Tips To Help You Gamble Responsibly

Gambling is fun, there’s no denying it. While the vast majority of players enjoy gambling without it influencing their wellbeing, some people are more susceptible to gambling addiction. In this article, we’ll outline the best ways to ensure you gamble responsibly.

Carlos Norberg, chief technology officer at cvasino.se (read more about his work) gives us his top tips for enjoying gaming in a safe environment.

What Is Responsible Gambling?

Responsible gambling is whereby players enjoy casino or sportsbook gaming in a fun, healthy manner and it does not impact their day-to-day lives. In Sweden, 1.3% of the population aged between 16-87 year-olds are recognized as having experienced a gambling problem.

While this may seem like a small amount, gambling addiction can ruin lives. This is why it’s incredibly important to protect yourself and choose an environment that will enable you to gamble in a safe, supportive environment.

Choose a Casino With Responsible Gambling Tools

Online casinos are becoming better enabled to combat problem gambling with innovative tools baked into their website to ensure gambling remains fun. Choose a casino with the following responsible gambling tools to make sure you’re gaming in a safe environment. cvasino.se is a Swedish affiliate site that lists a wide variety of casinos in Sweden, all with their very own responsible gambling tools.

Set a Time Limit

This will guarantee that your gaming is kept in check, and you do not play for too long. Time limits can be set for a certain amount per day, per week, or monthly. A great idea is to keep track of how much time you spend gambling and if you see a spike in your activity, this could be a warning sign that you’re playing for too long.

If you’re new to gambling, knowing what an acceptable time period to play for could be confusing. If you find yourself losing track of time, this is a clear indicator that you have been playing for too long and it’s time to curb the amount of time spent gambling.

Self-Exclude When Necessary

There might be a point when you feel that gambling is becoming overwhelming or you simply just need a break. This is where self-exclusion comes in handy. It’s as simple as selecting the option in your account settings or calling a customer service representative. Once you’re self-excluded, there’s an automatic cool-off period applied to your account, and you will not be able to play during this time.

During the period that you have self-excluded, you will also not receive any marketing communications including emails, SMS, phone calls, or onsite interactions.

Schedule Time Out

Time out is similar to self-exclusion, but you have control on how long you wish to take time out. A good example would be that if you’re going away for a stag or hen party where you expect to be drinking. Alcohol and gambling are an incredibly dangerous mixture, so you may choose to take time out during the period of your party weekend, for example.

Enable Periodic Notifications

Notifications are a handy way to remind you of how long you have been playing. You can set notifications to pop up hourly, every two hours or, a set time is chosen by yourself. Land-based casinos are not so strictly monitored as online casinos, and it’s not uncommon for casinos to be designed without windows and without clocks so that you intentionally lose track of time.

Online casinos are far more caring and attentive when it comes to transparency and providing a platform that enables safe gambling in the comfort of your own home.

Set Deposit, Wager, and Loss Limits

Setting account limits is a superb method of guaranteeing that you don’t deposit, or wager more than you desire to. Your deposit limit can be set in account settings. Many casinos operate a policy whereby you can only increase your deposit limit after waiting a certain amount of time, commonly 72 hours.

Loss limits can also be set in account settings. A loss limit guarantees that you do not exceed a specified number of losses during a daily, weekly, or monthly time period.

Bankroll Management

Bankroll management is managing your funds in a way so that you stay within a fixed gambling budget. The best approach towards bankroll management is to first decide on your planned monthly expenditure, divide this by the number of days you anticipate gambling online, and further break this down into a per-hour budget. If you exceed this amount, you’ll know that you’re managing your bankroll poorly and it’s time to take a break.

Online casinos often have analytics so you can easily track your bankroll in graph form. This will break down the games you’re playing on and how much you’re wagering in a selected timeframe. Make sure to keep an eye on the odds of the games before wagering.

Identifying That You May Have a Gambling Problem

Here are some common behaviors associated with problem gambling:

• Making back lost money – chasing that final win
• Preoccupation with gambling
• Increasing your bet limits to achieve the same ‘buzz.’
• Lack of self-control when trying to abstain from gambling.
• A feeling of irritability when cutting down on gambling.
• Gambling as a form of escapism from feelings of depression, guilt, anxiety, or helplessness
• Deceitful behavior towards family members or loved ones to hide the extent of your gambling.
• Jeopardizing or destroying important relationships because of prioritizing gambling.
• Stealing or committing fraud to obtain gambling funds.

While these are some of the common symptoms associated with problem gambling, everyone is different. Problem gambling can manifest itself in many ways and this is not an exhaustive list. If you feel that you or someone you know may have a gambling problem, it’s best to seek advice from experts straight away.

Conclusion

Remember that gambling is meant to be fun, and you should never jeopardize your finances or personal relationships when gambling. Gamcare offers advice in Swedish if you suspect yourself or someone you know may be experiencing difficulties with gambling.

When gambling addiction takes hold, it’s an addiction that can destroy lives. Make sure that you choose an online casino that takes responsible gambling seriously and has measures in place for you to play in a supportive environment.