New Customer Opening Account Offers

18+, Ts & Cs Apply. New Customers Only.

Responsible Gambling

Gambling can be very entertaining at times and we all love to back a winner but you must gamble responsibly. Failure to do so can lead to serious problems such as gambling can become very addictive. On this page we will look at the subject of responsible gambling and how it can help us avoid the problems that betting can cause.

As much as you may enjoy gambling, it is important that you control the way in which you gamble. You might not believe that gambling is causing you any problems but that isn't always the case. It is easy for you to begin gambling for lengthy periods and for placing bets to become far more important in your life than it should be.

As the saying goes: when the fun stops, stop. However, it is not as easy as that and simply stopping gambling is just as difficult as deciding you're never going to have another cigarette or drink. Just as with smoking and alcohol, gambling can be an addiction and stopping it needs expert help not just a lot of self-control.

We are living in an age where the number of opportunities to gamble has gone sky-high. Players can access online sites 24/7 and be placing bets on their mobile devices. This massive growth in ways to gamble can make life very difficult if you find that you have a constant urge to be gambling. Just as with other addictions, it can creep up on you and suddenly a major problem arises.

Gambling companies (whether they be in the High Street or online) want to make profits. However, they realise that gambling can be a problem for some of their customers. Therefore, they do offer information about responsible gambling and this can include leaflets in shops and dedicated pages on websites. There are also links to organisations that can offer help to those who are having problems with their gambling.

There is also the UK Gambling Commission who license and regulate companies. They regularly take action against licensee holders who they believe have broken the terms of their license. This can include areas such as social responsibility where they believe companies do not do enough to help customers who are making far too many deposits and suffering huge losses.

UK Government's in recent years have pledged to reform the gambling industry. This is felt necessary as the current legislation does not fully cover online gambling. There has been slow progress in this area but there was a White Paper published last year. This promised reforms such as stricter affordability checks and reduced stake limits for online slot games. 

The new Labour government supported most of what was in the White Paper. They have pledged reforms but want to discuss possible changes with those concerned before releasing any concrete plans.

This page will give you some helpful advice on how to gamble in a responsible manner. It will also provide you with details about sites that can help you if your gambling is causing you concern.

Bankroll Management

Bankroll management is an important area if you wish to practice responsible gambling. This concerns how you manage the money that is used for gambling purposes. Practicing this successfully is a major factor in being able to gamble in a responsible manner.

Firstly, you need to work out a budget for your gambling. It is vital that the amount you set aside for gambling purposes is an amount that you can afford to lose. Just imagine that the amount you plan on gambling is all going to be lost, it can and does happen. Would losing that amount cause you serious problems?  If the answer is yes, then you need to reduce your gambling budget.

For example, do not gamble money that is needed for other purposes. Do not put yourself in a position where a bet going down will put you at serious risk of not being able to pay the rent or buy food. Gambling is supposed to be fun but imagine the pressure you are putting yourself under if gambling in this manner. Knowing that if Liverpool fail to beat Arsenal you won't be able to pay important bills is not an enjoyable experience.

The simple fact is that avoiding gambling losses is a very difficult task. You can carry out hours of research or back seemingly unbeatable selections but then see shock results. While we all dream of a big win, it's the losses that are most important to consider. Even a penny profit is better than any loss that you may incur.

With bankroll management, it is important that you don't go crazy and bet a high percentage of your budget right away. Say for example, you have decided that it is safe to play with a budget of £100. It is not a good idea for your first bet to be a £60 bet on what looks like a dead cert. Sadly, there is no such thing as a dead cert. If that first bet goes down, all of a sudden you only have a budget of £40.

It is best to gamble a small percentage of your budget at a time. This way, even if some losses are made your gambling budget will last a long time.

Chasing losses is never a good idea. If your £100 budget suddenly goes down to £75, don't try to get that £25 loss back with one bet. It can easily go wrong and further losses will be incurred. Sometimes it's just not your day, so it's best to stop playing and hope for better luck next time. 

If it all goes wrong and you lose that amount, then don’t panic. Whatever you do, don’t suddenly decide to put more money in your account in the hope you can win back what you’ve lost or just continue your desire to place bets.  Any further losses will seriously affect other areas that you need to be spending money on.

Deposit Limits

There are now many tools that can be used to help you with your online gambling. One of these is setting deposit limits in the 'My Account' section of the site you're playing on. These can be for a day. week or a month. They are very important to set and will help you gamble responsibly. 

Work out just how much money you can gamble without financial problems being created if it is lost. You might decide that a deposit limit of £300 a month should be set. Once this is done, that is the maximum amount you can deposit into your account on that online gambling site. 

It is possible to open accounts with several online betting sites. If you do this, be careful with deposit limits. Don't be in a situation where although you have reached your deposit limit with one site, there are still options to place lots more money with other sites. This is not a good situation but you could decide to split your determined deposit limit between the sites you use. This is another example of how important control is when it comes to responsible gambling.

