You should be able to understand what is at stake when you choose to play responsibly. Moreover, there is enough information to go about, analyze, and return to the online casino environment with a better understanding. The truth is that the entire industry is in a really interesting spot because it has a definitive reason to behave adequately.
Continuity is more than necessary in such an environment because playing responsibly requires consistency. As such, you need to have enough data to take into account when going forward and betting on your favorite gambling activities!
What is responsible gambling, and why does it matter?
Responsible gambling, by definition, is a collection of practices that revolve around one simple idea: curbing gambling addiction. Responsible gambling takes into account sustainable gaming practices that protect your mental health and financial balance in an equal fashion.
Prevention is the main vector of responsible gaming; consistency is the key to its success. However, cases when damage limitations and an intense reaction against developing gambling addiction are just as important. Responsibility is accountability, but it also acts upon any effect.
Responsible gambling is much more than a mere principle. It’s also a form of self-regulation for most jurisdictions that deem gambling legal. This applies to both physical and online activities of this sort, but moreso with online gambling due to its accessibility.
The main reason why responsible gaming is so essential and widely-adopted by gaming operators is because it lowers legislative heat due to the perceived and statistically proven gambling addiction rates. As a result, the industry has been collaborating with authoritative bodies that operates especially to keep the market in check, regulate it, and protect consumers.
Naturally, legislative operations also try to ensure taxable and fair business practices, but the idea of protecting customers from addiction is just as important in this sense. As each jurisdiction matures and progresses as an authority within the gambling business, the rulebook thickens. Responsible gaming remains the only constant that has been unanimously adopted by operators across regulated markets.
Self-limitation – a bilateral affair
Self-limiters are at the entry points of any responsible gambling effort. First and foremost, it’s a creative approach from a casino’s standpoint because it allows itself the theoretical legroom to throw the ball in the player’s court. If the (online) casino provides the player with the tools to limit their exposure and intensity of gambling, its responsibility diminishes.
Moreover, many casinos wouldn’t even bother to implement such a method of assistance if they didn’t have to. Not all cases like the UKGC are in the same ballpark, and they are notoriously strict when it comes to how they provide licenses. Despite this perceivable issue, we need to admit that the mere existence of such limits is very useful.
These self-limiters manifest themselves really simply. You can implement them on all kinds of elements like game time, losses, or deposits. If you have a self-imposed limit over your wins, it matters not if you gained credits on 20 free spins on registration no deposit, or if you placed a fortune to win those funds. You won’t get to have any more money added to your account from any gaming endeavor.
You can set them periodically and can cover intervals that you can specify. Usually, the minimum is a day, while the maximum is around a month. Overall, they cover the ground of player self-determination.
Self-exclusion and distancing away
Self-exclusion is, in our opinion, the closest responsible gaming method to being universal. However, a meta-analysis of responsible gambling prevalence thinks that only 1 in 7 people actually access it. It’s an excellent aid on a theoretical level, but it requires a certain level of self-reflection that can actually lead to self-awareness.
Self-excluding, or taking a time out (depending on the period), is am essential format portion of a responsible gambling plan. It involves contacting the gambling operator where you’re doing your bidding and requesting that they block you from their website or network of casinos.
We’re basically talking about a self-imposed interdiction that aims to give you the breathing room to reevaluate and steer clear of a situation where you become addicted. As such, you would benefit from this breathing room. The interdiction can take anywhere between 6 months and…forever. You decide, but the 6-month self-ban is the minimum at most casinos.
What if you were to try to change your mind and essentially relapse? This is why nationwide self-exclusion programs are so important. Australia, a country with a significant gambling problem, has established BetStop, which is a national registry. In other cases, big casino enterprises have multiple brands under their belt or are part of an association that shares a player database. If you self-exclude from one, you’d likely have an interdiction from others.
Outsider help and relief
To be clear, we are referring to NGOs when we say “outside help.” Fortunately, there are state or national helplines, so non-governmental organizations are not the only ones bearing the burden.
The National Problem Gambling Helpline is a well-known state-side service that includes all US jurisdictions, not only those with legal gambling. GamCare is another organization in the UK that is notable for operating the British gambling helpline.
Conclusion
No closing thoughts would be better than those of a fellow journalist turned writer, Truman Capote, whose understanding of gambling is supreme: ‘Gambling can turn into a dangerous two-way street when you least expect it. Weird things happen suddenly, and your life can go to pieces.’ If keeping one’s lane equals self-preserving, responsible gambling is the only avenue.