Contacting Gambling Support in Australia: First Call or Chat

If you are in Australia, you can contact gambling support about your own gambling or how someone else's gambling affects you. You do not need to know which next step you want before starting a conversation. This guide helps you choose phone or chat and ask about privacy; it is not a treatment assessment or an account-closure procedure.

Choose phone or live chat

Phone: call 1800 858 858. Gambling Help Online describes this as free, confidential telephone support, available 24/7 across Australia. Trained gambling counsellors offer counselling, information and referrals. You can contact them if you are affected by another person's gambling, including as a family member or friend. See the official telephone-support page.

Live chat: Gambling Help Online describes its chat counselling as anonymous, free and confidential, available 24/7. It also supports people affected by someone else's gambling. You need internet access; data charges may apply even though the counselling service is free.

The chat start page says the chat is not for crises. Use its official immediate-help direction if that is what you need, and use 000 for immediate danger as described above. The telephone service can support people in distress; that is different from emergency medical help.

Start with one thing you want help with

An original example you could adapt is: “I'm worried about gambling and don't know where to start.” If someone else's gambling is affecting you, you could say: “I need support for how this is affecting me.” These are optional opening prompts, not words you have to use.

You might want to discuss an urge to gamble, a difficult conversation, or where to find further support. Counselling, information and a possible referral are different options, not a promise of automatic treatment enrolment or a particular outcome. We do not promise a waiting time.

This page has no form for gambling history or personal disclosures. Share information with the official service only when you understand what it needs and how it will use it.

What starting chat involves

The official chat instructions describe these steps:

1. Choose Begin Chat on the official page.
2. Read and agree to the service's terms if you want to continue.
3. Provide the basic information the service asks for; the chat window then opens.

The service warns that typed messages can sometimes be misunderstood or get out of sync. You can ask the counsellor to clarify something. See the chat overview. This guide does not open a chat or send information on your behalf.

Ask about privacy before sharing details

The telephone page describes phone support as confidential; the live-chat page describes chat as anonymous. Do not assume that the chat description also applies to a phone call. Anonymous chat still requires agreement to terms and basic information; it is not a promise that no technical or session information is collected.

Gambling Help Online is provided by Turning Point, part of Eastern Health. Its privacy policy describes how it uses information such as an email address when someone emails or registers for assistance. The reviewed public pages do not say whether helpline calls are recorded, whether chat transcripts are stored, how long channel records remain, or the exact safety-sharing threshold.

Eastern Health's parent-service privacy statement describes controlled access and disclosures required by law. Confidentiality is not an absolute promise that information is never shared. That parent statement does not establish every channel-specific rule for a gambling call or chat.

If these details affect your decision, ask before sharing: “What do you record, how long do you keep it, and when would you need to share it?” You can also ask which details are needed for initial support and which are needed only for a referral. We cannot promise deletion of service records.

Language and access options

The telephone-support page says an interpreter can be organised through the helpline, or through the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450. It also describes National Relay Service access for people who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment. Use the official page's access links to choose the route that works for you.

Keep your next step separate and manageable

Before ending the conversation, you could ask what one next step involves, whether a referral is needed, and what information that would require.

• For a national online and phone wagering exclusion, read the BetStop registration guide, including its coverage limits. Contacting gambling support does not register you with BetStop.
• For a particular account, find the relevant platform account guide. A support conversation does not itself close or self-exclude that account.
• For approaching another adult, read how to talk to someone about gambling.

Sources and contact routes checked October 4, 2026. This is practical information, not a diagnosis or a guarantee of treatment availability.