The gambling industry has grown significantly over the last couple of decades, which has led to ongoing scrutiny from various organisations in regard to addiction and poor regulation. As you can imagine this has focused the UK government’s attention, on the need for responsible gambling practices. Both the licencing agencies and the industry itself, have felt the pressure over recent years.
The key elements when discussing responsible gambling online, are what do we consider to be healthy play. It has been established that gambling companies are accountable for making sure that people use online casinos and betting sites for the right reasons. Whether this is for players to simply enjoy themselves or add a social element to their lives in group chats. All of this should be done whilst supporting the player to gamble within their financial means.
If you play online gambling sites and you feel as though you may need some support, then hopefully our responsible gambling guide will assist you. It may be to help you with preventative methods, or because you feel your gambling is getting out of hand and you need additional support. Within this guide we aim to explore what responsible gambling means and help you spot the signs of a potential issue, as well as explaining where you can find help.
What is Responsible Gambling?
Responsible gambling is about taking control of the situation. Our aim for all our readers is to have fun during their playing time, but this should be within affordable limits. No one should be able to spend excessively or more than they can afford, whether this is on bigger bets or by playing longer than anticipated.
Sadly, it can be easy for a player’s spending to get out of hand, especially if it isn’t monitored appropriately. But by considering and implementing our recommendations, we hope you can gain control of your online activity and gamble responsibly.
How to Gamble Responsibly Online
Our focus will be online gambling, but the actions we mention in this guide can be used on land-based gambling too, such as at a casinos and high street bookmakers. A gambling habit can get out of control in a number of ways and have a detrimental effect on your life and the lives of your family and friends. This is why it’s important to take any necessary steps before things get out of hand. These actions aim to help you gamble responsibly and prevent unnecessary harm caused by extreme gambling.
Signs of a Potential Gambling Issue
Although this is not an exhaustive list, these are some of the signs of a potential gambling issue. Recognising your behavioural signs could prevent both financial and emotional harm.
Behavioural Signs
- Chasing Losses – Trying to win back money you have lost.
- Loss of Control – Attempting to reduce or stop your gambling but failing to make it stick.
- Gambling Fixation – Thinking or talking about gambling constantly, feeling a constant urge to play or planning your next bet.
- Escalation – Feeling you need to bet more and more money, or play more often to get the same feeling.
- Escapism – Using gambling as a way to cope with stress, anxiety, depression and boredom.
Social and Financial Warnings
- Secrecy – Lying about your gambling, how much time, the amount of money spent, hiding bills or keeping secrets.
- Money Issues – Spending more than you wanted, debt due to gambling, borrowing money and selling possessions.
- Neglecting Responsibilities – Letting relationships and work slip.
- Mood Changes – Feeling irritable, anxious, restless, and withdrawn from family and friends.
Making Money with Responsible Gambling
The first and most important thing to discuss when we consider gambling responsibly, is the reason someone plays. Gambling should not be seen as a source of income or a fast way to make a lot of money. In reality a gambling site is designed to make money, so it would make sense that most of the time you will lose and they will win.
Of course, we may know someone or have heard of people winning a lot of money or having a decent winning streak. But in general, you will always spend more than you will win. Because of this we would recommend that you use gambling as a form of entertainment, alike bowling or going to the cinema.
Set a Budget for Gambling Responsibly
Another important consideration is how much you can afford to spend when you gamble. It should be an amount which doesn’t severely impact your life or leave you struggling to get through the month. There are many tools online, which can help guide you as to what a responsible gambling budget is. Whether it’s a budget calculator or a specific tool chosen by your gambling site.
One method is to write down your household bills and gambling budget, so you can literally see the amount you want to spend. This will hopefully remove the temptation to keep pushing through any losses. Because you know how much you need for your other bills and how it will be affected as a result.
