All trusted sports betting sites, or online casinos have a link to a service called Responsible Gambling.
Not many bettors and casino players ever notice it, but this is the important part that has to be added to the site; this is the requirement of all the authorization services that give licenses to online betting sites.
So what is Responsible Gambling and why is it important to know about it? This is the range of organizations worldwide who give help and provide rehabilitation to those who suffer from ludomania.
Ludomania is the scientific term of gambling addiction, which is considered as a mental disease and should be treated seriously as the consequences can be unpredictable, but harsh in any way.
Besides the active help, the Responsible Gambling committee gives a number of rules and pieces of advice to the addicted gamblers and their families.
If the state of mind of the addicted person remains in the ability of critical thinking, it is possible to beat the ludomania by a person themselves, without professional help.
We will consider all methods that can be applied in this article so that it is helpful for addicted people, gamblers who are concerned about their state of mind, and the close ones of the game-addicts.
Who has a prepossession to problem gambling?
According to statistics, nobody of the registered patients suffering from the addiction has ever thought they would have such an issue.
It is quite understandable — there are thousands of gamblers who are really keen on sports betting, or slots, or poker, but they still lead normal lives and have plenty of things besides their gambling hobby.
Why should I be an exception? This is what most players think when making their first deposits and looking forward to becoming wealthy in one night.
It might be surprising, but there is a particular answer to this question, which was set up by the leading psychologists and psychiatrists from all over the world.
Statistical research shows the portrait of an average gaming addict, and it is a young man with emotional instability, low self-esteem, and general frustration.
Of course, it doesn’t mean that women, or senior people do not suffer from this problem, but the vast majority of gambling addicts are male teenagers or men under 25 years old.
If you can say that any of the facts below are true, you should be extremely careful before trying any real money games:
- You can’t stand losing and try hard to be the first to gain the victory (it can refer to innocent family table games, or team sports, etc)
- You are not satisfied with your wage and/or your job
- You are an emotional type and get excited easily
- You are able to be occupied with the same activity for hours
- You feel you deserve to have more than others
How to understand that you have a gambling addiction
Just like any other disease, problem gambling has several stages; it never starts out of nowhere, so you can keep monitoring your attitude to a game from the very moment you pass the registration on a betting site.
However, it is very easy to miss the moment when your gambling becomes a disease instead of a harmless hobby, so see the checklist below before it is too late to rehabilitate without a professional help:
- You are not satisfied by the game result in any case: if you win, you want more, if you lose, you want to retrieve your losses
- You are not really interested by any other things in your life
- You are constantly thinking of your gambling strategies, counting bets, and get angry when you have to distract from your thoughts
- You lied to your friends and family about gambling at least once (for instance, you said you had to work, but you were spending time in slots instead)
- You have trouble sleeping and feel anxious
- You feel uncomfortable when you are not in a casino or on a betting site
If you admit that at least one point can be applied to you, this means you are in danger and have to start taking measures immediately.
The methods to struggle the ludomania
If you are not sure you are able to manage your problem yourself, visit the psychologist or group therapy to help you.
Sometimes people are ashamed of admitting they are addicted, but you have to remember that this is the same disease as any other; you are not ashamed when you visit your chiropractor with back pains, right?
When you feel that you are able to get over the issue without help, there are tips that you have to strictly follow. Good news: if you admit you need these tips, you can follow them and beat your ludomania 80 percent of the time.
Tip 1. It’s timer time
Dietologists usually make their patients make notes of all their meals, including even the smallest snack breaks. When a person sees how much food they actually consume, they become triggered and motivated to change.
The same advice can be given to addicted gamblers: just monitor every minute you spend on the gambling sites and then try to reduce it day by day, using timers and reminders.
There is no need in a dramatic change which is so luring when you first realize your problem. Just try cutting your gambling time gradually, reducing it by five-ten minutes a day.
Tip 2. Another restriction: cutting a budget
Here you have to be more ultimate, as money issues can lead the gambling addicts to getting into trouble with the law. So what you are supposed to do, is to ask your close ones to keep your money in their account so that you could not waste them for placing stakes, for instance.
Your account will only have ‘pocket money’ — your gambling budget. Try to make it no more than 30 percent of your monthly income.
An alternative to this method is to create a non-withdrawal deposit in a bank and keep most of your wages there until you feel sure you have coped with a gambling problem.
Tip 3. Choose certain games/betting markets
Many gambling addicts lose much on the complicated bet types and they are eager to prove that they can win. The same thing may happen with poker players, slot funs, etc.
If you stop for a minute to think it over, you will find out that the game does not bring any enjoyment anymore — all that is left is the thrill of the race mixed with annoyance.
Choose one or two sports types and three-four bet types that you will place your stakes on; set bounds on the limit of slots and spins you are used to, define how many poker rounds you are going to play daily.
Step by step, you will feel good vibes of the game again but the need of playing as much as possible will be eliminated.
Tip 4. Try to find the reason why you got addicted
This is the most important, but at the same time the hardest piece of advice. If you can’t see the obvious reason for your problem, it is time to let professionals help you. Good news: they usually do it very quickly, and you can get unexpected insights after the first session.
Final conclusion
It is not an easy way, but if you have read this untill the end, you have all the chances to recover and lead a normal life again.
Remember, that many people tend to replace one addiction with another one so you might have to face such difficulties as substitution gambling with alcohol, or food — so, actually, the gambling is not your main enemy.
The most essential thing is to beat the problem that causes your addictiveness, and it is possible to do on your own, as your character is mainly no more than a selection of habits, that sometimes are a matter of change.