When gambling, there is nothing more important than to restrain yourself from becoming addicted. Online gambling at a casino or sportsbook is meant to be an extra bit of harmless fun to add some enjoyment to a sporting event. No stress should be added, and it is done within your financial means.
As soon as gambling becomes part of an over-reliance or drain on your own resources, it is time to stop. This page, along with many other responsible gambling resources, will help you to be able to watch your finances as you have fun betting online.
What is Problem Gambling?
Problem gambling is relatively self-explanatory as a term. However, spotting the signs of it within your own actions can be quite a lot harder to do. Much like any form of addiction, problem gambling can be striking when you do not even feel it.
There are certain forms which irresponsible gambling can take. This is in terms of the ways in which you are gambling that are causing your finances stress; for instance, you may be chasing losses after a particularly bad run, or betting substantial amounts simply because of the dream of a huge victory. That said, problem gambling will begin to negatively affect your life in other ways, often causing strain on relationships and sometimes ensuring you think of nothing else.
Make sure to check out the responsible gambling pages highlighted in this article to find out more if you fear at all 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 the losses you have already incurred. These can be losses accrued over either the short or long term. The whole point in gambling online at casinos or sportsbooks is to have fun and add an extra element of enjoyment and excitement to an event.
Therefore, when your modus operandi for gambling becomes a task to minimize any damage, you will be doing so for the wrong reasons. Make sure you know exactly why it is you are 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 do not know as much about simply because you have a chance to win then and there.
Betting Beyond Your Means
The other big form of problem gambling is betting beyond your means. This means funding your account with money which is either part of severely dwindling savings, or by loans taken out in order to do so. It is never advisable to take out loans for the purpose of gambling, and if you ever do so, you should seek the guidance of the NCPG immediately.
A tip for any bettors online, regardless of the stakes, is to always only bet what you can mentally afford to lose. This means that if you would be at all worried about a bet not coming in because of the size of the stake, you should either stop yourself form placing that bet, or reduce the stakes substantially.
How We Deal With Problem Gambling
At Business2Community, we make sure to include references to responsible gambling in all of our articles and pages. 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 tens for various sports, as well as casino offerings, plus reviews of every online gambling site worth checking out for American players. However, we do not just do this for he affiliations we have with them, as 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. No page on this site will be published without these assurances of safety.
Raising Awareness
Raising AwarenessAs well as reminders within our review and ranking pages, we raise awareness with dedicated links to all of the best responsible gambling resources. Equally, we include pages like this 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 to outline he statistics most pertinent to the industry. For all that the sites we recommend are safe and secure when enjoyed in the proper manner, the bookmaking industry continues to be heavily in profit overall.
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 comfortably cover that amount. The statistics we outline are to highlight these industry facts.
Self Exclusion
One of the best methods which an online gambling site can take to ensure the safety of their players is by offering self exclusion schemes for their sign-ups. Not only will this stop them from becoming addicted, or chasing their losses, but it will also likely mean that hey 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 own spending and betting on a site. This can take the form of daily, weekly, or monthly limits in terms of the amount that 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 that they do not incur significant losses over a short period of time.
These measures are usually locked firmly in place and cannot be removed without going through a strenuous process to unlock them. Ultimately, it is 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 give you the advice to gamble within your means, there are sites which are fully dedicated to the provision of responsible gambling resources. Seven of these are outlined below, including what you can find on their sites, and exactly how they will be able to help you if you begin to struggle with your gambling.
NCPG
The National Council for Problem Gambling (NCPG) offer probably the most vast resource in terms of combatting addiction issues to do with gambling. Not only do they have so many different web pages dedicated to various niches of this issue, but they also offer the chance to become a member of their site, talk to anyone 24/7 about anything gambling related, while you can also connect with them on social media too.
Occasionally, they offer events which 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) ensure that online gambling remains a safe sphere for everyone to be involved in. What they do is test the sites you see reviewed and advertised on Business2Community, or even those who are not present on this site.
They are based in the UK, but are accessible from anywhere in the world. You can find out more about what they do to test each site and their systems 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. They boast over 25,000 members, all of whom have an affiliation within the online gambling world.
This means that their site is full of resources which 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 viewers 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 are another site where users can talk to someone who will be able to help. They encourage discussions regarding the online gambling world, which are not always easy to have.
Equally, they are one of the best sites to go to if you know somebody else who is evidently 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 come in.
RGC
RGC stands for the Responsible Gambling Council, who divide their site’s resources for three different demographics: the general public, young people, and workers in the industry. This means you can seek help whoever, you are, while also 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 which encourages members of the industry to form a community space to make iGaming and gambling secure and safe. They host a number of events globally to give members the chance to network, while also allowing so many gamblers the chance to read through vital resources in association of problem gambling.