Terms of Use | Ngā Tikanga Whakamahi

1.1 These Terms of Use ("Terms") apply to each of the websites we operate – pgf.nz, touchgrass.org.nz, beingplayed.info and selfhelptool.co.nz – and to any other website we operate that links to the Terms (each being "the Website"). The Website is owned and operated by the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand ("PGF"). These Terms also cover the services provided through the Website (the "Services") 

1.2 The Services differ by website: pgf.nz - information, online forms (including counselling requests and referrals) and live chat; touchgrass.org.nz - information and resources for young people and those around them, a referral form, live chat and an AI chat; beingplayed.info - information about sports betting; selfhelptool.co.nz - the self-help tool, including assessments, activities and accounts. 

1.3 The AI chat is on touchgrass.org.nz. Live chat is available on pgf.nz and touchgrass.org.nz. 

1.4 By accessing or using the Website or the Services, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Website. 

1.5 These Terms should be read together with our Privacy Statement which governs the use of your personal information. 

1.6 Our websites, including touchgrass.org.nz, are designed to be used by young people as well as adults. If you are under 18 you can use the Website and talk to us without a parent or guardian’s permission. We take particular care with your information — see our Privacy Statement — and nothing in these Terms reduces the care we owe you. 

2.1 The Website provides free online information, self-help tools, activities and resources designed to support people who may be experiencing gambling, gaming or screen related harms. 

2.2 The Website is intended to help people: 

(a) understand their gambling, gaming behaviour or problematic screen use 

(b) complete self-help activities 

(c) monitor their progress 

(d) reflect on their experiences 

(e) access information and support. 

2.2 Please note the Website does not provide crisis intervention support. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111. If you need to talk to someone now, you can call or text 1737 (free, 24 hours), call Lifeline on 0800 543 354, or call PGF Services on 0800 664 262, or the Gambling Helpline on 0800 654 655 afterhours. 

3.1 You may complete a short assessment about the impact of your gambling and get a personalised report without creating an account on the Self help Tool. 

3.2 If you create an account, your anonymous screening results can be saved to your newly created account. 

4.1 Creating an account on PGF’s Self-Help Tool, allows you to save your progress, complete activities over multiple visits, access additional assessments and reports, send secure messages to PGF and track your personal progress over time. 

4.2 You are responsible for keeping your password secure, ensuring your login details are not shared and notifying PGF if you believe your account has been accessed without your permission. 

4.3 The following information is stored within your Website account to support your personal use of the Website and is not transferred to PGF’s database: 

(a) journal entries 

(b) personal reflections 

(c) gambling spending tracker entries 

(d) gambling time tracker entries 

(e) gambling urge tracker entries. 

(f) This information remains available only within your Website account. 

5.1 If you send a message through any of our websites, including touchgrass.org.nz: 

(a) Your message is passed securely to PGF and recorded in our client records 

(b) PGF staff will contact you within 2 working days 

(c) All messages become part of PGF's service records. 

5.2 PGF does not provide crisis intervention support. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111. If you need to talk to someone now, you can call or text 1737 (free, 24 hours), call Lifeline on 0800 543 354, or call PGF Services on 0800 664 262, or the Gambling Helpline on 0800 654 655 afterhours. 

5.3 Live Chat Terms 

5.4 Live Chat connects you directly to a trained, professional counsellor or peer support worker using our secure platform. You can talk to PGF about: 

(a) what’s going on for you right now 

(b) someone else’s gaming, gambling or screen use 

(c) what help is available  

(d) changing or booking an appointment. 

5.5 PGF’s live chat service is usually available from 8.30am until 5.00pm Monday to Friday and is a free service. 

5.6 Please note live chat is not suitable for suicide risk and if any indication of risk is apparent, the counsellor will ask to call you instead or ask you to call 111. 

5.7 You are welcome to chat with PGF anonymously to get support. During the chat conversation PGF may ask you for personal information which helps us identify appropriate support for you. A clinical record is then created and is stored on our secure database (read our Privacy Statement at https://www.pgf.nz/privacy-policy. 

5.8 You can request a copy of the clinical record at any time. If you have chosen to remain anonymous a record of your conversation is stored but is not identifiable to any person or place.  You can request a copy of the transcript, but it is automatically deleted after 3 months. 

5.9 At any time during the chat you can get a copy of your chat transcript by pressing on the 3 dots (...) at the bottom right of the chat window. Click on this and there is an option to mute chat notifications, email transcript or print the transcript. 

5.10 You also get the option to get the transcript if you press the power button next to the 3 dots to end the conversation.  

Once the chat is completed click on the "email transcript" option and add your email address. Click Send. 

5.11 AI Chat 

5.12 The AI chat on touchgrass.org.nz is an automated tool. You are not talking to a person. It is designed to give general informa tion and support and to point you to help; it is not a counsellor, and it can make mistakes. 

