Responsible Gambling: The Ultimate Guide
Online gaming is meant to be a recreational activity for you to take a break from the stress that comes from the hassle and buzz of the day. However, some find it difficult to control and tend towards gambling addiction, which could cause serious financial, socio-economic, family, and life-threatening problems.
What is Responsible Gambling
Sports and online casino gambling were originally created as a recreational activity with the ability to reward you for risks taken. In the past, you needed to visit a physical kiosk or location to stake, and these places were prone to easy government regulations. However, since new technologies came on board and became more advanced, punters no longer need to visit a brick-and-mortar establishment as before. The Internet and mobile technologies now provide unrestricted access to whatever they feel like doing online.
However, people are different. Some have a hold over their gambling activities, while many find it really challenging to regulate how they gamble, resulting in psychological and monetary difficulties. This is where Responsible Gambling comes in, as it seeks to reduce the hazards related to an appropriate addiction.
Therefore, gambling authorities make rules that ensure online casino operators protect their players by promoting ethical, safe, and responsible behaviors when they use their platforms.
Our Responsible Gambling Pledge
As a strong advocate for responsible gambling, we at SlotsPeak always ensure that the utmost standards of uprightness and accountability are maintained in all we do. For this reason, we promote responsible gaming, as we firmly believe that online sports and casino gaming should only be for fun and recreational purposes.
Our team of experts are top professionals with several years of experience in the iGaming industry, and the opinions they give in our published materials are strictly for recreational purposes. We don’t support any illicit activity in relation to gambling, as our focus is on providing accurate information while also contributing our quota to ensuring a safe environment.
Guidelines for Responsible Gambling
To maintain responsible gambling, players must seek and incorporate a strict approach towards wagering to minimize the dangers associated with this recreational activity and prevent any form of addiction. At SlotsPeak, we believe this is the work of both the users, and service providers to guarantee a safe and fair environment for all parties. Here are some key guidelines:
- Understand your limits – Before you consider gambling, the first question you ought to ask yourself is «Do I know my limits?». This is a fun and risky activity that shouldn’t be seen as a way to make income. With limits, you have to know your money and time ranges. That is why we always advise you to decide and only play with the money you can afford to lose. Don’t use funds you’ve budgeted for essential things like food, rent, and bills to gamble. What’s more, plan and stick to a certain amount of time for your sessions. Stay clear of long and unplanned gambling sessions.
- Know the risks involved – Even though gambling is a recreational activity, it has the potential to give rewards when you play with real money. However, you should know that this is a game of chance. The same way you have the chance of winning is also the same way you have the chance of losing. You have to understand the odds and have at the back of your mind that the odds are always against you. Therefore, know the rules and the odds of the game you’re playing before betting with real money.
- Take breaks from casino playing – There are tools that can help you set time to stay off gambling. You can take days, weeks, or even months by using these tools. Breaks will help you stay leading your time and resources.
- Request help if needed – Before it becomes too late, you can seek help if you feel your casino activities are becoming a problem. Many organizations offer resources such as support groups, therapy, and customer care helplines for those struggling with gambling addiction.
Responsible Gambling Tools
Over the years, several online providers have implemented tools into their platforms for players to use for responsible gaming. Depending on the casino you register, here are some of the tools you can use.
- Deposit limits – Several casinos allow users to set either a daily, weekly, or monthly limit to their deposits. The way this works is that when the limit is reached, the account holder won’t be able to make any more payments until the set time elapses.
- Loss limits – Just like the deposit limit, you can also set the number of losses for your account either daily, weekly, or monthly. This helps you play responsibly.
- Playing time limits – This tool allows you to control your gaming sessions, as you’ll be automatically logged out of your account after the set duration.
- Take reality checks – Another tool some online casinos have available to promote responsible gaming is the reality check alert. You can set these prompts to appear at certain times of your choice to remind you of the time you’ve spent on the platform.
Responsible Gambling and Self Exclusion
One of the major responsible gambling features that both online and physical casino providers make available for gamblers using their services is the voluntary self exclusion tool. This allows you to totally exclude yourself from both physical and online platforms. You can choose to self-exclude for a day, a month, or even permanently by contacting the website’s support or directly from your account.
When you exclude yourself from a casino or chain of online wagering platforms, you can still remove your money from your profile. However, you will be restricted from making deposits or accessing the game library.
Monitoring Your Playing History
Another thing you can do to stay controlling your activities is to monitor your gaming history. This doesn’t only show you how much time or money you spend on the platform, it also helps you to recognize your playing patterns. You can quickly notice if any form of addiction is surfacing. Here are some of the important things to consider when monitoring your gaming history.
- You can quickly notice any formulating gambling behaviors and patterns to actually know when, how, and what motivated you to gamble.
- Monitoring your history gives you a record of how much you win or lose and allows you to incorporate limits into your gameplay.
- Also, by studying your account history, you can always be responsible for your behavior and avoid addiction.
- Finally, you can quickly identify potential problems by studying your history. Noticing overspending or elongated playing time can give you an idea that a problem is brewing.
How to Identify Problem Gaming
Identifying a gambling problem might not be effortless, as several people believe they have it all under control. However, answering the following questions in all honesty will give you a clue if you’re still a recreational gambler or things are starting to get out of control.
- Have you placed bets in an effort to recoup what you lost on a previous bet or bets? Chased losses?
- Have you borrowed money or taken money meant for essentials such as food, rent, or bills to cover your casino losses?
- Have you lied to conceal gambling?
- When you run out of money to play, do you feel despair and work towards finding more money so you can recommence gambling?
- Are you always unwilling to spend the money you separated for gambling on anything else?
- Do you engage in online or physical casino gaming to escape from real-life problems such as marital issues, boredom, work problems, and all?
- Are you feeling suicidal or depressed because of your playing habits?
- Have you lied about winning when gambling when actually you’re losing?
- Do you find yourself failing on promises you made to family, friends, or loved ones so you can gamble instead?
- Have you thought of selling, or did you sell your belongings to get money to settle debts or gamble some more?
- Have your friends and family criticized you for how much money or time you spend on online casinos?
- Do you spend so much time playing that it makes you stay away from work?
If any of the answers to these questions is «yes», then you have to implement any of the solutions we’ve provided below.
What Should I Do if I Think I Have a Problem
The first solution to solving a problem is first identifying the problem. If you answered «yes» to any of the questions we posed above, putting in the effort to see the end of that issue is the next thing to do. The solution to a gambling problem can be as little as realizing that there’s a problem and retracing your steps.
From the above questions, if you notice a pattern forming, you can just take a break or set limits accordingly. You shouldn’t be afraid of taking charge of your time and money and if you’ve tried all those and still require help, several casinos provide third-party assistance.
Where to Get Help for Gambling Problems
To help players facing addictive gambling challenges, there are numerous resources and agencies available to provide support and assistance. They offer services like counseling, therapy, and many others. Here are some independent help providers.
- GamCare – They offer free confidential and nonjudgmental services in the UK through their toll-free number, live chat, group chat, and online messaging board that’s available 24/7.
- Gamblers Anonymous – It’s a group of people sharing their strengths, experience, and hope with each other with the purpose of solving a similar problem together.
- BeGambleAware – This organization provides free and confidential help both online and through telephone.
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Conclusion
Ensuring responsible gambling is a collective effort of both players and online casino service providers and at SlotsPeak, we always advocate for healthy gaming by providing you with information that reiterates that playing slots should remain a form of relaxation.