actioned immediately. No explanation is required.
18+ only. Set a budget, set a time limit, and stop when either runs out. Gambling Help Online: 1800 858 858.