To close a betting account, withdraw your balance, then ask the bookmaker to close the account through its app or website, by email or by phone. Under the national framework the bookmaker has to begin closing it the moment your request lands, and the account closes once your last open bet has settled.
Closing ends one account and nothing more. If the aim is to stop betting rather than to leave one bookmaker, self-exclusion or BetStop does a job that closing cannot.
Close a betting account in six steps
- Check what is still in the account: the cash balance, any bet that has not settled and any bonus bets.
- Withdraw the cash to your own bank account. Winnings cannot be paid out until your identity has been verified, so finish any check the bookmaker asks for first; betting withdrawals explains why a request can sit pending.
- Save a copy of your transaction list. Even after closure, the national framework says you should still be able to look back over at least the preceding 7 years of transactions, but a copy you download now is one less thing to chase.
- Ask for the closure through the app's account settings, the website, email or phone, giving your username or account number and asking for written confirmation.
- Let open bets settle. The closure starts at once, but the account closes only when the last bet has settled, so ask for anything a winning bet adds to be paid to your bank account.
- Once the confirmation arrives, delete the app and the saved password, and remove the login from any betting software or service that held it.
Tip: The request can be one sentence: "Please close my account under your account closure process, confirm in writing when it is closed, and pay any remaining balance to my nominated bank account."
The national policy statement describes the measure as closing or cancelling an online wagering account, so asking to cancel your account starts the same closure process. If you hold several accounts, repeat the steps at each one. Every account stands on its own, as betting accounts in Australia explains, so closing one leaves the others open.
What the bookmaker must do, and must not do
Account closure is measure 5 of the National Consumer Protection Framework, in place since 26 May 2019 (26 November 2019 in NSW). The national policy statement sets these rules for licensed online wagering providers:
| The rule | What it means when you close |
|---|---|
| The process is prominent and clearly explained, on the website and in your account area | You should not have to search for it |
| The process is simple | One clear request should be enough |
| Requests are taken through every channel you can bet through, and by email and phone | An email works even if the app buries the option |
| Closure starts immediately on receipt of the request | There is no waiting period before it begins |
| The account closes once all bets have settled | An open bet holds the closure until it settles |
| The bookmaker may explain the effects of closing and ask whether you want to proceed | One "are you sure?" is allowed |
| You must not be encouraged or induced to keep the account open | No bonus bet, boost or other reward to stay |
| No direct marketing after the account has closed | Offers that keep arriving break the rule |
Victoria's regulator lists the same duty in its own words: bookmakers must not offer rewards to encourage you to keep a betting account open (VGCCC, page updated 12 June 2026). Liquor & Gaming NSW went further in an industry alert on 5 December 2023. It named confusing closure information, and an administrative fee for withdrawing funds and closing an account, as barriers it expected NSW bookmakers to drop.
A worked closure with money and a bet still in the account
Example: Illustrative numbers only. The account holds $236.80 in cash, a $12 bet at $2.75 on a Saturday game, and a $5 bonus bet you have not used.
| When | What happens | Cash coming to you |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | You withdraw $236.80 and email your closure request | $236.80 on its way to your bank |
| Wednesday | The bookmaker starts the closure and may ask you to confirm | No change |
| Saturday | The $12 bet settles: a win pays 12 x 2.75 = $33.00 | $33.00 more, or $0 if it loses |
| After the bet settles | The account closes | 236.80 + 33.00 = $269.80 if the bet won; $236.80 if it lost |
The $12 stake left your balance when you placed the bet, so it was never part of the $236.80. The $5 bonus bet is not cash, so it sits in none of these totals; the bookmaker's terms decide what happens to it at closure.
Because the account closes once the last bet has settled, a win can leave $33.00 behind, which is why the closure request should ask for any remaining balance to go to your nominated bank account. If it was the bookmaker that closed the account, not you, when a bookmaker closes your account covers the money and bets left in it.
Closing compared with a break, self-exclusion and BetStop
Each tool does a different job, so pick the one that matches what you want:
| What you want | The tool | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| To stop using one bookmaker, for any reason | Close the account | Ends that account only; a new one can still be opened later |
| A planned pause at one bookmaker | A break, also called a time out | Locks the account for a set time, then it reopens |
| To be kept out of one bookmaker | That bookmaker's self-exclusion | It turns your bets away and will not let you open a new account during the period |
| To stop all online and phone betting | BetStop | One registration closes your accounts with every licensed provider |
Take a break vs self-exclusion sets the options side by side, including the venue programs none of these reach.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Closing one account while you keep betting at others changes little. If betting is costing more than you want it to, choose a tool that covers every account; responsible gambling lists limits and free, confidential support.
BetStop closes every account at once
The national self-exclusion register, BetStop, is free, run by the Australian Government, and has operated since it launched on 21 August 2023. A single registration reaches all of Australia's licensed online and phone wagering providers, which ACMA puts at about 150 (page updated 17 July 2026), and you cannot pick and choose. Each one has to close any account you hold with it, refuse your bets and new accounts, and stop marketing to you.
The national policy statement says the money in those accounts has to be paid back to you after the last bet settles. BetStop's own answers add that closed accounts are not reactivated when an exclusion ends, so betting again would mean opening new accounts. You register yourself, for anything from 3 months to life, and you can lengthen the period later but never cut it short. BetStop explained covers registering, and the removal rules before and after 1 January 2027.
Marketing after you close
Once your account has closed, the national policy statement bars the bookmaker from promoting or marketing to you directly. Keep any offer that still arrives, with its date, and send it to the bookmaker with a request to stop. If it continues, take it to the bookmaker's licensing authority, which you will find on its row of ACMA's register. How to stop betting promotions covers unsubscribing at the accounts you keep.
Deleting a betting account versus closing it
You can close a betting account, but you cannot have it wiped. The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 makes a bookmaker keep records of your transactions for 7 years from when each record is made (s 107). It must also keep the records of its identity checks on you for 7 years after the business relationship ends (s 111). Those records also mean your history is still there to request after closing.
Deleting the app is not closing either. The Australian Cyber Security Centre points out that uninstalling an app does not delete or deactivate the account behind it. The account and its balance stay where they were until you ask for closure.
Closing software and tipping accounts
An account with betting software, an odds tool or a tipping service is separate from your bookmaker accounts. Closing it closes nothing at a bookmaker, and closing a bookmaker account does not cancel the software's subscription. Close each account where it is held, and remove the bookmaker login from any software that stored it.
B337 works the same way. Deleting a bookmaker account in the B337 dashboard deletes the sessions that use it and removes it from view straight away, but it does not close the account with the bookmaker. To close a B337 account and have its data deleted, you email support@b337.bet, and B337 confirms within 30 days, taking bookmaker credentials off first. Anyone who joins BetStop should also stop their B337 sessions and ask B337 to close their account.
Mistakes that leave an account half closed
| Mistake | What it costs |
|---|---|
| Asking for closure before withdrawing | You may have to chase the balance by email or phone instead of withdrawing it yourself |
| Deleting the app and stopping there | The account, its balance and its marketing stay as they were |
| Closing one brand and assuming a sister brand went with it | The other account can stay open; close each brand you hold, whoever owns it, and get each closure confirmed in writing |
| Closing to stop betting, then opening a new account somewhere else | Nothing changes; self-exclusion or BetStop is the tool for stopping |
| Leaving a bookmaker login stored in software after closing | A copy of a password you may use elsewhere sits with a third party |
| Ignoring offers that arrive after closure | A breach of the marketing rule goes unreported |