5.13 The AI chat is not for emergencies. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111. If the AI chat detects that you may be at risk it will give you crisis contact details, and PGF staff may review the conversation. 

5.14 Conversations are recorded. PGF staff may read them to keep the service safe and to improve it, and PGF uses them to produce reports about how the service is used, such as the number of conversations and the topics raised. See our Privacy Statement for how this information is handled and how long it is kept. 

5.15 The AI chat uses an artificial-intelligence service provided by Anthropic (United States). Only the text you type is sent to that service, and Anthropic does not use these conversations to train its AI models. Conversations are stored by PGF so that staff can review them – see our Privacy Statement for how they are handled and how long they are kept. 

5.16 Please do not enter another person’s personal information into the AI chat. 

5.17 If you would rather talk to a person, our live chat and phone line are available — see the Live Chat Terms and the contact details at the end of these Terms. 

6.1 If your account has been inactive for 12 months, you will receive a notification advising that your Website account and information stored only within the Website will be deleted after 30 days unless you log back in. 

6.2 If no activity occurs during that 30-day period, your Website account and information stored only within the Website, including your journal entries, personal reflections and gambling tracking records, will be permanently deleted. 

6.3 Information that has already been transferred to PGF's client database – including your account registration details, screening results (where linked to your account), activity completion records and messages sent to PGF – is stored securely, is managed in accordance with our Privacy Statement and the Privacy Act 2020, and is not automatically deleted when your Website account is removed. 

6.4 PGF keeps a chat transcript for 3 months unless you choose to have counselling with us, in which case PGF creates a record of the chat to assist the counsellor you will be seeing. 

7.1 You may use the Website for your own personal, non-commercial purposes. 

7.2 You agree not to attempt to interfere with the operation or security of the Website, gain unauthorised access to accounts or systems, upload malicious software or code, use the Website for unlawful purposes, impersonate another person or provide false or misleading information. 

7.3 You also agree not to enter another person’s personal information into the AI chat or live chat without their permission, or to attempt to extract, copy or manipulate the AI chat. 

8.1 The Website is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We do not guarantee that the Website will be error-free or available without interruption. There may be times when the Website is not available, in whole or in part, including because of maintenance, upgrades, technical incidents or circumstances outside PGF's control. 

9.1 Unless otherwise stated, all Website content, activities, graphics, text and resources, including any intellectual property rights, in the Website, are owned by PGF or licensed for PGF's use. 

9.2 All content on the Website belongs to PGF or is licensed to us. You may view, print, download and share information from the Website for your own personal, non-commercial or educational use, provided you acknowledge PGF as the source and do not alter it. 

9.3 You must not otherwise reproduce, adapt, modify, distribute, sell or commercially exploit any Website content without PGF's written permission. Some resources (for example on Touchgrass) are made available on additional conditions shown where you access or download them, and those conditions also apply. 

10.1 The information available on or through the Website is intended to provide general information to the public and is not intended to address your specific circumstances.   

10.2 Reasonable measures have been taken to ensure the quality and accuracy of the information available on the Website but PGF makes no warranty, express or implied, nor assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, correctness, completeness or use of any information that is available on or through the Website. 

10.3 If you find any information on the Website that you believe may be inaccurate, please contact us. 

10.4 The information on the Website may be changed, deleted, added to, or otherwise amended without notice. 

10.5 We are not responsible for the content of other websites linked to, or referenced from, the Website.  We do not endorse the information, content, presentation, or accuracy of such other websites, nor make any warranty, express or implied, regarding these other websites. 

10.6 Any reference to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trade mark, manufacture, or otherwise does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by

11.1 The Website is intended as a self-help resource only. The content has been built using evidenced based resources that have helped hundreds of people impacted by gambling harms.

11.2 However, advice and other information that you access or receive through the Website is not medical, financial or legal advice and should not replace professional assessment or treatment.

11.3 To the extent permitted by law we do not accept any responsibility or liability arising from or in connection with your use of the Website or the information contained in it.

12.1 PGF uses reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect information submitted through the Website.

12.2 While PGF takes reasonable steps to maintain security, no internet transmission or electronic storage method can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

12.3 Users are responsible for maintaining the security of their own devices and login credentials.

13.1 PGF may suspend or terminate access to the Website, including to your account, where any of these Terms are breached or where necessary to protect the security of the Website or the users of the Website.

14.1 PGF may update these Terms from time to time. The latest version will always be published on the Website. Continued use of the Website after changes have been published constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

15.1 These Terms are governed by the laws of New Zealand. Any disputes relating to these Terms will be subject to the jurisdiction of the New Zealand courts.

Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand

Website: https://www.pgf.nz

Email: info@pgf.nz

Phone: 0800 664 262