Explaining Responsible Betting Online

According to various research, only 1% of people in America suffer from a gambling compulsion. That gets defined as a powerful urge that overcomes an individual, forcing them to keep wagering on games of chance or skill-based contests despite the knowledge that doing some may have significant repercussions to their mental, physical, and economic well-being. Sometimes called ludomania, problem gambling gets diagnosed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (its fifth edition) as a mental disorder, an addictive one linked with many of the symptoms and consequences associated with various substance addictions.

Per multiple studies, even though around 80% of Americans gamble in some form every year, few actually get addicted to this practice, with those prone to overindulging in alcohol being more likely to get affected by this disorder as well. Compulsive gambling also features many of the same negative aspects as drug and alcohol abuse, such as higher-than-average rates of anxiety and depression. Thankfully, those who decide to bet remotely have access to multiple tools that can help them dramatically reduce the consequences of getting overly immersed in this hobby.

In general, responsible gambling gets described as a set of measures that help people by stopping them from entering a financial rut by wagering more than they should, which can lead to social, emotional, and physical ramifications. The fundamentals of this practice revolve around being careful when one gambles, understanding the odds of every made wager, quality fund allocation for this entertainment form, sticking to restrictions, and knowing when to quit. It is paramount that everyone is vigilant and truthful regarding their betting habits and understand when the time to stop betting has come.

Signs of Problem Gambling

As elaborated above, this disorder gets classified as one where a person keeps on betting despite knowing how this hobby negatively affects their life. Hence, these people are willing to risk their health and financial state in search of something that presents greater value. They often do this because this activity affects the brain’s reward system in virtually the same way as alcohol and drugs do. That is why gamblers chase losses and often fall into debt.

Per most mental health professionals, the most common symbols of compulsive betting are getting preoccupied with this practice, being unable to resist wagering, feeling irritable/restless when one is not betting, gambling to escape negative emotions, and asking others for funds to keep betting.

Most casual bettors are able to set budgets and stick to them. But compulsive ones feel such powerful urges that they cannot control how much they are betting. These gamblers can have periods of remission, but those rarely last long-term.

In this guide, we will not get into the reasons why people gamble, so we will now move on to how people can manage their enjoyment of this activity.

Setting Betting Limits

Thankfully, in modern times, many high-quality gambling sites allow users to put in place various types of limits that help restrict their betting entertainment. It saddens us that not all online gambling platforms have adopted giving these options to their customers.

Before gamblers open their Internet sportsbook profiles to set restrictions to their betting activities, they should perform a self-assessment, be honest about their habits, define why they are betting, and note any signs of problematic behaviors. Then, they should budget their sessions, factoring in how much money they can afford to lose.

After a bettor does this, they can then input limits concerning time that prevent them from excessively betting, deciding a sum they are willing to deposit over a specific period and what is their loss cap. Hence, time, deposit, and loss limits are the most usual restrictions that gambling platforms supply to users to prevent impulsive decisions during gambling. They also offer a reality check choice, a feature that notifies how much money someone has spent on betting in a distinct period, helping them stay aware of their gambling behavior.

Self-Exclusion

What is self-exclusion? It is nothing more than a self-imposed ban that gamblers should be able to enforce on themselves, stopping them from betting more. That does not permit them to enter a financial pit from which they are unlikely to exit by themselves.

In most developed online gambling markets, ones that have their regulators, like the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden, national mandatory self-exclusion systems exist that do not allow gamblers with an active ban to use any other platform available and regulated in that country. For example, if a UK bettor activates a self-exclusion at one UKGC-licensed hub through the British Gamstop scheme, they will be unable to use any other UKGC-regulated platform. The same holds for German gamblers with an active Oasis ban. And for Swedish ones with a Spelpaus restriction.

On internationally-regulated websites, like those operating from Curacao or Panama, those platforms do not participate in wide-reaching self-exclusion systems/databases but implement their own, site-specific ones that step users from continuing betting there until their active ban limit expires.

Blocking Software

These are apps that aid gamblers in not overly indulging in betting. The most famous of this bunch is likely Gamban, which is available worldwide on hand for mobile and desktop bettors. It takes a multi-layered approach to users accessing gambling content, and it constantly updates its blocklist. 

BetBlocker is a renowned Gamban competitor that can get set up in less than two minutes and blocks almost eighty thousand sites. It gets run as a Scottish charity, funded as such. It runs quietly in the background, requiring no registrations.

Other alternatives to try that are comparable to the ones discussed in this subheading are Netnanny, Betfilter, Gamblock, and Freedom.

Note that most of these choices are not free. For instance, Betfilter will run you almost $6 monthly, and Gamblock’s Titanium protection costs $184 per year.

Anti-Problem Gambling Organizations

Depending on a gambler’s location, they probably have access to national/local problem gambling not-for-profits and various organizations that look to assist problem bettors in overcoming their impulse control issues. In the United States, the oldest organization in this field is The National Council on Problem Gambling. It got up and running in 1972 and has a neutral stance toward this pastime.

In the UK, the National Gambling Treatment Service is an invaluable resource, and so is the National Problem Gambling Clinic. GamCare is another high-profile organization that provides help regarding compulsive betting, primarily through online chat and phone support. Australians can reach out to -gamblinghelponline.org.au, and New Zealanders can turn to – pgf.nz.

For sports-wagering fanatics from unregulated regions that use off-shore sites who have issues keeping their betting in check, GamblingTherapy.org is a service that supplies emotional support and practical advice for free. They can also explore online forums and discord groups that link individuals suffering from compulsive betting, which provide a support system, or they can look to find a gambling anonymous group in their area.

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