Casino utan svensk licens: Understanding Swedish Licensing Queries in the Australian Gambling Context

Understanding the Swedish Licensing Query in an Australian Context

Australian punters searching for information about casinos without Swedish licensing are typically encountering marketing language from offshore gambling sites, not a reference to any regulatory framework that applies in Australia. Swedish gambling regulation—reformed comprehensively in 2019 under the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen)—governs only operators serving the Swedish market. It has no jurisdiction over Australian players, Australian-licensed services, or offshore sites targeting Australians.

The phrase appears in search results because some offshore casino operators deliberately market themselves as alternatives to Swedish-licensed sites, emphasising fewer restrictions on bonus offers, self-exclusion bypass, and deposit limits. These messages target Swedish players frustrated by their domestic regulatory requirements. Australian search engines surface this content because the broader offshore casino industry uses similar promotional tactics across multiple markets, and search algorithms cannot always distinguish Swedish-targeted offers from Australian-relevant information.

Swedish licensing terminology carries zero relevance to whether a site is legal, safe, or suitable for Australian use. Australia operates under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA), which prohibits unlicensed online casino services from being offered to Australian residents. A site operating without Swedish approval is simply an offshore operator that has chosen not to apply for Swedish authorisation—often because it cannot meet Sweden's advertising restrictions, deposit caps, or mandatory player protection measures. That same site typically holds no Australian licence either, making it equally unauthorised under Australian law regardless of its Swedish status.

Australian players who stumble across this terminology should understand it as a signal of offshore operation rather than a mark of legitimacy in the Australian context. Sites promoting their lack of Swedish licensing are advertising regulatory avoidance, not Australian compliance. They remain unlicensed to serve Australians, offer no enforceable consumer protection under Australian law, and fall outside the remit of state gambling regulators, the Northern Territory Racing Commission, and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

The practical consequence for Australian punters is straightforward: evaluating an offshore casino site on the basis of its Swedish licensing status is irrelevant. The meaningful questions concern its legal status under the IGA, whether it holds a recognised international licence (such as from the Malta Gaming Authority, the UK Gambling Commission, or the Government of Gibraltar), how it handles Australian dollar transactions, whether disputes can be escalated to an independent authority, and how withdrawal requests are processed. Swedish regulatory compliance—or the deliberate absence of it—answers none of these questions.

Australians seeking legal online gambling options should focus on Australian-licensed services for sports and race betting, which operate under state or Northern Territory authorisation and are covered by the BetStop national self-exclusion register. Land-based pokies and casino games are available through state-regulated venues including pubs, RSL clubs, and licensed casinos. Offshore casino sites, regardless of their Swedish licensing status or any other foreign authorisation, are not licensed to serve Australian residents and provide no regulatory recourse through Australian authorities if disputes arise.

How Australian Gambling Regulation Actually Works

Australia divides gambling authority between federal and state governments, creating a framework where the legality of any gambling service depends on both the product type and the issuing jurisdiction. The Commonwealth Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA) prohibits the provision of unlicensed online casino services and in-play sports betting to Australian residents, while state and territory governments regulate land-based venues, lotteries, and issue licences for certain online wagering products.

Federal Authority: The Interactive Gambling Act

The IGA establishes the federal boundary for online gambling. It makes it an offence for a provider to offer interactive gambling services—primarily online casino games such as pokies, roulette, blackjack, and baccarat—to customers physically located in Australia unless they hold an exemption or Australian licence. The Act does not criminalise individual players who access offshore sites, but it prohibits operators from intentionally targeting the Australian market without authorisation.

In-play sports betting, where wagers are placed after an event has started, is also prohibited under the IGA unless conducted over the phone rather than via internet or app. Pre-match sports and race betting, by contrast, can be offered online by operators holding an Australian licence issued by a state or territory regulator. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) enforces the IGA, blocking websites that breach the Act and issuing penalties to non-compliant operators.

State and Territory Licensing

Each Australian state and territory regulates land-based gambling within its borders. This includes casinos, pokies in pubs and clubs, lotteries, and Keno. A hotel or RSL club offering pokies operates under a state-issued gaming machine licence, subject to local harm-minimisation rules, venue limits, and regular compliance audits.

