When gambling, there is nothing more important than to prevent yourself from becoming addicted. Online gambling at a casino or sportsbook is meant to be harmless fun, enjoying playing games or sporting events. No stress should be added, and it needs to be done within your financial means.
As soon as gambling becomes part of an over-reliance or drain on your resources, it is time to stop. This page, along with many other responsible gambling resources, will help you watch your finances as you have fun betting online responsibly.
What is Problem Gambling?
Problem gambling is a relatively self-explanatory term. However, spotting the signs within your actions can be harder. Much like any form of addiction, problem gambling can develop when you don’t even feel it.
There are certain forms that irresponsible gambling can take. This mainly shows itself in your gambling patterns and the stresses they place on your finances. For instance, you may be chasing losses after a bad run or betting substantial amounts because of the dream of a huge win.
Problem gambling also begins to negatively affect your life in other ways, often causing strain in personal relationships and sometimes leading you to think of nothing else.
Make sure to check out the responsible gambling pages we signpost you to in this article to find out more if you worry that your gambling experience is going that way.
Chasing Losses
The main form of problem gambling is when your sole purpose for doing so is to chase – or win back – the losses you have already incurred. These can be losses accrued over either the short or long term. The whole point of gambling online at casinos or sportsbooks is to have fun and add extra enjoyment and excitement to an event.
Therefore, when your whole reason for gambling becomes a task to minimize any damage, you’ll be doing so for the wrong reasons. Make sure you know exactly why you’re gambling in a certain way.
Often, this will be done on slot machines, where chances are random but potentially fruitful, or by live betting on sports you don’t know as much about simply because you can win then and there.
Betting Beyond Your Means
The other big form of problem gambling is betting beyond your means. This means funding your online accounts with money which is either part of quickly dwindling savings or by loans taken out. It is never advisable to take out loans for gambling. If you ever do so, you should seek guidance from the NCPG immediately.
A tip for any bettors online, regardless of the stakes, is to only bet what you can afford to lose. This means that if you are worried about a bet not coming in because of the size of the stake, you should either stop yourself from placing that bet or reduce the stakes substantially.
How We Deal With Problem Gambling
At Business2Community, we include references to responsible online gambling in all our articles and pages on the subject. Online gambling is only fun and recommended for those who will play within their means and enjoy it, rather than find it a drain on their quality of life.
As a result, we do all of the following throughout our site to combat problem gambling and encourage betting only when it can be thoroughly enjoyed.
Regular Reminders
We compile lists of top platforms for various sportsbooks and online casinos, plus reviews of every online gambling site worth checking out for American players. However, we don’t just do this because of the affiliations we have with them – we try to be as transparent as possible when it comes to this.
Within all of these, we remind our readers of the dangers of gambling getting out of control and include links to the best resources for those who believe gambling is becoming a stress rather than a source of enjoyment. No page on this site is without these assurances of safety.
Raising Awareness
As well as reminders within our review and ranking pages, we raise awareness with dedicated links to the best responsible gambling resources. Equally, we include pages – like this one – for further insight into how we ensure problem gambling is not encouraged on Business2Community.
Offer Industry Statistics
Further to raising awareness and reminding players of the potential dangers, we also have pages that outline statistics most pertinent to the industry. While all the sites we recommend are safe and secure when enjoyed properly, the bookmaking industry continues to be heavily profitable.
It is always worth noting that the house will always win. Even when one player wins big, the casino or sportsbook will have a thousand others losing to cover that amount. The statistics we outline are to highlight these industry facts.
Self-Exclusion
One of the best methods that an online gambling site can take to ensure the safety of their players is to offer self-exclusion schemes for their sign-ups. Not only will this stop the player from becoming addicted, or chasing their losses, but it will also likely mean that they receive continued custom from that player at a consistent level. Ultimately, both sides win when this measure is in place.
Self-exclusion is where a player has the tools to limit their spending and betting on a site. This can take the form of daily, weekly, or monthly limits on the amount they deposit into their account or the amount they bet in total. For example, a player could limit themselves to depositing a maximum of $100 per week so they don’t incur significant losses over a short period.
These measures are usually firmly in place and aren’t reversible without going through a strenuous process. Ultimately, it’s not worth unlocking and changing them for the purpose of betting more. All responsible gambling sites maintain that this is one of the best methods by which sites can ensure the safety of their players.
Organizations
While we can advise you to gamble within your means, some sites fully focus on providing responsible gambling resources. We’ve listed seven here, including what support you can find on their sites and exactly how they can help you if you begin to struggle with your gambling.
NCPG
The National Council for Problem Gambling (NCPG) offers probably the most detailed resources in terms of combatting addiction issues to do with gambling.
Not only does it have many different web pages dedicated to various niches of this issue, but it also offers the chance to become a member of the site, talk to anyone 24/7 about anything gambling-related, and you can also connect with them on social media.
Occasionally, it offers events that gamblers can attend. These can be very rewarding in terms of hearing the stories of others, while also being able to connect and chat with those who have similar problems.
eCOGRA
Rather than helping individual online gamblers, e-Commerce Online Gambling Regulation & Assistance (eCOGRA) ensures that online gambling remains a safe sphere for everyone. What it does is test the sites you see reviewed and advertised on Business2Community, and even those that aren’t present on this site.
They are based in the UK but are accessible from anywhere in the world. You can learn more about how they test each site and why they lead the industry in this data-driven atmosphere.
GPWA
The Gambling Portal Webmasters Association (GPWA) is a professional organization and forum that has grown organically over the years. It boasts over 25,000 members, all of whom have an affiliation with the online gambling world.
This means that the site is full of resources that can aid those who simply wish to know more about the industry, but especially for those who are finding difficulties with their online gambling. What is really good for users of this site is that there are many topics raised by individuals who may be in a similar predicament and therefore feel more authentic.
GambleAware
The most common name to see in the UK during sports broadcasts, GambleAware is another site where users can talk to someone who can help. It encourages discussions regarding the online gambling world, which are not always easy to have.
Equally, it is one of the best sites if you know somebody else who is a problem gambler. This is very useful for those who have loved ones who are struggling, as often it is difficult to spot it in yourself. Bridging that issue with someone who may be in denial can be even more difficult, which is where GambleAware comes in.
RGC
RGC stands for the Responsible Gambling Council, which divides its site’s resources into three demographics: the general public, young people, and workers in the industry. This means you can seek help whoever, you are, while keeping up to date with all the latest news within the industry, in terms of developments made to make it a safer place for all.
IAGR
The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) is another organization that encourages industry members to form a community space to make iGaming and gambling secure and safe. It hosts events globally to give members the chance to network, while also allowing many gamblers to read through vital resources in association with problem gambling.