Effective Strategies for Responsible Gambling
Understanding responsible gambling starts with understanding gambling in general. Most players get lost and often forget that most online casino games are nothing else but a game of chance. Even with the best skills, you can never guarantee your next win. It sounds simple, still, it’s very easy to fall for all the emotional and not-so-responsible practices. In the next paragraphs, I will share my best strategies for betting responsibly and staying away from any gambling trouble in the long run.
Plan and Set Limits
Before sitting for an evening gambling session, create a plan in your mind about the time and money you want to spend at the online casino. I always set an alarm on my phone and fix a certain amount of money that I am willing to spend. The tricky moment is to not break your limits even if your budget has doubled. Emotions and that greedy voice inside you will whisper: ‘Do go on, it’s your lucky evening! You will triple or even quadruple the amount in just a few more bets and that new gadget will be finally in your hands!’ Whatever you do, just don’t listen to this voice. Once the alarm goes on – log out of the casino and find yourself something else to do, something important or exciting to keep your mind of wandering back to the ‘what could it be if …’ thoughts. I usually play some music and commit to my daily cleaning and t tidying chores. I’ve found out that doing something physical really focuses the body on its physical requirements and takes the attention off the mind and respectively from anything gambling-related.
Self-Awareness
This would mean to be aware of your emotions before committing to any gambling venture. If you feel sad, depressed, or even overly joyful, betting is definitely not a good idea and would never be an escape from your troubles. In fact, it can only make them bigger and the emotions even more extreme. Making decisions while under the control of your emotions is never a good idea even in life in general. If you catch yourself gambling for the wrong reason, just stop! But stopping is not so easy to do especially if you’re entering a stage of gambling addiction. Some players force themselves to stop only to be back in front of the screen a few hours later. This is a good situation to use the self-exclusion option which most responsible casinos provide. Applying it, will limit your access to the casino for a certain period and even when that time is over, logging in once again would require a lot more processing effort than usual.
Get Help
For all UK players, there are several organisations that provide free of charge support, advice, and counselling. All trustworthy gambling platforms do work in close partnership with most of the leading responsible gambling companies such as GamCare, GambleAware, Gamblers Anonymous and many others. Just look for a direct link to one of those on the website of your preferred online casino. And most importantly, know that seeking help is not something to feel ashamed of and is the first and only step towards overcoming any sort of gambling troubles.