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Responsible Gambling

It’s sometimes a hard fact to accept but gambling is an addiction. That desire to place a winning bet and the excitement when your selection wins is something that can be hugely enjoyable. But we all know there’s a downside to gambling when that dead cert behaves like a dead loss and our bets come tumbling down.

Like any addiction, gambling is something that needs to be controlled. If it gets out of control, then the end results can be serious and no one wants to see that happen. Just as the saying goes, when the fun stops, stop.

Responsible gambling is something that is really important to learn. Recent years have seen an explosion in the number of betting avenues available to customers. The arrival of online gambling means that you can gamble 24/7 and that’s something that can make life difficult if you don’t behave responsibly.

Although bookmakers exist to make profits out of their customers, it’s good to see that they adopt responsible gambling policies. Even in High Street shops there are leaflets available that give customers advice on the subject.

This page will give you some helpful advice on how to become a responsible gambler. It’ll also point you in the direction of other sites that can really help ensure that your gambling experiences don’t cause you major problems.

Bankroll Management

This is the most important area when it comes to gambling. Bankroll management is the art of managing your money in order to ensure that you continue to bet in a responsible manner.

Always ensure that the money you are placing on a selection is an amount you can afford to lose. If your bet goes down, then at least it won’t have serious financial repercussions for you. Don’t put your rent money on Arsenal to beat Liverpool because what are you going to do if the Gunners don’t win? Just like going shopping, it’s vital that you don’t spend beyond your means as that will only lead to trouble in the future.

Gambling isn’t easy and there will be days when it all goes wrong. Odds on favourites you think will never lose can have an off-day and the bet goes down. Teams can put in improved performances and upset the odds, it’s been happening since day one and always will. We all dream of getting big wins but at the end of the day, when it comes to gambling, it’s often a case not of how much we win but how much we lose when that off-day comes along.  A penny profit is much better than any loss.

It’s important that you work out a financial budget for your gambling and then stick to it. Work your finances out, look at the upcoming bills etc., make sure they can be paid and then sort out a budget you can "gamble and afford to lose".

Say you’ve done that and have decided you have £100 to gamble with this week. You can almost treat that amount as being spent already If any of that stake is left at the end of the week then that’s great news.

Don’t go mad and put the whole lot on an odds-on favourite as your first bet of the week.  Only gamble a percentage of your budget. It's best to split your stake into seven, that means when it comes to days six and seven of the week then you’re guaranteed having some money left in the account to allow a small gamble.

If it all goes wrong and you lose that amount, then don’t panic. Whatever you do, don’t suddenly decide to put more money in your account in the hope you can win back what you’ve lost or just continue your desire to place bets.  Any further losses will seriously affect other areas that you need to be spending money on.

Deposit Limits

One way to control the amount of money that can potentially be lost gambling is to impose deposit limits on your account.

This can be done for daily, weekly and monthly amounts. Again look at your financial budget and work out just how much you can afford to lose. You can then apply that to your deposit limits and perhaps decide that no more than £300 can be deposited into your account during a calendar month or £70 a week perhaps.  To set your limits go to the banking section of a website or ‘My Account.’

It is possible to change your deposit limit but this can’t be done all the time. If you decide to make a change, then it’s likely you won’t be able to make another change for a certain period of time.  Generally, it’s once a month but this does vary between the many bookmaking sites out there. When a change is made it is usual that the changes don’t come into operation immediately.

Don’t keep increasing your deposit limits if you have been going through a poor run of luck. That really is a way to create financial problems.

Borrowing Money

This really is a cardinal sin.  Borrowing money in order to finance your gambling should never be something that happens.  It really can be a slippery slope if you decide to go to a short-term loan company for a loan.

Their interest rates are much higher than those charged by the High Street banks. Most of the time the cash you win (if you do win) won’t be enough to pay back the cash that you have borrowed. Borrowing in order to fund your bankroll is dangerous and can lead to high debts being accumulated.

Signs that Gambling May Be a Problem

If you answer yes to these questions, then your gambling may be becoming a problem.

  1. Do you find that in order to get the desired excitement from gambling you need to keep increasing your stake?
  2. Have you made previous unsuccessful attempts to control, reduce or stop gambling?
  3. Does attempting to cut down or stop gambling make you feel restless or irritable?
  4. Does Gambling dominate your life?
  5. If you get upset, do you turn to gambling?
  6. Do you lie to people you know when asked how much and how often you gamble?
  7. Has your gambling affected your life in terms of relationships or your career?
  8. Do you rely on others to help you when serious financial problems occur due to your gambling?
  9. Does your gambling leave you feeling upset and depressed?

Whatever You Do, Don’t …

  • Spend long sessions gambling constantly. This can tire you out and that will affect your judgement.
  • Just bet on something for the sake of it and without doing a little bit of research. Online betting sites are full of obscure events from all over the world. Even if it’s a football match taking place in New Zealand there are plenty of sites out there that can supply you with information about teams and matches.
  • Try to chase losses. A losing bet that goes down at 8pm shouldn’t be followed by a panic bet at 8.01pm.
  • Bet when you are upset or been drinking. Self-discipline is really important with gambling and if it slips then you can make vital errors.

Useful Resources :

Gamcare

Gamblers Anonymous

GambleAware

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