States and the Northern Territory also licence online wagering operators for sports and race betting. The Northern Territory Racing Commission has historically been the primary issuer of Australian online wagering licences, authorising household brands to accept bets on racing, sports, and certain novelty markets. Other jurisdictions, including Tasmania and the ACT, issue their own licences. An operator holding one of these licences can legally accept bets from Australian residents across the country, provided they comply with national advertising restrictions and consumer protection standards.

What 'Legal' Means for Each Product

The answer depends on the gambling product. Land-based pokies and table games are legal when the venue holds a state licence. Online sports and race betting is legal when the operator holds an Australian wagering licence. Lotteries are legal under state regulation, including online ticket sales by authorised lottery operators.

Online casino games—pokies, blackjack, roulette, baccarat—cannot be legally offered to Australians under the IGA. No Australian jurisdiction currently issues licences for online casino services directed at domestic players. Offshore sites that offer these games to Australian residents do so without Australian authorisation, operating under foreign licences issued by jurisdictions such as Curaçao, Malta, or Gibraltar. Access to these sites is not blocked in every case, but the absence of a block does not confer legality. The IGA prohibits the provision of the service, not the act of playing.

The Offshore Casino Reality

Offshore casino sites remain accessible to Australian players despite the IGA prohibition. They are not blocked by internet service providers in every instance, and they continue to accept registrations from Australian addresses. This accessibility does not mean the services are legal. The sites operate under foreign licences—most commonly from Curaçao, Malta, or Gibraltar—that permit them to offer online casino games, but these licences do not authorise provision to Australian residents.

Some offshore sites market themselves using terminology such as 'casino utan svensk licens' (Swedish for 'casino without Swedish licence') or similar phrases targeting players in jurisdictions with restrictive local licensing. These phrases describe the site's status in Sweden or another European market; they have no bearing on Australian law. A site without a Swedish licence is not an Australian-licensed alternative. It remains an unlicensed offshore operator from the perspective of Australian regulation, and its legal status under the IGA is unchanged.

Consumer Protection Under Australian Licensing

Australian-licensed gambling services operate under enforceable consumer protection rules. Operators must segregate customer funds, meet anti-money-laundering obligations, provide accessible complaint pathways, enforce deposit limits and self-exclusion requests, and participate in the BetStop national self-exclusion register. Regulators conduct audits, investigate complaints, and have the authority to suspend or revoke licences for breaches.

A player who experiences a dispute with an Australian-licensed operator can escalate the matter to the relevant state regulator or use industry ombudsman services. Winnings are protected by fund segregation requirements, and responsible gambling tools such as deposit limits, time reminders, and self-exclusion are legally binding on the operator.

Offshore casino sites operating without Australian licences do not fall under this framework. Their consumer protections, if any, are governed by the jurisdiction that issued their licence. An Australian player has no direct recourse to ACMA, a state regulator, or Australian consumer law for disputes with an offshore casino. The site's regulator—if it responds to complaints at all—applies its own jurisdiction's rules, which may not recognise Australian consumer rights or provide equivalent protections.

Practical Consequences of the Regulatory Split

The federal IGA prohibition means that Australians seeking online casino games face a choice between services that are illegal to provide under Australian law and those that are not offered at all by locally licensed operators. Land-based casinos remain legal and regulated at the state level, and online wagering on sports and racing is available through Australian-licensed bookmakers.

Offshore casino sites fill the gap left by the IGA prohibition, but they do so without the authorisation, oversight, or consumer protections that apply to Australian-licensed services. Payment processing can be unreliable, as Australian banks and payment providers may decline transactions with unlicensed gambling sites. Withdrawal delays are common, and players have limited recourse when disputes arise. Responsible gambling tools such as deposit limits and self-exclusion requests are not enforceable through Australian regulators, and offshore sites are not covered by the BetStop national register.

Offshore Casino Sites and the Australian Market

Offshore casino sites operate from jurisdictions outside Australia and accept Australian players despite having no Australian licence to provide those services. They typically hold gaming licences issued by authorities in Curaçao, Malta, Gibraltar, Cyprus, or other jurisdictions that permit remote gambling operators to serve international markets. These licences regulate the operator's conduct in the issuing jurisdiction and may impose technical standards, but they do not constitute permission to provide online casino services to Australian residents under the IGA.

