Responsible Gambling Guide

How to recognize a problem

Problematic gambling isn’t an issue that happens overnight. That means most gambling-addicted individuals develop and maintain a wide range of warning symptoms. The common ground is that the earlier you notice the following signs, the higher chances are to proceed with a quick and barrierless recovery without drastic negative consequences.

Take a look at the following problematic signs that best depict one’s gambling addiction:

• Playing no longer becomes a joyful pastime; instead, you feel a need to play no matter what.
• It becomes tough to control one’s finance, especially in cases of borrowing or stealing.
• You tend to lie to your close ones about the time and money spent on gambling endeavors.
• You feel it comfortable to play with money that is usually spent on essential expenses, including mortgage, utilities, or groceries.
• Frequent changes in mood are noticeable, including the senses of irritation, agitation, and distress.
• You have already tried to reduce time and finance related to gaming but failed.
• Gambling has become a more important facility than your work, education, family, or friends.

Once you manage to spot two or more of the indicated warning signs, it might be just the right time to contact organizations that help to tackle problematic gambling behaviors.

How can I stay at control?

Before we move any further with a depiction of the ways of mitigation gambling addiction, you should recognize the importance of staying at control. There is a range of recommendations that have proven their efficiency in maintaining one’s control over gambling endeavors.

Before diving deep into the domain of online slot machines and table games, be sure to educate yourself about responsible gambling, wagering, and RTP. These pieces of information would be useful for getting a clear and transparent picture of how online gambling works in terms of wagering, returns, and payouts. Quite a related recommendation is to set clear time frames and budget constraints for your gambling endeavors. Since all the pleasant things in our life have to be limited to a certain extent, setting a budget as well as a time limit is an excellent idea.

Except for educating yourself, a good idea to keep yourself controlled is to perceive gambling as a joyful pastime. Instead of thinking of it as a main or additional source of income, it is vital to think of online gaming as one of your many hobbies. Staying at control also means being aware of gambling addiction problems, which were briefly outlined above.

Responsible Gambling Tips

Let us again emphasize the importance of being mindful of your gambling habits so that they cannot transform into addiction issues. If you are looking for approaches that might be useful for maintaining a responsible attitude towards gambling, we have already compiled a list of the most important ones:

• Licensing. One of the most responsible decisions of any gambler to make is to choose a website or a gambling operator. With thousands of online casinos that offer hefty bonuses without proper licensing, some gamers can fall short of choosing a proper online casino with a credible license. That’s why it is important to choose a licensed gambling website that can ensure tracking of your expenses, self-exclusion mechanisms, and adequate terms and conditions.
• Budget. Another vital tip is to control your wagering by your own measures. It is essential to recognize that you must not bet more than you are morally or realistically prepared to lose. Be sure to set clear goals on your gambling expenses, which can be divided into daily, weekly, and even monthly budgets. Only by setting clear and transparent budget goals, you can be confident that you will never get into trouble with online gaming facilities.
• Time limits. It might happen to any gambler that regardless of what budget goals you make, your winning streak in an online casino is on the top. Even though you are winning real money, you should be aware that time limits can become your additional responsible gambling mechanism. While thousands of gambling-addicted individuals have developed their problems because of time spent on gaming, but not money, it is an excellent idea to rethink the time spent on online casinos.

Although there are dozens of other tips and tricks to maintain responsible gambling patterns, the three mentioned ones are crucial for not getting into trouble with online casinos.

How can I seek help?

Alright, let’s agree that even the stringent measures of control can not work for some gamers, who find it hard to control their time and money spent on gambling. Once you recognize that it became tough to maintain your other activities since online casinos preoccupy your time and interest, seeking professional help is the best decision.

With plenty of organizations and specialized agencies across the United States and worldwide, seeking help in tackling gambling addiction and related disorders is a relatively easy task. Since the most important step is to recognize your problem, all you’ll have to do next is to stop hesitating and getting specialized help from real professionals.

In case you struggle to make the first step, be sure to have a sincere conversation with your partner, family, or friends. You should remember that gambling addiction is a disorder, like thousands of other problematic behaviors. Being serious and sincere by recognizing your issue is the first baby step towards getting out of this state quickly and without severe negative implications for your finance and well-being.

In that case, let’s take a look at the list of the local US organizations capable of treating gambling addiction in various forms and contexts. Read on.

