For most people, gambling is a relaxing leisure activity, but there are gamblers who view gambling as a source of income.
Excessive gambling consumption can lead to far-reaching consequences such as psychological dependence and disintegration of social relations. To keep control over gambling, it is important to prevent the dependency problems through preventive measures.
A Healthy Relationship with Online Gaming Sites
The first rule of gambling online is: have fun! To put it in a nutshell, but without sounding dramatic, online gambling is nothing more than purchased entertainment. If you can understand and comprehend this, you are on the right path to healthy gambling behavior.
If you arrange to meet friends for a movie night and each pays their entrance to see the movie, this is also bought entertainment. The same applies to signing up for streaming services like Netflix or music streaming services like Spotify – all purchased entertainment.
The example above makes it clear that if a movie wasn’t that exciting or thrilling, most people only take note of this briefly and watch another movie that hopefully meets the viewer’s expectations.
No one here would think of asking for their money back or trying to make up for what they consider lost time or reclaim it from the service provider. This is exactly how the attitude must be with purchased entertainment in the online casino.
If the game is not exciting and only a few winnings have been made, one must accept this as it is and not get any wrong ideas, such as “winning back the money wagered”. Playing means having fun with entertainment in the form of games or tournaments, enjoying the thrill and watching enjoyable betting events.
Gambling does not mean making a huge fortune overnight to retire afterwards. Far from it! We recommend every player to think about their gambling habits before registering at the online casino. Ask yourself these questions before signing up and you will know why you want to sign up (and whether you might be taking a wrong turn):
- What do I want to play at the casino?
- How much money do I have available to play with?
- Have I had a bad experience with or because of gambling?
- Couldn’t the money in the casino be better used elsewhere?
- Why do I play in the casino – curiosity, leisure time or because of the hope for the big money?
- Do I have enough free time to monitor, control and, if necessary, adjust my gambling behavior?
These are general questions that we on onlinecasinoprofy.co.uk advise every player to answer before entering their name into the registration form.
If you encounter any conflicts or discrepancies between the question and your answer, we recommend that you reconsider registering at the casino and possibly do so later – namely, when any concerns or conflicts have been resolved beyond any doubt.
What is Gambling Addiction?
Pathological gambling, also known as gambling addiction, is a recognized medical condition. Like most types of addiction, it usually begins and progresses insidiously – i.e., without the person affected or their environment noticing anything.
Affected persons usually start with small stakes on slot machines or in online casinos. Once winnings have been achieved, increasingly higher amounts are gradually wagered.
The losses are often so annoying for those affected that they try to make up the difference between the stake and the winnings by continuing to gamble. This is often associated with fear of failure or other psychological disorders. This creates a so-called “downward spiral”: higher losses are attempted to be made up for with ever higher stakes.
In the loss phase described by medical experts, neglect of family, friends and work usually also begins – and the actual addiction is starting to take shape. Financial and social problems ensue. The ultimate loss of control, however, begins in the subsequent addiction stage: the desperation phase.
Thus, gambling becomes the focus of life and daily routine – all other areas are severely or completely neglected. Lying, guilt, and withdrawal symptoms follow, similar to an addiction to intoxicants. It is never “too early” for help or prevention – nevertheless, at the latest here professional and adequate help and counseling should be sought.
How Do You Know if You Are Addicted to Gambling?
Affected gamblers gradually lose their assets, often neglect their families for an extended period of time and think about gambling all the time. Problems arise not only in the family, but also at work. Further indications of problematic or pathological gambling are the following ones:
- Strong devotion to gambling;
- Covering up the gambling problem to third parties;
- Restlessness and mood swings;
- Gambling to solve private problems or to cope with negative moods;
- Using illegal acts such as counterfeiting and cheating to be able to finance gambling;
- Compensate for losses by gambling intensively;
- Gambling with increasingly higher stakes to achieve the desired arousal;
- Using more money than one has available;
- Losing your job or professional problems because of gambling.
What Can You Do About it?
Gambling is a popular pastime and a form of entertainment, but since it has a high-risk potential, you should recognize the dangers early on. To avoid getting caught in the vicious circle of gambling addiction, it is of utmost importance to choose an online casino that promotes responsible gambling. Reputable online casinos work against gambling addiction with preventive measures. You’ll get a better idea of that here:
- Set wagering and time limits: Most safe online casinos have implemented different player protection tools. For example, many providers set a deposit limit for each player. This allows you to reduce your own spending. Another helpful option is the chance to set your personal betting limits, the increase of which will only take effect after a 48- or 72-hour period has passed.