The distinction matters because a foreign licence addresses operator conduct and game fairness within that jurisdiction's framework, not compliance with Australian law. Malta Gaming Authority and Gibraltar Gambling Commission licences, for instance, carry stricter technical and financial requirements than those from Curaçao eGaming, but none of these authorisations grant an exemption from the IGA prohibition. An offshore site advertising a Maltese licence is not legally permitted to offer casino services to Australians, even though the licence itself may be legitimate within Malta's regulatory framework.

Why Offshore Sites Remain Accessible

Offshore casino sites remain accessible to Australian players because the IGA targets the supply side—the operators providing the service—rather than criminalising individual access or use. Australian law does not penalise a resident for placing a bet with an unlicensed offshore provider, which removes the legal risk for players while leaving the prohibition squarely on the operator. Enforcement relies on blocking measures, payment disruptions, and prosecutions of providers who operate without Australian authorisation, but these mechanisms do not prevent all access.

Offshore operators continue serving Australian customers through several mechanisms. Many host their platforms on servers outside Australian jurisdiction, use domain names registered in permissive registries, and process payments through international financial institutions or cryptocurrency channels that operate beyond direct Australian regulatory reach. Some advertise through affiliate networks, social media, and search engines that may not fully enforce geographic advertising restrictions. The ACMA can direct internet service providers to block specific domains under the IGA, but operators often respond by registering new domains or using mirror sites, making blocking a reactive and incomplete enforcement tool.

The result is a paradox: Australian residents can technically access offshore casino sites, deposit funds, and play games, yet the operators providing those services are acting in contravention of Australian law. Access does not equal legality. The fact that a transaction processes or a site loads does not mean the service is authorised under Australian regulation.

Common Offshore Licensing Jurisdictions

Curaçao operates the longest-established offshore licensing regime serving international markets. Its eGaming licences impose modest technical requirements and carry lower compliance costs than European jurisdictions, making Curaçao a common choice for operators targeting multiple markets without local authorisation. A Curaçao licence does not require the operator to restrict Australian access, and many Curaçao-licensed sites actively market to Australian players despite the IGA prohibition.

Malta and Gibraltar issue licences under stricter regulatory frameworks that include capital requirements, game testing, responsible gambling measures, and ongoing audits. Both jurisdictions participate in European regulatory cooperation and impose higher standards on licensees. However, neither Malta Gaming Authority nor Gibraltar Gambling Commission licences confer Australian authorisation. An offshore site holding one of these licences may meet higher operational standards within its home jurisdiction, but it remains unlicensed under Australian law if it serves Australian residents without an Australian exemption or state-issued licence.

Cyprus, Kahnawake (Canada), and several other jurisdictions also issue remote gambling licences accepted by international operators. The regulatory rigour varies considerably: some impose detailed technical standards and third-party testing, while others conduct limited ongoing oversight. For Australian players, the issuing jurisdiction's regulatory quality affects game fairness and dispute processes within that framework, but it does not change the site's legal status under the IGA.

Legal Status Under the IGA

The IGA makes it an offence for a person to provide an interactive gambling service to customers in Australia unless the service is licensed or exempted. Online casino games—pokies, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and other games of chance played over the internet—fall squarely within the IGA definition of prohibited interactive gambling services. No Commonwealth exemption exists for offshore casino operators, and no state or territory has issued a licence for online casino services since the IGA took effect in 2001.

Offshore operators serving Australian players without an Australian licence are therefore in contravention of the IGA. The Act imposes penalties on the provider, not the customer. Australian residents using offshore casino sites face no criminal liability under the IGA for placing bets, but they also receive none of the regulatory protections or dispute resolution pathways available through Australian-licensed services. The offshore operator is subject to prosecution if it can be brought within Australian jurisdiction, but practical enforcement challenges mean many operators continue serving Australians from overseas bases.

This creates a clear distinction: Australian-licensed sports and race betting services operate lawfully under state and territory licences issued within the IGA exemption framework. Offshore casino sites operate outside that framework. They are accessible, widely used, and openly marketed, but they are not legal alternatives to Australian-licensed services—they are unlicensed providers whose activity contravenes Australian law. The fact that an offshore site processes an Australian deposit or allows an Australian player to register does not grant it legal status.

