Responsible Gambling

What does Responsible Gambling mean?

So, what exactly is responsible gambling?

When you register at a betting site, you’ll notice you have to share a lot of personal information. As well as this, you’re required to verify this information, which can sometimes take a day or two to complete. There are a variety of verification documents you might be asked to upload to confirm your details. Examples include:

• Copy of your Photo ID to confirm your identity
• Copy of a utility bill or bank statement to confirm your address
• Copy of your bank card or ewallet statement to confirm your deposit method

There are a number of reasons why betting sites require this information.

You might also be asked to provide proof of your income. This might seem a little invasive, but betting sites are required by law to ensure their customers can comfortably afford to bet with them. There are other reasons, too. Your chosen site needs to ensure that you’re betting with your own money and you have a regular income. To satisfy this criteria, you could be asked to provide any of the following:

• Payslip
• Bank Statement
• Proof of Occupation

Once you’ve completed the verification procedure, you’ll be able to make deposits, place bets and request withdrawals. Note, though, that you might need to provide further documents at a later date, particularly for proving your income.

Responsible Gambling Tools

Let’s take a closer look at the range of tools and guidance betting sites provide. We highly recommend you consider employing these tools, as they can go a long way in protecting you and your funds, helping to ensure a safer gambling experience.

1. Deposit Limits

Betting sites offer you the option to create or set a Deposit Limit. With this function, you can set a maximum amount to deposit either by day, by week or by month.

This means if you try to make a deposit higher than the limit you’ve set, or attempt to make an additional deposit which will take the amount over the limit you’ve set, you’ll be unsuccessful - the betting site will not process this transaction.

It is possible to increase the Deposit Limit you’ve set if you so wish. However, there is usually a set time period which will need to elapse before the increase will be activated. For instance, most sites set a 24 hour notice period for the change to take effect. This allows you the time to carefully consider the increase.

When you sign up to an online bookmaker or casino, you’re likely to find a Set a Deposit Limit tab on the registration form. You can choose not to create one and then set one at a later date via the My Account section. Similarly, you can set a limit then choose to increase or decrease your Limit in the future.

2. Reality Check

A Reality Check will notify you of how long you’ve been logged into your betting account. This Responsible Gambling tool is common at online casinos, where it can be very easy to lose track of time while you’re playing the slots.

You can set a Reality Check for a set time period of your choice, but usually between 30 minutes and 60 minutes. Once your selected time period has elapsed, you’ll receive a notification on the betting site page you’re currently using reminding you of the amount of time you’ve spent gambling. In this notification, you’ll have easy access to your bet history, as well as the option to log out of your account.

3. Loss Limits

Setting a Loss Limit can help you stay in control of your funds particularly well. With this feature, you’re able to set an amount you’re comfortable with losing, usually over a set time period. If you meet this amount, you’ll no longer be able to place bets during that session.

If you win a bet, the amount of your winnings is usually subtracted from your Loss Limit, in other words, this amount offsets the amount you’ve staked and lost.

While this is an incredibly useful tool, some operators do not provide this. We cannot stress the importance of keeping a tight rein of your bankroll strongly enough. If your operator of choice doesn’t offer a Loss Limit feature, it’s even more important you keep track of the amount you’re staking when you bet.

4. Wager Limits

Another really useful tool is the Wager Limit tool. Here, you can set a maximum amount you can place bets with. If you attempt to go over this figure, the betting site will reject your bet.

Typically, you’re able to create a Wager Limit to last a specific period of time. Most operators who offer this gambling tool give you the option to set a 24 hour, 48 hour and 7 day Wager Limit period.

Most sites allow you to decrease your Wager Limit amount and activate this immediately. If you want to increase your Wager Limit, there is a 24 hour cooling off period, as with the Deposit Limit tool, which can give you the time to assess your decision to increase the amount of funds for gambling purposes.

5. Self Assessment

At almost every betting site across the globe, you’ll find a self-assessment questionnaire. This is designed to help you to evaluate your betting habits and remind you of the key components of betting responsibly.