After working out your chosen spending limit, you can still adjust it in the future. You simply head to the banking section of your account and increase or decrease the amount, but before you do, consider the impact this will have on your life. Reducing your limits takes effect immediately, while increasing them will take 24 hours. This cool off period is important because rather than chasing your losses, you can recalibrate and decide with a level head whether you want to add additional credit.
Chasing a loss is when you continue to gamble and make risky transactions with the aim of winning back money, you have previously lost. This is the worst thing you can do as a gambler because it can lead to losing much higher amounts of money. Many gamblers have found themselves spiralling out of control, resulting in increasing debt which isn’t the position any player should be in. Gambling is about having fun, not spending more than you can afford.
If you choose to increase your spending, then it’s important to be aware that you may trigger a ‘Source of Funds’ check. This will be actioned by the gambling site and is a legal requirement of holding a UK Gambling Commission licence. You may find that because of the SOF check that your account and any subsequent activity is suspended temporarily or even permanently.
Although we understand that checks like this can be an inconvenience, they’re important to protect vulnerable players. Most of the time you will be asked to show how you fund your gambling, to ensure that it matches up with your betting activity. This could be proof of earnings such as a payslip or evidence of money for example a bank statement. New regulations such as this may seem inconvenient, but they are important steps in protecting players.
Limit Your Gambling Time
Although this doesn’t apply to sports betting, another way to gamble responsibly is to track your gambling time. When you’re playing casino, slots and bingo games, it’s incredibly easy to lose track of time. Especially if you’re like us and you tend to gamble at night as you’re chilling on the couch. An easy way to remind yourself of how long you’ve been playing is to set up an alert. This will remind you how long you’ve been playing for, but it will only work if you make sure you stick to it.
You will find that many gambling sites have the ability to set up an alert, but you could also utilise your mobile or laptop if you find it easier. To begin we would recommend shorter gaming times of around 20 minutes, but certainly a maximum of 60 minutes. If you’re a regular gamer and this doesn’t feel enough, then 2 hours would be our recommended maximum. This would only be ideal if you can afford to play that long, but we would suggest shorter periods so that you can stretch your legs and evaluate your spending.
Track Your Playing
If implementing how much you spend and how long you play isn’t working for you, then you may need to look at tracking your gambling activity. We would recommend that no matter your situation, that you do this occasionally, because it can be eye opening and assist you in re-adjusting your gambling habits.
To do this all you have to do is accurately make a note of the following.
- The time you log in to your account.
- The time you log out.
- Deposits made.
- Bets placed/slots spend.
- Winnings withdrawn.
When you work out how much time and money you spend over a set period of time, it can often be eye opening. This tends to be a surprise and wake up call for problem gamblers, as they realise how swiftly they burn through a large amount of money.
It is important to consider how much you spend on bets placed, games and slots, because many players will overlook this as actual spend. When you balance it with the amount of money withdrawn, you can determine your overall spend and the amount you could have potentially withdrawn as winnings.
Take a Break from Gambling
Hopefully we have provided a few ways to monitor your betting and gaming. But it’s important to take a moment and determine if you’re happy with your playing activity. If you’re at all shocked or concerned about your gambling, even after you have implemented the recommendations above, then maybe it’s time to have a break or ask for help.
Because of the UK Gambling Commission’s focus on responsible gambling, most online sites will offer the option for players to take a break. Although the site can halt your account if they have any concerns, most of the time any breaks are done by self-exclusion. If you activate this option, then you can agree to a short term, long term, or even permanent exclusion from your gambling account.
This can be applied as follows.
- Take a short break from one day up to a maximum of 90 days.
- Take a long break for 6 months.
- Set a lifetime (permanent) exclusion.
Whatever exclusion period you choose will be put in place with immediate effect and cannot be removed. You can contact the sites customer services if you want to stop the self-imposed break, but there is no guarantee it will be removed. Mainly because it would defeat the purpose if you could simply switch it on and off again. The site may feel a player is at risk and as such they have a duty to protect them.