The Difference Between Access and Legality

Access refers to the technical ability to reach a website, create an account, deposit funds, and play games. Legality refers to whether the provider is authorised under Australian law to offer that service to Australian residents. Offshore casino sites demonstrate that access and legality are separate concepts. Many offshore operators make their platforms accessible to Australians, process Australian dollars, accept Australian payment methods, and advertise through channels visible in Australia, yet none of these operational features confer legal authorisation.

The confusion arises because Australians encounter no barrier when registering with offshore sites. No age-gate specific to the IGA appears, no warning is mandated, and transactions often process without friction. Players may reasonably infer that if the site accepts their registration and deposit, the service must be permitted. That inference is incorrect. The IGA places the prohibition on the supply side, and the absence of a blocking mechanism or customer warning does not indicate legal permission.

For practical decision-making, the distinction matters because it governs where regulatory protections apply, which dispute resolution processes are available, and whether the service falls under Australian responsible gambling frameworks. Australian-licensed operators must comply with state advertising restrictions, offer BetStop self-exclusion, provide dispute resolution through licensed processes, and operate under ongoing regulatory oversight. Offshore operators are not subject to those obligations. Their accessibility does not change that fundamental difference in legal status and consumer protection.

Practical Differences Between Licensed and Unlicensed Services

The choice between Australian-licensed gambling services and offshore casino sites creates tangible differences in payment reliability, consumer recourse, and regulatory protection. Australian-licensed operators offering sports and race betting operate within a framework that includes mandatory dispute resolution, enforceable responsible gambling tools, and direct regulatory oversight by state and territory authorities or the Northern Territory Racing Commission. Offshore casino sites, regardless of their Curaçao, Malta, or other foreign licensing, operate outside this framework and provide no equivalent protections to Australian players.

Payment Processing and Currency Handling

Australian-licensed services process deposits and withdrawals through established Australian payment networks, including POLi, bank transfers, BPAY, and major card networks. These transactions settle in Australian dollars, eliminating foreign exchange spreads and conversion fees. Payment processors serving licensed operators comply with Australian banking regulations and anti-money-laundering requirements overseen by AUSTRAC, which means transaction disputes follow familiar banking complaint pathways through the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

Offshore sites typically route payments through international processors, often requiring deposits in US dollars, euros, or cryptocurrency. Currency conversion occurs at the operator's nominated rate rather than the mid-market rate, adding a hidden margin to every transaction. Card payments to offshore gambling sites may be declined by Australian banks exercising their own risk policies, and chargebacks face additional complexity because the merchant operates outside Australian jurisdiction. E-wallet and cryptocurrency deposits may clear faster but provide no regulatory recourse if a withdrawal is delayed or denied.

Dispute Resolution Pathways

Licensed operators in Australia must participate in an approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme. If a player dispute cannot be resolved directly with the operator—such as a withheld withdrawal, disputed bet settlement, or account closure—the player can escalate the matter to the ADR provider at no cost. State and territory regulators can investigate complaints, impose penalties, and require remediation. This pathway is enforceable: a licensed operator that refuses to comply risks licence suspension or cancellation.

Offshore operators may advertise membership in overseas ADR schemes or display a foreign regulator's seal, but these processes are not enforceable in Australia. An Australian player filing a complaint with a Curaçao gaming authority or a Malta-based ADR provider has no local legal standing to compel a resolution. The offshore operator may choose to engage or may simply ignore the complaint. Australian consumer protection laws and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) cannot compel an offshore operator to honour a disputed outcome, refund a withheld balance, or even respond to correspondence.

Identity Verification and Account Security

Australian-licensed services must verify the identity and age of every account holder before accepting a deposit or processing a withdrawal, following Know Your Customer (KYC) obligations set by AUSTRAC and state regulators. This typically requires a government-issued photo ID, proof of address, and sometimes a payment method verification. The process may delay initial withdrawals but creates a documented account holder with clear recourse if the account is later disputed or compromised.

Offshore sites enforce varying verification standards. Some permit deposits and play before any identity check, only requesting documents when the player attempts a first withdrawal. Others apply minimal checks or accept documents that would not satisfy Australian standards. Lax verification may seem convenient but creates risk: if the operator later decides a document is insufficient or suspects duplicate accounts, it can freeze the balance and request additional proof without a clear deadline or appeal pathway. Players who cannot satisfy last-minute verification demands may forfeit their balance entirely, with no local regulator to review the decision.