What if you want to change your deposit limits? Reducing them isn't a bad idea if you feel gambling is causing you problems but increasing the limits is the exact opposite and can cause serious problems if losses are incurred. Would a higher deposit limit fit in with the budget you have set?  Sites do allow deposit limits to be changed but rules vary from site to site. It might be that you can only make one change a month and it doesn't automatically come into force.

 

 

Borrowing Money

This really is a cardinal sin. Finding yourself in the position where you need to borrow money to continue gambling really does mean you have a big problem. Where does it end? Will you just keep on borrowing money or even worse end up having to steal to fund your gambling desires?

Going to a short-term loan company can really cause you problems due to high interest rates. You may start to back some winners but still find yourself unable to pay the loan off. As we've said, gambling can be entertaining but this situation doesn't sound like entertainment does it?

You could borrow from friends but what about those you borrow from if it is not possible for you to repay what has been given to you? Gambling responsibly can help avoid such a situation arising.

Research your Bets

Gambling sites now offer odds on sporting events from all over the world. It enables them to be offering gambling opportunities on a constant basis 24/7. You can easily find yourself being able to bet on a reserve match in Bolivia or a lower league fixture in Norway. The odds may be attractive and your desire to get wins see you placing a bet on the favorite simply because you can't stop betting.

Never simply bet on a whim because if you lose £20 on a Bolivian reserve match, it's just the same as losing that amount on a Premier League game between Manchester City and Tottenham. A loss is a loss regardless of who is playing. There are so many statistics available for you to read. Access these and then with the knowledge you have just attained, you can make a proper decision on which bet to place. Checking team news is also important.

 

Signs that Gambling May Be a Problem

As with any addiction problem, the first key step is to realise and admit that you need help. Often people can just live in denial and feel you're just going through a bad patch and the wins will come along in a day or so. If you answer yes to the questions listed below, then your gambling may be becoming or has already become a problem.

  1. Do you find that in order to get the desired excitement from gambling you need to keep gambling higher amounts?
  2. Is gambling one of the first things you think of when starting your day?
  3. Do you spend far too much time gambling?
  4. Do you insist on chasing losses?
  5. Does your gambling make you feel irritable?
  6. If becoming upset, do you begin to gamble?
  7. Do you feel guilty about the amounts you are gambling?
  8. Are you feeling worried about how your gambling is affecting other people?
  9. Do you lie about how you are getting on with your gambling?
  10. Have you lost interest in other activities?
  11. Is gambling making you isolated?
  12. Have your sleeping patterns changed?
  13. Do you stay up late simply to gamble?
  14. Do you rely on others to help you when serious financial problems occur due to your gambling?
  15. Does your gambling leave you feeling upset and depressed?
  16. Is gambling affecting your work?
  17. Do you refuse to believe your gambling is causing you a problem?
  18. Do you not look at the responsible gambling information available?

Whatever You Do, Don’t …

  • Spend far too long gambling. Staying up into the early hours of the day just to gamble is not advisable.
  • Bet on events that you know nothing about. If you are going to bet on some obscure sporting fixture, at least do some research before placing your wager.
  • Just bet on anything simply because you want to gamble. There are so many betting opportunities available but you don't have to bet on all of them. The more bets you place, the higher the chances are of losing.
  • Place multiple bets with lots of selections in an attempt to win a huge amount of money. The higher the odds of your bet winning, the less chance of success.
  • Bet when you are upset, been drinking alcohol, taking drugs or tired. You need to be thinking straight or mistakes can be made.
  • Chase losses, the chances are you will simply lose more money and make the situation worse.
  • Gamble money that you cannot afford to lose or goes above the budget that you have set.
  • Bet with unlicensed sites that are not regulated. The level of customer protection is lower and such sites may not be as fair as those that are licensed and regulated.

Use the tools that are available

If you are worried about your gambling, just reading this page is a massive step forward. It shows you are willing to find out more about how you can avoid gambling causing you serious problems or get help if it already is. There are lots of tools that are now available to help you gamble responsibly. We've looked at deposit limits, here are some of the others that can be used:

  • Reality Checks  - It is easy to lose track of time when gambling. It is a good idea to set a reality check so for example, you can be informed when you have been gambling for a certain amount of time, an hour for example.
  • Take some Time Out - You can decide to temporarily exclude yourself from a site. This could be for 24 or 48 hours, a week or 30 days. It's your choice.
  • Self-Exclusion - If you are really having problems, it is possible to self-exclude yourself for a much longer period of time. You will not be able to gamble on the site. You can exclude yourself from any site that is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission.
  • Gambling Blocks - You could go to your bank and ask them to freeze deposits to online gambling sites. It's also possible to block your bank account or debit card (credit cards can't be used in the UK for gambling purposes) from making gambling-related transactions.  

Useful Resources :

Gamcare

Gamblers Anonymous

GambleAware

Gamblock

Safergamblinguk

 

 

 

Back to Top