Responsible Gambling: Keep It a Game
Pokies are entertainment with a price tag, not an income. This page covers the control tools built into Wiz Casino accounts — and the free, confidential help available to every New Zealander.
Free Help in New Zealand — Right Now
1737 — Need to Talk?
Call or text 1737 any time, day or night, to talk with a trained counsellor. Free from any NZ phone, completely confidential.
Gambling Helpline
Call 0800 654 655 or text 8006 — 24/7, free and confidential, with dedicated lines for Māori, Pasifika and youth. Online support at gamblinghelpline.co.nz.
PGF Services
Free face-to-face counselling across Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and beyond — for gamblers and for family affected by someone else's gambling. pgf.nz.
Safer Gambling Aotearoa
Information, self-assessment tools and campaigns from the Health Promotion Agency at safergambling.org.nz.
The Control Tools Inside a Wiz Casino Account
Wiz Casino's Gibraltar licence requires it to offer real player-protection controls, and they're all self-service in your account settings:
- Deposit limits — cap what you can pay in per day, week or month. Set it once, and raising it later comes with a cooling-off delay.
- Loss and wager limits — a ceiling on net losses or total stakes, independent of deposits.
- Session reminders — periodic pop-ups showing how long you've played and your running result.
- Cooling-off breaks — lock yourself out for 24 hours up to six weeks. The account reopens automatically.
- Self-exclusion — close the account for six months or more, or permanently. Support can't reverse it early, which is the point.
One habit beats every tool on this list: decide your monthly entertainment budget before you play, set the deposit limit to match, and never move it upward on a losing day.
Warning Signs Worth Taking Seriously
Gambling harm rarely arrives all at once — it creeps. Any two of these together are a reason to pause and talk to someone:
- Chasing losses — depositing again specifically to "win it back".
- Gambling with money set aside for rent, bills or groceries.
- Hiding play, or lying to family about time and money spent.
- Feeling restless or irritable when you try to stop.
- Borrowing to gamble, or gambling to escape stress and low mood.
None of this means weakness. Pokies are engineered to be compelling, and the safeguards exist because they work. A call to 1737 costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Under 18? Online casino play isn't for you — Wiz Casino verifies age on every account, and that's a licence requirement, not a formality.