It’s also important to know that many casinos are linked through a platform, meaning that by self-excluding from one, you may be opting out of several. Normally during the opt out period you will not receive any marketing from the site, but if you are struggling with gambling then it may be worthwhile opting out of any app/web notifications or email marketing from the beginning. This should reduce any temptations whether it’s a new game, bonus or promotion which can entice you back in.
Be in the Mood to Gamble Responsibly
Although this may seem obvious, it’s not something discussed a lot in the gambling world. Your frame of mind can have a significant impact on your gambling activity. What decisions you make can significantly be affected by what is happening in your life, for example any stresses you may have or if you’re emotionally upset. Anger is another strong emotion which can detrimentally impact your play, especially if it is caused by a gaming loss. The upset of a situation such as this can lead to players making irrational decisions, such as unlikely big odd bets in order to get their money back. This kind of decision making can have repercussions on your personal life. Our advice is to consider your frame of mind before you open up the casino or betting site and make sure you’re in a good place before you play.
Another thing to consider is gambling under the influence, because although we know many people like to relax and gamble with a beer or glass of wine. It’s important to remember that being under the influence of drink or drugs can impair your judgement. This can make you prone to betting more than you can afford, playing for longer or place bets you wouldn’t normally make.
Responsible Gambling Support
It may be that this guide has resonated with you and you’re considering the impact gambling has on your personal life. If you’re looking for support or considering excluding yourself from gambling, then there are organisations who offer support. They are external bodies who are completely independent to any licenced operators and whose sole purpose is to support gamblers who may be struggling emotionally and financially. Because they are autonomous, then you know they will have your best interests at heart.
These are UK based organisations for gambling support.
Gamstop
GAMSTOP is a free UK national service which began in 2018. It allows players to self-exclude from online gambling websites and apps run by companies licenced in Great Britain. Since 2020 every online gambling company must fully integrate with GAMSTOP. Participation is mandatory and enforced by the UK Gambling Commission, as part of its social responsibility code requirements.
Using Gamstop is simple, you sign up and choose the time period of self-exclusion. It normally takes up to 24 hours for your restriction to become active across all operator systems. You can choose to self-exclude for either 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, or 5 years with autorenewal. Once you have confirmed, then the exclusion cannot be cancelled or shortened before the chosen period.
Gamstop covers all online betting sites, casinos and bingo apps which are operated by UK licenced companies. It doesn’t include the National Lottery, high street betting shops or gambling sites operating without a UK license.
To find out more and sign up, visit GAMSTOP.
Gamban
Similar to Gamstop, this is an external organisation offering gambling blocking software. It blocks access to thousands of websites and apps across various devices, from both UK based and international platforms. Once it has been set up on your computer or mobile, it will apply any setting across all your devices.
When the Fun Stops – Gamble Aware
Gamble Aware is a British organisation that offers free, confidential information, advice and support to gamblers who need it. They introduced the slogan ‘When the Fun Stops’ which you may have seen on betting adverts and the likes of Sky Sports. The campaign was used to promote responsible gambling and urges players to think about how they bet, urging them to stop if it’s no longer enjoyable. By recognising that the fun has stopped when you gamble, you can seek help and regain control of your playing, before it becomes a bigger problem.
This is the ideal option for those of you who have implemented the suggestions above and are still struggling with your gambling. Gamble Aware offer free, confidential help and support to anyone who is worried about their gambling activities. They even offer support if you suspect a friend or family may have an issue or are displaying signs of problem gambling.
If you or someone you know is affected by gambling, then you can call the 24/7 helpline at 0808 8020 133 or visit GambleAware to use their free support finder. We suggest you contact them as soon as possible before things get out of control.
Summary of Gambling Responsibly
Hopefully the one thing you have taken away from our guide is that you are not alone, and that many other players struggle with limiting their gambling. Many of these strategies have been introduced to reduce the impact of a growing problem, and it is something the UK Gambling Commission is committed to supporting.