Founding RG Lead · Staff since Feb 2023

Lisa Wong

Responsible Gambling Lead · PhD
Sydney, NSW Team member at VegasPokie PhD Behavioural Psych (UNSW)
Message Lisa Read her bylines
Credibility · Verified Expert
Tier: Verified Expert Standing: in good standing Last audit: 6 Jun 2026

Why you can trust Lisa's name — accountability, not points.

Every author at VegasPokie earns a credibility tier from real, checkable work — RG audits, self-exclusion and BetStop checks, and signed RG sign-offs — never from posting volume. Here's where Lisa stands.

Four-eyes principle · No solo sign-offs
Rule: nothing publishes on one person's word

Who checks Lisa's work — and whose work she vetoes.

Every VegasPokie verdict passes through at least two specialists. Lisa holds an independent RG veto over the whole site — but her own RG methodology is checked by our Editor-in-Chief and tech lead. Accountability runs both ways.

Wong vetoes / signs off → ME Maeve EllingtonEditor-in-Chief RG veto JR Jack RowntreeBonuses & Promos Bonus harm-check TC Tom CarlssonPokies Math & RTP Pokies RG-check
Wong holds an independent RG veto over every listing on the site — no score overrides it.
← Checks Wong ME Maeve EllingtonEditor-in-Chief Editorial sign-off JH James HollowayTech & QA Lead Tech & data
Maeve gives final editorial sign-off on Lisa's RG methodology, and James validates the data behind her veto calls.
In her own words
Role: Responsible Gambling Lead Owns: RG audit · self-exclusion checks · BetStop integration · veto rights

About Lisa — and how she got here.

Twelve years in problem-gambling research and counselling, three of them building VegasPokie's responsible-gambling standard into a hard veto rather than a footnote.

About me

I came to this work from the clinic, not the casino floor. I hold a PhD in Behavioural Psychology from UNSW, and before VegasPokie I spent years as a Gambling Help Online counsellor — counselling hours sitting with people on the worst day of their gambling. That's the lens I bring to every casino we look at.

I co-founded VegasPokie on 21 February 2023 with one non-negotiable condition: that player protection would be a veto, not a footnote. I'm the sole authority on whether a casino passes our responsible-gambling threshold — if it fails, it isn't listed, no matter how it scores elsewhere. I also lead our GamCare AU partnership.

I've already vetoed brands — for hidden deposit limits, buried self-exclusion flows, and absent BetStop integration. If a casino makes it hard to stop, it doesn't make our list, and I'll happily explain exactly why.

My experience

Twelve years spanning the research lab and the counselling room means I read a casino's RG tooling the way a clinician reads a patient — looking for what's missing, not just what's marketed. My areas of depth:

  • Problem-gambling research methods — designing and interpreting studies on gambling-related harm.
  • Clinical counselling — front-line, one-on-one work with people experiencing gambling harm.
  • Deposit-limit & self-exclusion UX evaluation — how easy a casino really makes it to stop.

What I bring to the table

  • An independent RG veto. I can pull any listing on responsible-gambling grounds — no score overrides it.
  • Real BetStop testing. Self-exclusion and BetStop integration verified on a real AU account, not a press release.
  • Behavioural-harm review. Every bonus mechanic is checked for how it nudges loss-chasing before it's listed.

My vision

Gambling must be safe first, entertaining second. A casino that hides the off-switch has already failed the only test that matters to me — and on this site, an RG failure overrides any score, full stop.

My goal is that an Australian player never has to wonder whether the casino we recommend will help them stop when they need to. If you've spotted an RG problem we've missed — or you need help yourself — please reach out.

Specialisms · What she audits

Areas of expertise — the topics Lisa owns.

Where Lisa's RG calls carry the most weight — and the subjects she's most often cited on.

Responsible gambling Self-exclusion & BetStop Behavioural psychology Deposit-limit design Problem-gambling research Player-harm prevention RG policy & compliance
Recent activity · Public log
Showing: last 30 days Type: RG audits · vetoes · methodology edits

What Lisa's been working on — in the open.

A live record of the RG audits, vetoes and methodology changes Lisa has signed off recently. No edits happen silently — every change is dated and attributed.

RG Audit 06 Jun 2026

Ran a full responsible-gambling re-audit of our Top 10 list, checking deposit limits and self-exclusion flows on each operator.

Veto 01 Jun 2026

Vetoed a casino for absent BetStop integration and pulled it from consideration before it could reach our review queue.

Edit 26 May 2026

Rewrote the BetStop section of our methodology to require verified self-exclusion sign-up testing on a live AU account.

Partnership 19 May 2026

Renewed our GamCare AU counselling partnership and added a direct help-pathway link to every responsible-gambling page.

RG Re-check 12 May 2026

Re-checked deposit-limit and reality-check tooling across five listed casinos; all retained their RG sign-off after testing.

Bylines · Guides & research
Authored: RG & safety guides All: clinically reviewed

Articles by Lisa — guides she's authored.

The responsible-gambling guides, safety explainers and research pieces carrying Lisa's byline. Every one is signed, dated and open to reader corrections.

Safety
15 May 2026

Responsible Gambling in Australia: Tools, Limits & Where to Get Help

5.0
Safety
20 Feb 2025

How Self-Exclusion & BetStop Actually Work

5.0
Research
09 Sep 2024

Spotting Problem-Gambling Triggers in Casino Design

4.9
Casino reviews · RG-audited
RG sign-off: required on every listing Each: BetStop & self-exclusion tested

Casino reviews signed off by Lisa — RG-passed, with her name on it.

Casinos that cleared Lisa's responsible-gambling audit — deposit limits, self-exclusion and BetStop all verified. Listings include affiliate links — but a casino that fails the RG audit is never listed, no matter what it pays.

Connect with Lisa

RG questions, research collaboration, or a player-protection concern to flag — she answers.

LinkedIn ORCID Email