Responsible Gambling Tool Enforcement

Licensed operators in Australia must offer deposit limits, time reminders, and self-exclusion options, and they must honour these tools immediately. A player who sets a deposit limit through a licensed service cannot override it for a cooling-off period, typically 24 to 72 hours. Self-exclusion through BetStop, the national register, applies across all participating Australian-licensed operators and blocks access for the chosen period—minimum three months, with longer options up to permanent exclusion. Licensed operators face penalties for failing to enforce these tools or allowing an excluded player to re-register under a different email.

Offshore sites often display responsible gambling settings in their account pages but enforce them inconsistently. A deposit limit may be adjusted upward on request without a waiting period, or the system may allow a new limit to take effect immediately. Self-exclusion at one offshore site does not prevent the same player from registering at another offshore brand, even when both are operated by the same company. These sites are not connected to BetStop and cannot be compelled to check the register. A player seeking to block access across multiple offshore operators must contact each site individually and rely on the operator's voluntary compliance.

Withdrawal Processing Reliability

Australian-licensed operators process withdrawals within timeframes that must be disclosed in their terms and conditions, typically one to five business days depending on the payment method. State and territory regulators monitor withdrawal complaints and can investigate operators that consistently delay payments, impose unjustified verification demands, or fail to honour account balances. An operator that refuses to pay a legitimate withdrawal risks licence suspension, public censure, and financial penalties. This regulatory backstop does not guarantee instant payouts, but it creates an enforceable obligation.

Offshore sites set their own withdrawal terms and face no Australian enforcement if they fail to meet them. Processing can take days or weeks, especially for larger amounts. Operators may impose additional verification steps at the withdrawal stage, request documents that were not required at registration, or cancel a withdrawal and return funds to the player's account with instructions to meet updated requirements. Because the operator controls both the game platform and the payment process, there is no independent party to verify whether a delay is justified. A player whose withdrawal is repeatedly declined or whose account is frozen has no local regulator to escalate the matter to, leaving the outcome entirely at the operator's discretion.

What Regulatory Recourse Actually Means

Regulatory recourse is the ability to escalate a dispute to a government authority that can compel a gambling operator to respond, investigate, and remedy a problem. For Australian-licensed services, this authority sits with the state or territory gambling regulator that issued the licence. A player who believes a licensed operator has breached its obligations—by withholding a legitimate withdrawal, failing to enforce a self-exclusion, misrepresenting odds, or refusing to settle a bet correctly—can lodge a complaint with the regulator. The regulator investigates, requires the operator to provide evidence, and can order the operator to pay the disputed amount, correct its systems, or face a penalty. The operator's licence depends on compliance, creating a strong incentive to resolve complaints fairly.

Offshore operators answer only to the foreign jurisdiction that issued their licence. An Australian player who contacts the Curaçao gaming authority, the Malta Gaming Authority, or the Gibraltar Licensing Authority to complain about an offshore operator is filing a complaint in a system designed to regulate the operator's conduct under that jurisdiction's law, not to resolve individual consumer disputes from foreign players. These authorities may forward the complaint to the operator and request a response, but they have no obligation to compel a resolution favourable to the Australian player, no timeline for investigation, and no power to enforce any order within Australia. Many offshore operators do not respond to foreign player complaints at all, and even those that do engage can simply decline to pay without consequence. Australian consumer protection laws, including the ACCC's enforcement powers, do not extend to offshore gambling operators because the IGA makes their provision of online casino services unlawful in the first place.

This difference becomes material when something goes wrong. A withheld withdrawal, a disputed bet settlement, or an account closure with a remaining balance are all problems that occur in both licensed and unlicensed gambling. The licensed player has a clear escalation pathway, documented obligations, and a regulatory body with enforcement power. The offshore player has only the operator's terms and conditions, no enforceable remedy, and no practical recourse beyond persuasion.

Responsible Gambling Tools and Support for Australian Players

Australian-licensed gambling services and offshore casino sites differ sharply in how they implement responsible gambling protections. Licensed operators offering sports and race betting in Australia must comply with state, territory, and national harm-minimisation frameworks that enforce deposit limits, activity statements, and self-exclusion mechanisms. Offshore casino sites operating without Australian licences face no equivalent local obligations, leaving the availability and enforcement of such tools entirely to operator discretion and the standards of their foreign licensing jurisdiction.