The types of questions can differ, depending on who you’re betting with. However, typical self-assessment questions will be similar to those we’ve listed below.

• Do you gamble when you’re bored?
• Do problems in your personal life make you gamble more?
• Do you lie to friends and family about the amount you spend gambling?
• Does gambling lead you to feel sad, down or depressed?
• Do you spend all of your money on gambling, leading you to not afford food, rent or bills?
• Do you feel anxious or empty if you can’t gamble?
• Do you panic if you lose a bet?
• Do you try to recoup your losses immediately after losing?

6. Time Out

The Time-Out feature allows you to take a break from gambling by blocking access to your betting account. There are a variety of reasonably short time limits this feature allows you to set. During this time, you won’t be able to access your account, make deposits or place bets (although you are able to contact the customer support team of your site of choice).

There are a variety of time limits you can set. Most betting sites give you the options of setting a Time-Out limit of 24 hours, a week or a month.

7. Self-Exclusion

Self-Exclusion allows you to block access to your betting account for a much longer period of time than the Time-Out function. For self-exclusion, it’s possible for you to set a time period of between six months and five years. It’s also possible to permanently self-exclude and/or close your betting account.

During this time, you won’t be able to access your account, make deposits or place bets. Again, you can contact the customer support team with any issues you might have.

8. Account and Bet History

All betting sites provide you with your account and bet history. These features will provide you with all details of your gambling activity, such as when you created your account, the number and value of deposits you’ve made, stakes you’ve placed, details of all wins and losses and the amount you’ve withdrawn from your betting account.

It can be extremely useful to access this information, as it can help you assess how much you’ve spent, how much you’ve won and how much you’ve lost.

We do, though, want to stress the importance of keeping your own records, along with assessing and analysing these details on a regular basis.

Signs of Problem Gambling

It can be difficult to judge or assess if you or someone you know has a problem with gambling. One of the definitions of problem gambling is that it has a negative effect on your life such as how you feel, your relationships, your social life and your work life.

We’re going to take a look at some of the signs that you or someone you know has an issue with gambling. Again, any or all of these signs could point to a problem, but remember, there is lots of free, impartial help and advice available for any bettor who needs it.

• Spending more money on betting. We always stress the importance of only betting with what you can comfortably afford to lose. If you’re spending more money than you’re comfortable with losing, particularly if it leads to financial problems in other areas of your life, this might point to a major issue.
• Spending more time on betting. Betting on sports or at an online casino can make you lose track of time very easily. If you’re spending lots of time logged into your betting account, making deposits and placing bets, especially if you’re neglecting other parts of your life to do so, this could be a serious issue.
• Chasing your losses. This can be very easily done, and it’s something we strongly warn against. If you’ve lost a bet, or a few consecutive wagers, it’s easy to think about and regret the money you’ve lost, and place more bets in the hope of winning it back. Don’t do this. Chasing losses only leads to losing even more of your money. Keep a tight rein of your bankroll and don’t spend over the amount you’ve set and can afford to lose.
• Feeling sad, down or depressed. Bettors might feel this way regardless of the amount they’ve spent or whether they’ve won or lost bets. If you’re feeling in any way upset, angry or sad because of your betting, this might point to an issue. Similarly, if you feel guilty about your betting habits, or worried about how your habits are affecting you and the people around you, this might also mean you have an issue.
• Breakdown of Relationships. Experiencing issues at work or in your personal relationships and friendships because of gambling could point to an issue. Problem gambling can often lead to breakdowns in these types of relationships. Similarly, if you find yourself trying to hide your gambling habits, or lying about them to the people close to you, this could also point to an issue.

Organisations that can Help

Each and every country may have its own national support structure in place, and you should make use of these if they exist. There may also be local groups that are there to offer help, advice, and support. Global organisations available to anyone who thinks they may have a gambling problem are:

• BeGambleAware (Global) - begambleaware.org
• Gamblers Anonymous (Global)- gamblersanonymous.org
• Gambling Therapy (Global) - gamblingtherapy.org
• National Council on Problem Gambling (Global)- ncpgambling.org