Pokies are entertainment. When they stop being that, the tools on this page are here to help you step back.
SHOUT99 is a commercial business and we are not going to pretend otherwise. We make money when people play. That is exactly why we think it matters to say plainly what pokies are and what they are not.
Pokies are a form of entertainment with a cost attached, in the same way a night out has a cost attached. They are not an income source. They are not a strategy. They are not a way to recover money you have already lost, and the belief that they might be is the single most common route into serious trouble.
Every game in our lobby is built with a mathematical edge in favour of the house over the long run. That is published openly as RTP on each game page. A player who understands that and plays anyway is making an informed choice. A player who does not is the one we would rather reach before there is a problem.
These are available to every SHOUT99 player, at any time, from your account settings. You do not need to contact support to use them.
Set a maximum you can deposit per day, week or month. Lowering a limit takes effect immediately. Raising one takes effect only after a delay, so a decision made in a difficult moment does not apply straight away.
Set how long a single session can run. When the time is reached you are logged out rather than prompted, because a prompt is easy to dismiss without reading.
Periodic on-screen reminders showing how long you have been playing and your net position for the session. Useful precisely because sessions distort your sense of time.
Cap net losses over a chosen period. Once the limit is reached, play is blocked until the period resets, regardless of how much balance remains.
A short break, from twenty-four hours up to several weeks. Your account is locked for the period and reopens automatically. Useful when you want distance but not a permanent exit.
A longer or permanent closure. Once set it cannot be reversed early, not by you and not by our support team. Any remaining balance is returned through your verified withdrawal method.
Gambling problems rarely announce themselves. They arrive gradually, and the person experiencing them is usually the last to name it. Some of the more reliable signals:
Depositing again immediately after a loss to try to get back to even. This is the most common pattern in problem gambling and the one that turns a bad session into a serious one.
Using funds set aside for rent, bills, food or repayments. If a loss would change what you can afford this month, the stake was too large.
Being vague with a partner about how much or how often, or clearing history. Concealment usually starts well before the financial damage does.
Credit, loans, or money from friends and family to fund gambling or to cover what gambling has cost. This is a clear line, and crossing it is worth acting on immediately.
Playing out of compulsion or to escape rather than for enjoyment. If a win brings relief rather than pleasure, the relationship has changed.
Professional help is free, confidential and available regardless of how far things have gone. You do not need to be in crisis to use these services, and reaching out early is far easier than reaching out late.
Free counselling by phone, web chat and email, available every day of the year. Support is also available for family members, not only for the person gambling.
Confidential telephone support connecting you to a counsellor in your own state or territory.
Peer support meetings held across Australia, in person and online, for people who prefer a group setting to one-on-one counselling.
Free, independent financial counselling for anyone dealing with debt arising from gambling. Separate from gambling counselling and often just as necessary.
You must be 18 or over to hold an account with SHOUT99. We verify age as part of account verification, and any account found to belong to a minor is closed with deposits returned.
If children use your device, filtering software can block access to gambling sites at the device level. Free and paid options are widely available and work independently of any single operator, which makes them more effective than relying on individual sites.
Keep your login details private. Shared credentials are the most common way an account ends up being used by someone it was not intended for.
You can set every tool on this page yourself, but if you would rather we handle it, contact live chat and ask. We will apply a cooling-off period or self-exclusion without asking you to explain why, and without any attempt to talk you out of it or offer you something to stay.
An account under self-exclusion is removed from all marketing. You will not receive promotional messages, and any pending balance is returned through your verified withdrawal method.
Set your limits before you need them, not after.
18+ Gambling involves risk. Never bet more than you can afford to lose.