- Self-exclusion: Many online casinos give their customers the option to exclude themselves from playing. This allows you to restrict your own gaming activity for a certain period of time, although this exclusion period can vary significantly from casino to casino. If you have already activated the self-exclusion, you will not be able to log into the respective casino or make use of its exclusive promotions during the selected period.
Reality Check
A self-test can bring clarity as to which path a player is on in the casino – or in other words, whether the gambling behavior is actually responsible or there is already a façade between reality and gambling. It is therefore advisable to ask oneself these questions or reality check and see how many of the following behaviors apply to oneself:
- Spending more money on gambling online than planned.
- Disturbing, interrupting or stopping the game evokes annoyance, irritation, or frustration.
- Attempting to compensate for losses by further gambling.
- Playing more than free time allows (playing at work, parties, and the like)
- Not being honest with family and friends when the subject of gambling at the online casino comes up.
- Instead of being satisfied with a win and stopping gambling, they keep gambling until it’s all gone.
- The belief in hitting the jackpot – winning big quickly.
- The illusion that you’re losing because you’re not playing well enough.
- The thought of online gambling takes up a lot of your time – how often do you think about gambling?
- Playing higher and higher stakes to get the same appeal from the game.
- Gambling is significantly “more important” or in the foreground than family, friends, work, or free time to relax.
Long story short, it is very fun to gamble – yet gambling with your own health is no longer fun. If most of the questions above apply, please contact a friend, your casino, or an official help organization like the ones below.
Renowned iGaming Aid Organizations
There are different organizations that deal with prevention and treatment of gambling problems. All reputable online casinos cooperate with such organizations, and you can see their logos on the casino pages. Here we briefly introduce you to the most famous organizations in the industry:
GamCare
GamCare is perhaps the biggest and one of the most recognizable help organizations in the online gambling field. It provides support, information, advice and free counseling for prevention and treatment of gambling problems. It has helped numerous gamblers get over their addiction and improve their lives. More information about it can be found on the official GamCare website.
GambleAware
This organization promotes responsibility in gambling. It offers counseling, information, help and support to the gambling addicts. To make a contact, you can either call or open a live chat window on the website. The counseling is free of charge and 100% anonymous. Moreover, the counseling is available in more than 200 languages.
Gamblers Anonymous
This is a community for people who suffer from gambling addiction. Sufferers help each other with information, experience, and compassion. This organization operates in the UK and on the official site you can find more information about the meetings. Furthermore, the site offers literature, forum, and chat room. If you are looking for meetings, you can visit the Gamblers Anonymous website.
Gambling Therapy
This online platform offers free help and support in several languages. The organization has also developed the product GamBlock, which is a software program for gambling addicts. Last but not least, Gambling Therapy still deals with support groups and has trained numerous trainers. You can find out about all the services on the official website.
Do You Belong to a Risk Group? How to Protect Yourself
Regardless of whether you are affected by gambling addiction, belong to a risk group, or have not identified with the problem at all so far, the most important thing is to deal with the issue openly.
Be Self-Critical
If you regularly gamble in a casino, amusement arcade or online casino, you should always observe and question yourself. As soon as you develop negative feelings while gambling, it is time to put on the brakes to stop the problem before it reaches its full potential.
Seek Counseling at the First Sign
Fortunately, there are several major organizations today that specialize in the issue of gambling addiction and its treatment. The organizations welcome anyone, even if you have only minor doubts about your gambling behavior and would not yet classify yourself as an “addict.”
Minors Need Special Protection
Minors are generally prohibited from participating in any form of gambling. While it is not possible to enter the premises or even gamble as a minor in land-based casinos thanks to direct age control, there is plenty of room for cheating online.
Reputable online casinos always allow the registration and deposit of funds only from the age of majority. To confirm this, appropriate identification documents such as an ID card or passport must be presented.
However, it has happened time and again in the past that minors have registered with the data and documents of their legal guardians and thus illegally participated in gambling.
Tips for Parents
As a parent, you should therefore keep a very close eye on your children’s Internet activities. Here are some helpful tips on how to keep your offspring away from gambling and its potential risks, and what to do if your child has already been gambling.
- Talk openly about the topic of gambling;
- Don’t rely on outside education;
- Watch your documents;
- Control your account.
The 10 Golden Rules for Responsible Gambling
To stay in control of your gambling and avoid problems with gambling, it is advisable to heed the following rules:
- Play only to lose as much money as you can afford;
- Do not try to compensate for losses by increasing the stakes;
- Set time and stake limits before playing;
- Do not play when you are tired or in a bad mood;
- Pay attention to how much time you spend gambling;
- Never gamble under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
- Take breaks from gambling whether you win or lose;
- Do not gamble to cope with depression or physical pain or to solve problems;
- Remember that gambling should be considered a form of entertainment;
- Strike a balance between gambling and other activities.
