Responsible Gaming

Gambling should be a fun activity you perform in your free time to test your luck or kill time while understanding all risks and benefits it involves. Excessive gambling can lead to a serious condition called compulsive gambling disorder. If you think that you have been gambling too much lately, read the text below.

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Compulsive Gambling Causes

There is not a clear-cut answer to the question of what leads to a compulsive gambling disorder. It all boils down to psychological factors different for every person affected by the excessive gambling issue. Although there are cases when compulsive gambling is caused by greed, the reasons below are a way more common.

Financial struggles

If you find it hard to make ends meet, the idea of placing a wager and earning a huge amount of money in a few minutes has probably popped up into your head. You decide to gamble the little money you have with the aim of doubling or tripling the amount and get a breath of fresh air from the financial problems.

However, you do not fulfil your target and come back with more money to gamble on the next day. All of a sudden, you find yourself in the vicious circle of losing and winning money but you never manage to overcome your financial issues.

Reality escape

People who have a lot on their plate tend to look for places where they can shake off stress, depression and do not think about the things worrying them for a while. For compulsive gamblers, these places are either the land-based or the online casinos where they lose track of time.

Thrill seekers

If you are looking for an adrenaline-fuelled activity, you might be seriously tempted to engage in casino games. Is there anything more exhilarating than betting a huge amount and keeping your fingers crossed not to lose it? It might be fun when you can quickly recover from the losses, but at one point you start feeling an urge to log into your account and apply a new strategy to make up for last night’s loss.

Symptoms of compulsive gambling:

  • New credit cards and unpaid bills
  • You do not share about your gambling activities out of fear of being judged
  • You have arguments with your family about money
  • Worse performance at work
  • The idea of skipping a day without gambling mortifies you
  • You catch yourself thinking about frauds and thefts to have money to gamble
  • You abandon your hobbies
    You believe that the next gambling session will be different and it will solve all your money problems

What can you do to protect yourself from gambling addiction problems?

  • Set a betting limit in your casino account and never wager more than what you can afford to lose
  • Enable the reality check option if the casino offers such. The reality check is a pop-up window that reminds you that it is about time to stop gambling for the day
  • Self-exclusion – You can deactivate your casino account for a week/ month/ 3 months/ six months/ a year.
  • Visit responsible gambling sites:
    http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/ga/
    https://www.gamcare.org.uk/
    https://www.begambleaware.org/

About the author

Stan / Casino expert