BetStop National Self-Exclusion Register

BetStop is Australia's national self-exclusion register, administered by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and operational since 2023. Registration is free, voluntary, and available to any Australian seeking to block access to licensed online wagering services. Once registered, the individual's details are distributed to all participating services, which must prevent account creation, block login attempts, and refuse marketing communications for the duration of the exclusion period.

BetStop covers every holder of an Australian wagering licence, including sports and race betting platforms licensed by the Northern Territory Racing Commission and state regulators. It does not extend to offshore casino sites. An individual excluded via BetStop will find their access to Australian-licensed platforms blocked within one business day of registration, but offshore sites operating without Australian licences are not connected to the register and will continue to accept login attempts, deposits, and account activity. The register's effectiveness therefore depends entirely on whether the service holds an Australian licence.

BetStop allows exclusion periods of three months, six months, one year, or permanent closure. The minimum period cannot be shortened once selected, and account reactivation requires a formal request after the period expires. Australian-licensed operators must comply with these timelines; offshore sites may offer their own self-exclusion mechanisms but are not bound by BetStop durations or Australian oversight of reinstatement processes.

Responsible Gambling Tools on Licensed Versus Offshore Platforms

Australian-licensed sports and race betting services must provide deposit limits, loss limits, time limits, and activity statements under their licence conditions. Many state and territory regulators mandate pre-commitment tools that allow users to set daily, weekly, or monthly spending caps before exceeding them. These limits are enforced at the platform level; once a cap is reached, further deposits or bets are blocked until the limit period resets or the user requests an increase, which is subject to a mandatory cooling-off period.

Offshore casino sites may advertise deposit limits, session timers, and reality checks, but these tools are governed by the operator's foreign licensing jurisdiction rather than Australian regulators. A site licensed in Curaçao, for instance, follows the standards set by Curaçao eGaming, which may permit immediate limit increases or lack mandatory cooling-off periods. Players using offshore platforms have no local regulatory authority to enforce tool compliance, investigate failures, or compel operator adherence to advertised protections.

Licensed Australian operators are also required to display responsible gambling messaging, provide direct links to support services, and restrict advertising content under federal and state rules that tightened significantly in 2018 and continue to evolve. Offshore sites face no equivalent Australian advertising restrictions and may promote bonuses, jackpots, and wagering incentives in ways that would breach local standards.

Problem Gambling Support and Counselling Services

Gambling Help Online is the national service for problem gambling support in Australia, available 24 hours a day via phone (1800 858 858), online chat, and email. The service is free, confidential, and staffed by professional counsellors trained in gambling harm. It provides immediate crisis support, ongoing counselling, referrals to face-to-face services in every state and territory, and information for family members affected by another person's gambling.

Each state and territory also operates dedicated problem gambling services with local counselling centres, financial counselling, and peer support groups. These services are linked through Gambling Help Online and funded by state gambling revenue, ensuring no cost to the individual. Support is available regardless of whether the gambling occurred on a licensed Australian platform, at a land-based venue, or through an offshore site.

For individuals seeking structured self-exclusion from land-based venues, each state and territory maintains its own venue-based exclusion scheme covering pokies venues, casinos, and TAB outlets. These schemes operate separately from BetStop and require direct application through the relevant state gambling regulator or venue. Exclusion from a licensed venue in one state does not automatically apply in another, though some states share exclusion data within regional networks.

When to Seek Help

Recognising problem gambling early improves the effectiveness of intervention. Warning signs include chasing losses, gambling with money needed for bills or essentials, lying to family about gambling activity, borrowing money to gamble, feeling anxious or irritable when attempting to stop, and neglecting work, study, or relationships because of gambling. Problem gambling affects not only the individual but partners, children, and extended family, making early professional support important for everyone involved.

Gambling Help Online counsellors can assist with immediate strategies to stop gambling, develop a financial recovery plan, and connect individuals with local face-to-face services if ongoing support is needed. The service does not require the person to have already stopped gambling before seeking help, and counsellors understand the shame and secrecy that often accompany problem gambling. Family members can also contact the service independently to discuss how another person's gambling is affecting them and what options are available.