Phone Gambling Limits: Lock In Your Time and Spend Before You Play

Phone gambling limits matter because a casino in your pocket has no closing time, no walk to the car and no friend asking if you're ready to go. Every barrier that a venue puts in your way, the phone removes. These tools put a few back. None of them is a cure on its own, but layered together they make it much harder for a quick spin at 11pm to become a lost night and an empty account.

Four layers of phone gambling limits

• Time: timers that lock your browser after a set amount of use, and quiet hours when it won't open at all.
• Money: bank-level gambling blocks and fewer saved payment details, so depositing takes deliberate effort.
• Access: website blocks and gambling-block apps that stop casino sites loading on your phone.
• Casino-side: deposit limits, time-outs or self-exclusion on your Fair Go account, if Fair Go offers them.

Because Fair Go is played in the browser rather than an installed app, browser-level limits cover it directly. That's one advantage of not having an app.

iPhone: Screen Time limits that stick

1. Turn on Screen Time in Settings if it isn't already.
2. Add an app limit. Tap App Limits, then Add Limit, find Safari (and any other browser you use) and set a daily time. Turn on Block at End of Limit.
3. Schedule Downtime for the hours you most want protected, such as late at night, so only the apps you choose stay available.
4. Block the site outright if you want a full stop: in Content and Privacy Restrictions, open the web content settings, choose Limit Adult Websites, and add the casino's address under Never Allow.
5. Hand over the passcode. Use the Screen Time passcode option and ask someone you trust to set it, so you can't approve "one more minute" yourself.

Menu names move around between iOS versions, so if a label doesn't match, look for the closest option within Screen Time. Our Fair Go on iPhone guide covers how Fair Go runs in Safari.

Android: Digital Wellbeing timers and Focus mode

1. Open Digital Wellbeing, found in Settings as Digital Wellbeing and parental controls.
2. Set an app timer. In the dashboard, tap Chrome (or your browser), then App timer, and choose a daily limit. When it runs out, the browser pauses for the rest of the day.
3. Use Focus mode to pause chosen apps on a schedule, for example every weeknight after 10pm.
4. Turn on Bedtime mode so your phone winds down at the same time each night.

Android's built-in timers are easy to switch off again, so pair them with the money and access layers below. Our Fair Go on Android guide explains how Fair Go runs in Chrome.

Money limits: your bank and your saved cards

• Bank gambling blocks. Many Australian banks let you block gambling transactions on your card from inside their app. Look in the card settings. Some make you wait before you can turn the block off again, which is exactly the point. The block also covers Apple Pay and Google Pay, because those charge the same card.
• Stop your browser filling in cards. In Safari's AutoFill settings, switch off credit cards. In Chrome's settings, under Payment methods, turn off saving and filling. Typing a card number out each time is a small, useful speed bump.
• Keep a separate entertainment account with only your gambling budget in it, if your bank makes that easy, and keep your main card out of reach.

If you use phone wallets to deposit, our Apple Pay and Google Pay guides explain how those payments work, so you know what you're limiting.

Gambling-block apps

Dedicated blocking apps, such as Gamban and BetBlocker, stop gambling websites loading across your browsers, and some cover several devices at once. They're harder to switch off than built-in timers, especially if someone you trust holds the settings. Check each one's current features and costs on its own website before you choose.

Limits at Fair Go itself

We haven't verified which responsible gambling tools Fair Go offers, such as deposit limits, time-outs or self-exclusion. Ask its support through live chat or email, and get the answer in writing; our guide to Fair Go live chat on mobile shows where to start. It's also worth knowing that BetStop, the national self-exclusion register, covers licensed Australian online and phone wagering providers. Fair Go is an offshore casino, so BetStop doesn't reach it, and the tools on your own phone and with your bank carry more of the load.

Make a plan before you open the browser

1. Decide how much you're prepared to lose this week, and treat it as spent the moment you deposit.
2. Set a timer in your Clock app for each session, and stop when it rings, win or lose.
3. Never top up mid-session. If the budget's gone, the session's over.
4. Don't play when you're upset, tired or drinking.
5. Never chase losses or play to pay a bill.

If those rules keep getting broken, that's the signal to talk to someone. Our responsible gambling page lists the warning signs and free support services.

Phone gambling limits FAQ