To block gambling transactions, switch on the gambling block in your bank's app or internet banking, or call the bank and ask it to apply one to every card and account you hold. Gambler's Help, a Victorian Government service, describes a block as making the account unusable for paying for gambling products or activities. Its list of bank gambling blocks, updated on 1 September 2026, shows a block at each of the four major banks and several others.
Switching a block on usually takes effect straight away. Switching it off usually takes longer, and choosing the longest removal delay your bank offers stops one bad night from undoing it. A block is one layer, not the whole plan: it stops new money leaving that bank, and it works best beside BetStop and a deposit limit at any betting account you keep.
What a bank gambling block does
A bank block is how you stop gambling payments at the source. It sits on your card or account rather than in a betting app, so one block reaches payments to many gambling businesses at once, where a deposit limit covers a single bookmaker account. GambleAware NSW says a block can be applied to most transactions on gambling websites, as well as money transfers and over-the-counter payments.
Banks offer more than the block itself. Depending on the bank, Gambler's Help and GambleAware NSW list:
- a credit card that refuses gambling transactions
- spending and high-balance alerts in the banking app
- hardship help, such as restructured loan repayments or waived fees
- referrals to gambling help and financial counselling.
How to turn on a gambling block
- Open your banking app or internet banking and look in the card settings or card controls. Gambler's Help says that in many cases you can switch the block on there.
- If you cannot find it, call the bank and ask for the gambling block. Ask for its gambling support or hardship team as well if betting has left you behind on repayments.
- Apply it to every card you use, credit and debit.
- Choose the longest removal delay or commitment period the bank offers.
- Do the same with every bank and card provider you hold an account with, because each block is set bank by bank.
- Keep the bank's confirmation, and check that the setting shows as on.
Tip: If calling the bank feels hard, a financial counsellor can help with it. Gambling Help Online suggests one for exactly this, and the National Debt Helpline offers free financial counselling on 1800 007 007 on weekdays.
If you are trying to help someone else set one up, helping someone with a gambling problem covers what a family member can and cannot do.
How fast a block starts, and how long lifting it takes
Banks usually apply a block as soon as you ask. Gambler's Help describes one major bank's version this way: you commit to a set period, and the block applies immediately.
Lifting a block should take longer than the urge that prompts it, and how long it takes depends on the bank. Gambling Help Online notes that some blocks are not permanent and can be lifted under the bank's own policy. GambleAware NSW suggests setting a time delay on removal so you cannot make a snap decision, and a commitment period does the same job. The options differ from bank to bank, so ask yours before you choose.
With illustrative removal rules, here is when a block would lift if you asked at 9:00 pm your local time on Friday 23 October 2026:
| Removal rule (illustrative) | Earliest the block lifts |
|---|---|
| A 48-hour delay | 9:00 pm on Sunday 25 October |
| A delay of 2 business days | The end of Tuesday 27 October |
| A 30-day commitment that started on Thursday 1 October | Saturday 31 October, when the 30 days are up |
Every row outlasts a Friday-night decision, and the commitment ignores the request until its 30 days have run. The longer the option you choose, the more of a buffer it gives you.
What to ask your bank before you rely on a block
Banks describe their blocks as catching most gambling transactions, not all of them. The answer for your account is in your bank's own terms, so ask:
- What exactly does the block stop, and on which of my cards and accounts?
- How long does removal take, and can I choose a longer delay or a commitment period?
- When does it start, and how will I know it is on?
- What else can you offer, such as alerts, a card that refuses gambling, or hardship help?
Write the answers down, and ask the bank to confirm anything unclear in writing.
The law already shuts some payment types out of online betting. Since 11 June 2024, the credit card betting ban has stopped online and phone betting providers accepting credit cards, digital wallets linked to a credit card and digital currency such as cryptocurrency. A bank block works on top of that ban, and betting deposit methods covers what the ban changed for betting accounts.
