It does the gambling industry great credit that they are arguably the first line of defence against problematic gambling; rather than as many would assume, the cause.
All responsible casinos will usually have a clear and well-defined structure and policy to help problem gamblers deal with their issues. Casinos can help players self-exclude themselves from play for example, they can also provide links to groups that can help individuals deal with problem gambling. They will also have clear instructions and advice for people to follow if they believe they are a problem gambler and they can encourage individuals to impose limits on the amount of money people can deposit in a single transaction into their account.
What is abundantly clear here is that far from exacerbating the problem, responsible casinos and other types of gambling site take a great amount of time and energy to help gamblers with a problem face up to their demons.
It is important to note here that casinos are extremely pro-active in helping people seek the help they need, but also by the same token, they take plenty of measures to ensure that people develop a healthy attitude to gambling in the first place.
Indeed, if you are looking for a solution to problematic gambling, then ensuring punters develop a healthy attitude to their gambling is absolutely fundamental in ensuring that they enjoy playing casino games, or making other forms of bets, in the right way and in an enjoyable manager that does not impact negatively on any aspect of their life.
So how can you be sure you are developing the right attitude towards your gambling? Well here's some handy pointers to follow to help you ensure you are on the right lines.
1. What is your current attitude to gambling?
The first thing to ascertain is to understand what your current attitude to gambling is. Is this something you enjoy on a semi-frequent or irregular basis, spending a small amount and not really worrying too much about whether you win or lose? Or are you a more focused gambler who thinks carefully about what games to play or bets to make in order to try and maximise their profit?
There is no right or wrong answer here; it is simply that different people use gambling in different ways. Some believe that they can use their skill or judgement on things likes sports betting, poker or blackjack to try and ensure themselves a profit. Others, take a very different approach and simply play for fun.
As mentioned previously, there is no right or wrong answer here but before you can ascertain whether you are developing a positive or negative relationship with gambling, you do need to understand where you are starting from at this present moment in time.
2. What money do you use to gamble?
The first crucial question to ask yourself about gambling is, of course, the money you use to play with.
The good news here is that it is very easy to determine if you are at risk of becoming a problematic gambler and that is if you are using money that you should not use to gamble with. For example if that money should be being used to pay bills etc.
Alternatively, if you are only using disposable income to gamble with then this is a healthier sign as it shows you are controlling what you spend effectively and critically, you are only spending what you can afford to do so on your hobby.
Note here that there is no fixed amount where gambling becomes a problem. The financial situation of individuals differs greatly and a multi-millionaire, with a monthly income in the hundreds of thousands wagering 500 in a week is small chips to them. However for a person with a low income, wagering even 10% (50) of that in a week may well be far too much for them to afford.
The simple thing to remember here is that if you are using disposable income to fund your gambling and nothing else, then that is, usually, okay.
3. How do you feel when your wagers lose?
Having looked at the source of income, we now take a look at specific reactions to our gambling and in particular, how we react when a wager we make loses.
There are generally three reactions people can have here, they can be completely indifferent, they can react negatively, or they can react in what I would term as a positive/negative way.
By a positive/negative reaction I mean when a bet loses and the punter can almost laugh or joke about it. That doesn't mean they are not disappointed, but instead that they realise that the bet could lose and are not unduly surprised or perturbed that it did. This is a healthy reaction to have.
Indeed the only reaction I'd say you need to worry about is if you react negatively when you lose to a bet. Being indifferent is fine, provided that indifference doesn't then lead you to make further poorly judged bets aimed at recouping losses (we'll touch more on this later).
However reacting in an overly negative manner to a losing bet is usually a sign of a gambler who has placed a bet that really they should not have done and that is a real warning sign. Although at times there are mitigating circumstances (for example, if you are close to winning a large bet and in the final seconds of a game, a team scores which means your bet loses).
4. How do you feel when your bets/gambles win?
Your reaction when a bet wins is also key to understanding your relationship with gambling. If you are happy when you win then this is a good sign. It is also a very common sign as almost all gamblers will be happy when they win a bet and the bigger the amount you win, the happier you tend to be.
The real warning sign here is when gamblers start to expect to win and show no real joy when they do so. Other than in terms of poker players grinding out cash on multiple tables, where the wins are small but frequent, if you are not having a positive reaction to winning a bet, then you should ask yourself, why are you betting at all?
5. If you lose money, do you feel the need to try and recoup it immediately?
So you lose a bet, what is your first reaction? If your first reaction is to deposit more cash into your account and place a new bet to try and recoup your losses, then you need to think carefully about that.
This is especially true with casino games, all of which have a house edge, which means the more you play, the more you'll likely lose. You are relying solely on luck to turn around your fortunes and unfortunately, there's no telling when good or bad luck will strike.
If you lose, shrug your shoulders and can walk away, then that is a healthy attitude and you can come back to the casino another time, refreshed and perhaps with a bit more luck on your side next time.
6. If you win money, do you then just use that money to gamble more?
Another key factor is what do you do with your money that you win? Do you withdraw the cash and spend it on your friends and family so they can share in your success, or does it simply sit in your account as "bonus" gambling money for you to play with?
Of course, much depends on how much you win. If you win just a small amount of money they withdrawing it to your account is a little pointless, but if you have a win that is considerably more than you would ordinarily play with, you should really see the benefit of this and withdraw it from your account to enjoy in other areas of your life.
After all, if you don't, you'll likely just end up giving that money back to the casino or sports book, or other poker players over time.
7. Are your friends and family aware of how much you gamble in terms of time and money?
Another key issue is how aware and open you are with your friends and family about your gambling. Do they know how often you gamble and how much you spend? Does it impinge on their lives in any way?
If your family and friends know you gamble and how often and how much you generally spend on gambling, then this is a good and healthy sign. It shows you are open about what you gamble on and don't feel the need to hide it from them.
If you find that you are telling fibs to your family about how often you gamble and how much you spend, then this is a very worrying sign and a clear indicator that you don't have a healthy relationship with gambling.
As you can see fostering a healthy relationship with gambling is key to enjoying this engaging hobby in all its forms. Fortunately, the vast majority of gamblers can form this healthy relationship which means that millions enjoy casino games, sports books and poker rooms to the full, without ever running into the problems the few problem gamblers experience.
Next Post: Will skill games ever be part of an online casino's repertoire of games?
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