Responsible Gambling

Responsible gambling is the practice of gambling in a way that minimises the risk of potential harm. When talking about responsible gambling, there are various practices that can be employed with the aim to reduce the risk of harm associated with gambling, most notably setting personal limits to the amount of time and money spent on gambling, and understanding the severity of such potential problems and overall risks.

As reflected in AskGamblers’ official motto “Get the truth. Then play.”, we are committed to providing our players with factual information that will help them make informed decisions when gambling. This includes a special responsible gambling section in each of our expertly written reviews where players can quickly check which responsible gambling tools can be found in each casino.

Problem gambling is repetitive gambling behaviour that continues despite the harmful and negative consequences. Understanding the psychology of gambling addiction is the first step to examining your own gambling habits and assessing whether they might fit the harmful patterns of problem gambling.

In order to check your gambling activities and gauge whether your gambling habits may be getting out of control, there are certain questions you can ask yourself and determine where you stand.

• 1. Do you gamble alone for long periods of time and perhaps stay away from work or other activities to do so?
• 2. Have you needed to increase your gambling stake more and more to get the excitement you are looking for?
• 3. Do you suffer from mood swings, irritability, and agitation as a result of gambling?
• 4. Do you think that you gamble to escape other issues or problems in your life?
• 5. Do you hide your gambling losses from people?
• 6. Have you tried in the past to reduce either the time or money that you spend gambling and been unsuccessful?
• 7. Have you ever been tempted to commit an act of dishonesty to finance your gambling?
• 8. Have you ever gone back online to gamble on another day to win back your losses?
• 9. Have you ever hidden your gambling from people who are important to you in your life?
• 10. Have you borrowed money from any source that you have been unable to pay back because of your gambling or are you otherwise in debt as a result of gambling?
• 11. Have you ever sold any possessions to obtain money to gamble or pay gambling debts?
• 12. Do you find yourself breaking promises to family and friends so that you can gamble instead?
• 13. Do you feel isolated because of your gambling?

If you have answered “yes” to any of these questions, it is advisable you take the necessary steps towards controlling your gambling habits. You will find more information on how to proceed further in the text below.

Additionally, you can take the confidential ‘Is gambling having an impact on your, or someone else's, life?’ quiz on the BeGambleAware website to give you an indication whether your gambling is becoming a problem.

Learning how to recognize the gambling addiction risk factors is of utmost importance. Some of the most prevalent tell-tale signs include:

• Being unable to stop playing
• Thinking about gambling when you are not playing and planning your day around gambling
• Chasing losses (believing you can turn your luck around while you’re losing and win back what you lost gambling)
• Money problems (losing more than you can afford, borrowing money, being in debt)
• Hiding or lying to your friends and family about your gambling activities
• Losing key relationships or job opportunities
• Mood swings and irritability as a result of gambling
• Gambling to escape problems or relieve anxiety, depression or stress

Staying safe while gambling is imperative. Luckily, certain tools and responsible gambling practices recommended by licensed websites are there to help you engage in safe gambling, such as:

• Reality checks - providing prompts that help players manage the amount of time spent playing online
• Deposit limits - setting financial limits for periods of time ranging from daily to monthly limits, which can be decreased, increased, and removed entirely
• History of gambling activity - enabling players to keep track of their activity and access the history of their transactions, deposits, and withdrawals
• Taking a break/time-outs - setting a break period between 24 hours and 6 weeks
• Self-exclusion - the option to self-exclude from a gambling website for a period of at least six months to 12 months, or years (usually up to five years)
• Autoplay controls - when playing casino games using the auto-play feature, players can select their stake and loss limits before starting the game and will be given the option to stop and/or pause the game

Self-exclusion is recommended as a form of support to people who decide to stop gambling. Sometimes players will need to contact a casino’s support team to ask them to remove them from their mailing lists. Once employed, self-exclusion will remove you and your details from marketing databases.

Reputable gambling sites have a feature that allows you to set a financial limit that makes sure you cannot go overboard with your deposits. These caps can be set per session, per day, per week or per month.

Additionally, you should be able to set time limits to your gameplay at online casinos.

Checking your playing history allows you to easily assess when you tend to gamble, how much money you spend gambling, and which casino games you gamble most on. Also, your playing history informs you about your set limits and their duration.

In addition to setting limits in your casino account, you can contact your bank directly and ask them to block your gambling payments. There are several ways to do this, including blocking your bank account, blocking your debit card, employing a card lock feature, blocking online payments, and more. Different banks offer different options so it is best you check with your bank directly.

There are ways to opt out of seeing gambling adverts on YouTube, Facebook, and Google Chrome.

To stop seeing gambling ads on Google, you need to:

• Open your account
• Click “Manage your Google Account”
• Select “Data & privacy”
• Scroll down to “Personalised ads”
• Turn off personalised ads on Google in your ad centre

To disable ads on Facebook, go to your ad preferences page and update the ads you don’t wish to see.

In order to keep gambling fun, it is vital that you maintain a healthy balance between playing in an online casino and other activities in your life, most notably your daily routine, socialising, and hobbies. Track your emotions and refrain from gambling when feeling upset or down. Also, remember to take plenty of breaks and step away from gambling regularly to keep a clear perspective of the situation.

The first step to taking back control is being completely honest with yourself and accepting that there is a problem and that you have the will to confront it.

Realising that you have been displaying some of the behaviours listed above is enough to prompt you to adjust your approach to gambling and allow you to resume control.

Remember: never be afraid or embarrassed to ask for help. If you feel you may need assistance, advice, and support in taking back or staying in control, there are some practical steps you can take:

• 1. Limit the level of your deposits or the time you spend online. Our recommended gaming websites provide responsible gambling tools to allow you to impose your own limits on expenditure.
• 2. If all else fails – stop gambling. Self-exclude yourself from all the websites where you normally bet or play. If you believe exclusion is the best option for you, it is advisable to take an appropriate break from all forms of gambling.
• 3. If you want to prevent access to other gaming, wagering or gambling facilities on the internet, visit GamBlock which will help you do so.
• 4. Use a calendar to mark each day that you don’t gamble so that you can see the progress you are making.

Here are some other useful websites where you can learn more about problem gambling and get help for gambling addiction:

• 1. UK Gambling Commission
• 2. BeGambleAware
• 3. The Betting and Gaming Council
• 4. eCOGRA - iGaming Testing & Inspection (eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance)
• 5. HM Government of Gibraltar - Remote Gambling
• 6. Isle of Man Government - Gambling and E-Gaming
• 7. International Association of Gaming Regulators
• 8. The Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC)
• 9. Gamblers Anonymous
• 10. GamCare
• 11. Gordon Moody

Underage gambling is prohibited by law.

While the allowed gambling age in countries where gambling is not prohibited is typically 18, it is different for countries, provinces, and territories across the world.

In order to prevent underage gambling, licensed casinos employ the KYC (Know Your Customer) protocols and have players submit extensive documentation proving they are of age.

However, prevention of underage gambling does not stop there. Here are some ways adults can protect minors and prevent them from gambling:

• Explain how gambling works
• Teach your children the dangers of underage gambling
• Have strict family rules on using digital devices and the internet (e.g. don’t allow your children to use the devices unsupervised, don’t allow your children to use the internet unsupervised, limit their time spent online)
• Don’t leave your accounts logged in and don’t save your passwords and financial information on your accounts
• Use parental controls where applicable or employ website blocking apps