Playing Within Your Limits at Vegastars
Vegastars is for adults only, and you must be of legal age to play with us. Gambling should stay a paid-for bit of fun, never a way to make money or escape a hard week. Below we set out how to spot when play is drifting, which tools you can switch on, how to step away and where to find free, confidential support in New Zealand.
Warning Signs Worth a Second Look
Problems rarely arrive all at once. Be honest with yourself if any of these sound familiar:
- You top up again to win back what you have just lost.
- You spend more, or play for longer, than you planned before you started.
- You keep your play hidden from your whānau, partner or mates.
- You borrow money, or use money meant for rent, bills or food, to keep playing.
- You feel restless, irritable or low when you try to cut back.
- Sleep, work or time with people you care about keeps losing out to one more session.
If any of these ring true, set a limit today and think about a call to the Gambling Helpline.
Safer-Play Tools in Your Account
The tools below put the brakes on before a session gets away from you, and each suits a different moment.
| Tool | What it does | When it helps most |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit limit | You can usually set a cap on how much you put into your account | Before your first top-up, while your budget is clear |
| Loss limit | A loss limit is typically available to cap how much you can lose | When chasing losses has become a habit |
| Wager limit | A wager limit, as a rule, caps the total you can stake | When stakes creep up during long sessions |
| Cool-off | A cool-off usually pauses your play without closing the account | After a rough night or a run of late sessions |
| Self-exclusion | Self-exclusion typically closes your account to play | When you have tried to cut back and it has not held |
Limits are most useful when you choose them on a calm day, with a figure you would be comfortable losing in full. Write the number down before you log in and treat it as fixed. If the figure you picked starts to feel too low halfway through a session, that feeling is itself a reason to leave it where it is.
You do not need a crisis to use these tools. Plenty of players set a deposit limit on day one simply so they never have to think about it again. If you are unsure which tool fits, start with the strictest one you can live with; it is easier to stay inside a firm line than to rebuild one after a bad night.
How Limit Changes Take Effect
Lowering a limit
A decrease usually takes effect quickly, so a tighter limit protects you without a long wait.
Raising a limit
An increase is, as a rule, applied only after a cooling-off period. That delay is deliberate: it gives you time to ask whether you really want more room, rather than deciding in the middle of a losing run.
Choosing your numbers
Base each limit on what is left after rent, bills and groceries, not on what you hope to win back.
Stepping Away for a While or for Good
A short pause
A cool-off is usually the right fit if you want a breather without closing anything for good. Use it after a session that went further than you meant it to, or when life is busy and play is creeping into time you need elsewhere.
A firm stop
Self-exclusion is, as a rule, the option for when you want to stop playing with us altogether. Once it is in place, you cannot play on your account, and that is exactly the point: the decision is made on a clear-headed day and holds on a difficult one.
Talking it through first
If you are torn between a pause and a full stop, choose the stronger option, or talk it over with the Gambling Helpline before you decide.
Free Help in New Zealand
These routes cost nothing to use:
| Who | How to reach them | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Gambling Helpline | Free phone 0800 654 655 | A free 24-hour service, day or night, run by Whakarongorau Aotearoa / New Zealand Telehealth Services |
| Gambling Helpline by text | Free text to 8006 | The same free service when talking out loud feels too hard or someone might overhear |
| Our support team | Live chat or e-mail | Questions about limits, a cool-off or self-exclusion |
Keeping Your Account Safe
Your sign-in
Choose a password you use nowhere else and never share it. Two-factor authentication can usually be added for an extra step at sign-in.
Your connection
Data between your device and Vegastars is typically protected with SSL encryption, and locking your own device with a PIN or fingerprint adds a layer only you control.
Shared devices
On a shared phone, tablet or laptop, sign out after every session and do not let the browser save your password.
Keeping Minors Away from Gambling
The age rule
Vegastars is for adults only. Nobody under the legal age may open an account or play with us, and an adult’s account must never be shared with a younger person.
At home
Keep your login details to yourself and never let a child play on your account, even just to watch the reels spin. Sign out when you put your phone down where younger family members can reach it.
Extra protection
Parental control or filtering software on family devices adds a barrier against gambling content. Talk to the young people at home about how gambling works and why it is for adults only.