A block works best alongside BetStop and deposit limits
A block stops money leaving your bank. It does nothing to money already sitting in a betting account, which can still be bet in full.
Example: Illustrative. You switch on a block on a Monday with $340 left in one betting account. The block stops new deposits, but the whole $340 can still be staked. Withdraw it and close the account, or register with BetStop, which requires every covered provider to close your accounts.
| Tool | What it stops | Set with | Starts | Ending it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank gambling block | Most gambling payments from that bank's cards and accounts | Your bank | Usually as soon as you ask | After the bank's delay or commitment period |
| Deposit limit | Deposits above your limit into one betting account | Each bookmaker | A decrease applies at once | An increase waits 7 days |
| Take a break or self-exclusion | Betting at one bookmaker | That bookmaker | When you set it | The bookmaker's terms |
| BetStop | Betting, new accounts and marketing with all online and phone providers licensed in Australia | betstop.gov.au | Once you register | Cannot be shortened; it runs 3 months to life, and the way to leave changes on 1 January 2027 |
| Blocking software | Gambling sites and apps on one device | The software | Once installed | Its own settings |
Each layer covers a gap the others leave. BetStop closes the accounts and stops the marketing, a deposit limit caps what reaches any account you keep, and a bank block slows new money down. BetStop explained covers registration, support people and the removal process, which changes on 1 January 2027, and the responsible gambling tools hub explains every layer and who controls it.
When a bank block is the right tool, and when it is not
A block answers one problem well: money that reaches betting accounts on impulse. Match the tool to what is actually happening.
| Your situation | Start with | Then add |
|---|---|---|
| Deposits happen suddenly, often late at night | A bank block with the longest removal delay | A lower deposit limit at each account |
| You want online betting to stop completely | BetStop | A bank block as a second barrier |
| You still want to bet, but less | A deposit limit at each bookmaker | Spending alerts from your bank |
| A balance is sitting in a betting account | Withdrawing it and closing the account, or BetStop | A bank block for new money |
| Someone else's betting is draining a shared account | Separating your own money | Their own block, if they agree |
Blocking software for phones and computers
Gambling Help Online describes two kinds of software. Gambling-specific apps block access to gambling websites, and some also limit advertising from online gambling providers. General parental-control or authorisation software restricts access to the sites and apps you choose.
- Install it on every phone, tablet and computer you could bet from.
- Ask someone you trust to hold the password, so removing it takes a conversation rather than a tap.
- Pair it with the bank block: software covers devices, the block covers payments, and BetStop covers accounts.
How to stop gambling puts those three together into one plan.
The 2027 payment block on illegal gambling services
A separate payment block is written into law. The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026 adds section 15J to the Interactive Gambling Act from 1 January 2027. It requires banks, credit unions and other participants in a payment system to prevent, as far as reasonably practicable, payments for illegal gambling services.
That duty is aimed at operators offering gambling to Australians illegally, such as unlicensed offshore sites, and nobody has to switch it on. It does not touch payments to providers licensed in Australia, so the block you choose stays the one that covers them. The 2026 gambling reforms guide sets out the rest of the Act.
Mistakes that weaken a gambling block
| Mistake | What it costs | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Blocking one card and keeping another | A block covers only what you set it on | Block every card and account |
| Picking the shortest removal option | The block can lift before the urge passes | Choose the longest delay or commitment on offer |
| Leaving money in betting accounts | The balance can still be bet | Withdraw it and close the account, or register with BetStop |
| Relying on the block alone | It covers payments, not accounts or devices | Add BetStop, deposit limits and blocking software |
| Asking to lift it for one bet | One bet tends to lead to the next | Call 1800 858 858 before you call the bank |
| Keeping it to yourself | Nobody notices if you lift it | Tell someone you trust |
Risk: Betting involves risk. A bank block slows new money down, but it does not stop a balance already in a betting account from being bet, and no single tool closes every path to a bet. For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au, and see responsible gambling for the other tools.