Local US organizations

Once you have realized that your relations with online gambling are becoming problematic, don’t hesitate to contact one or more organizations from the following list. We can assure you that their treatment schemes and professional help can help anyone struggling with gambling addiction. Take a closer look, as follows:

1. National Council on Problem Gambling. Let’s start with the oldest organization that works with gambling issues. It was founded in 1972, whereas its main objectives are to advocate for problem gamblers and maintain a neutral stance regarding gambling per se. One of its greatest initiatives is called the National Problem Gambling Helpline. By calling 1-800-522-4700, anyone can get adequate help from one of the most respected US organizations. Other notable programs of this organization include the National Conference on Problem Gambling and National Referral Resource.
2. 1 800 Gambler. This is a free US helpline that allows gamblers to receive a call from a trained specialist specialized in working with gambling-addiction disorders. This specific organization also offers numerous ways to contact counselors, alongside brochures and informational letters related to gambling. This is an ideal choice for people who are looking for a bit of inspiration to start dealing with problematic gaming once and forever.
3. Stop Predatory Gambling. One of the main directions of the work of this agency is to build a fairer and sustainable economy as well as create fairness of opportunity for all citizens to generate wealth. Although these goals are somewhat idealistic, this organization works in the direction of reducing the amount of marketing done by gambling platforms. Except for these domains of work, Stop Predatory Gambling also offers a chance to get professional assistance once you have any problems with online or land-based gaming.
4. Nevada Council on Problem Gambling. Since Las Vegas, Nevada, is known as a heaven of gambling in the United States, this local organization works to build awareness over problem gaming. Except for usual counseling work, Nevada Council also has a few treatment programs as well as dozens of regular community events throughout Nevada. This non-profit organization is also famous thanks to its contribution to the advocation of the recognized gambling treatment methods and schemes.
5. SMART Recovery. This non-profit organization has a history of 25 years of helping people to overcome their addiction issues. What makes it such a notable mention in our list is the popularity of its unique validated methods for empowerment, changing one’s lifestyle, and reconsidering gaming. Another great point is that the efforts of this organization are based on scientific knowledge, which continually evolves over time. With thousands of successful recovery cases, SMART Recovery is definitely an organization to recommend for people looking for a unique way of combating gambling addiction.
6. Gamblers Anonymous. As stated on the organization’s main website, it is a fellowship of men and women who share their experiences in a common way of helping each other recover from gambling problems. The only requirement for membership is to have a sincere desire to stop gambling and recognize it as a problem. Gamblers Anonymous offers both online and on-site counseling help. This organization allows contacting professional counselors online or by phone, whereas an option of finding a meeting in your city or state makes this agency to be one of the most trusted ones. With dozens of US hotlines and different types of meetings across the United States, Gamblers Anonymous has a detailed recovery program that can help anyone with problematic gambling behaviors.
7. Gam-Anon. If you are up for going through your gambling addiction by applying self-help schemes, Gam-Anon is one of the most efficient organizations in the United States. It is a 12 step self-help recovery program, which is useful thanks to a wide range of tools that supplement this scheme. You can be sure that dozens of land-based meetings, phone, email, literature, writing, sponsorship, Pressure Relief meetups, and 100% anonymity will help you in tackling your problematic gambling.
8. Gamtalk is a supportive community that helps people with gambling issues by giving them a space to share their experiences, worries, and ideas. Regardless of whether you do only have hesitations about compulsive gambling or you’ve already acquired its most warning signs, getting professional counseling is always needed. The good news is that Gamtalk works via an online chat, alongside having a comprehensive community of health professionals, specialists from other NGOs, and already recovered individuals. Since an online chat works 24/7, you can be sure to receive adequate assistance even in the middle of the night.

Although there are thousands of other organizations and agencies that offer professional counseling, preventive, and treatment facilities to ease one’s addiction to online gambling. Therefore, we highly emphasize seeking help as soon as you are uncertain of your relations with online casinos since the offers to get help are countless.

Conclusion

In a word, gambling addiction has long been recognized as a real issue that relates to online casinos and gaming platforms all across the globe. Since it is crucial to comply with responsible gambling principles we outlined above, we shouldn’t forget that any gambler can acquire warning signs that display one’s disorders and problems with gaming. Even if you feel that you find it tough to control your finance or the amount of time you spend on gambling, the best way to deal with it is to contact one of the recommended US organizations. Remember: gambling is fun as long as you are not obsessed with it!