Responsible Gambling in New Zealand: Limits and Help

This page in our Vegastars casino guide lists the free support open to anyone in New Zealand and the controls inside a Vegastars account. Periods and waiting times come from the operator’s responsible gambling policy (checked October 2026). Vegastars is operated from outside New Zealand and does not hold a New Zealand licence, so New Zealand player protections do not apply to it.

Free gambling help in New Zealand

Start with the Gambling Helpline. It answers around the clock and also takes calls from family and friends of someone who gambles. Below it in the table come four specialist Helpline lines, then three community services.

Safer Gambling Aotearoa, a Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora) campaign, publishes information for gamblers and families at safergambling.org.nz. New Zealand meetings of Gamblers Anonymous appear in the Gamblers Anonymous Australia meeting directory under the NZ North and NZ South regions. Some are hybrid, so you can join from home. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 111.

Vegastars responsible gambling tools

These controls are in your Vegastars profile and attach to the account itself, so a limit set on a laptop also applies on your phone.

Deposit, loss and wager limits

A deposit limit caps the money going in, whatever happens at the tables. Suppose you set NZ$200 a week and decide on Monday evening that you want NZ$500: the higher figure starts only on Tuesday evening, which leaves a day to reconsider. A cut to NZ$100 works at once. Vegastars calls its loss limit a net limit, yet the policy says profits in the period do not reduce the loss total and open bets count towards it, so the limit can be reached sooner than you might expect. The wager limit counts every stake, which suits long pokies sessions where a small balance turns over many times.

Reality checks and session limits

Reality checks are on-screen reminders of how long a session has lasted, with a prompt to take a break. A session time limit caps how long you can play in one sitting. The Help Centre article on session tools covers both.

Time-out

A time-out, labelled “Take a break” in the account settings, starts immediately and stops deposits and promotional offers for the chosen period. Under the policy you can still withdraw your remaining balance, so the money is not locked away during the break; the usual Vegastars withdrawal options and checks apply. The settings screen warns that a confirmed break cannot be reversed early.

Vegastars self-exclusion

Fixed periods are set from the account settings and take effect immediately. A permanent exclusion goes through [email protected]; clause 9.8 of Vegastars’ terms also gives [email protected] for these requests. While an exclusion runs:

• sign-in is refused, and the Vegastars NZ login screen shows “Self-Exclusion option is ON, logging in is impossible” with the end date;
• you cannot bet or deposit, and you are left out of every promotion, the Vegastars sign up bonus included (Bonus Terms 4.3);
• you can still withdraw remaining funds, and after a permanent exclusion Vegastars pays out whatever balance is left;
• after 6 months or longer, the account reopens only once you confirm through a documented procedure and a 3-day cooling-off period has passed;
• the exclusion covers all brands under the same licensee.

Because sign-in stops at once, withdraw any money you want to keep before you confirm. The policy does not name the other brands under the licensee; support will list them if you ask by email. The operator may also step in on its own when it sees signs of harm, by setting limits, contacting you, suspending the account or imposing an exclusion.

Blocks outside the casino

Bank gambling blocks

In ANZ goMoney, the “online gambling” setting switches off at once and takes 48 hours to switch back on, and the same setting can block gambling paid for in person through the Visa network. Westpac offers a gambling block on its credit and debit cards that does not cover physical venues, and Kiwibank added a gambling block option in 2021. At ASB and BNZ the options are general controls on online or overseas purchases. A card block catches card payments and nothing else, while the Vegastars deposit methods also include Skrill, Neteller and crypto. Combine it with a Vegastars deposit limit, which covers every method.

Blocking apps

Gamban and BetBlocker block gambling sites and apps on phones, tablets and computers. Setup notes are in the Problem Gambling Foundation’s guide to online gambling blockers.

No central self-exclusion register in New Zealand yet

A single request cannot shut you out of every online casino. The Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 requires the Minister to recommend rules for a central register by 1 December 2027, and licensed operators, the first expected from early 2027, will have to offer self-exclusion. Until then, exclude yourself at each site you use and back that up with a bank block and a blocking app. The wider legal position is set out under New Zealand online gambling rules.

Signs gambling is becoming a problem

• You deposit more than you planned, or raise a limit soon after setting it.
• You play to win back losses.
• Bills, rent or groceries come second to gambling money.
• You borrow or sell things to keep playing.
• You hide how much or how often you gamble.
• You feel anxious or irritable when you can’t play.

If one or two of these sound familiar, set a limit today and call the Helpline for a confidential chat.

Helping someone close to you

Family and friends can call the Gambling Helpline on 0800 654 655 for advice, even if the person who gambles is not ready to talk. Some steps that often help:

• Raise it at a calm moment and describe what you have noticed, without accusing them.
• Protect your own money: keep separate accounts and don’t take on their debts without advice from the Debt Gambling Helpline (0800 654 658).
• Offer to sit with them while they set limits, self-exclude or install a blocker.
• Look after yourself too: the Helpline also takes calls from whānau about their own wellbeing.