Gambling is a fun and exciting way to pass time as long as it is enjoyed in moderation and with limits. As a gambler, one of the most important things you need to do is to ensure that you do not become addicted. You should always gamble within your financial means and without any stress or worries added. From the moment you open your account until you collect your winnings, it is our priority to make sure you are playing safely and responsibly.
This guide, along with many other responsible gambling resources will enable you with tools and tips to set budgets, watch your finances and know when you need some time out. We at Sports Talk Philly promote responsible gambling through all our services.
What is Responsible Gambling?
Responsible gambling is when you have full control and are playing for fun. You know exactly what you are playing and how much you are playing with. You have set yourself limits that you stick to no matter what. Most importantly you are not causing yourself to suffer financially or mentally because of your play.
Players that experience a gambling addiction experience a loss of control and are not able to stop. They experience feelings of depression and put strain on their finances. When you suffer from gambling addiction, you often lie about how much you play, you chase your losses and have a general negative feeling around your gaming.
Problem Gambling Warning Signs
Spotting the signs of problem gambling and gambling addiction within your own actions can be quite hard. As with any form of addiction, you may not even be aware that you have a problem. There are many ways you can gamble that will cause you financial strain, whether it be chasing your losses or betting huge amounts. Problem gambling can negatively affect your life in many areas, such as putting strain on relationships and your job, it can cause you to think of nothing else. Watch out for these warning signs when gambling.
- Neglecting bills and other financial commitments
- Using money put aside for retirement, investments and savings to gamble
- Credit card debt from gambling
- Keeping your gambling activities secret from family and friends
- Mood swings and changes in mood based on wins and losses
- Skipping work or other activities to go gamble
- Lying about the amount or the frequency in which you gamble
- Stealing or selling items to get money to gamble
- Gambling to help forget your problems
Tips to Ensure You Gamble Responsibly
To help you keep gambling responsibly, whether you prefer to play online at home or on your mobile, at a local casino, or wherever else you choose to play, our tips listed below will help reduce your risk of developing gambling problems.
- Set a budget and stick to it – this is probably the most important factor when it comes to responsible gambling. Set yourself a budget for gambling each day, week or month, whatever it may be and make sure you stick to this budget.
- Do not chase your losses – once you have lost money while gambling, do not try to win it back by gambling more. In this way you will end up losing even more money and it becomes a huge downward spiral.
- Take breaks from gambling – If you find yourself gambling more than you intended, or if you are starting to feel stressed or anxious about gambling, take a break. Take some time off from gambling to clear your head and reset your gambling habits, it could be a few days or even a few weeks. If you need more time, consider using gambling exclusion services to keep yourself safe.
- Only gamble when you are in a good mood – avoid turning to the casino or gambling platform when you are unhappy, angry or lonely, with the intention of making money.
- Be aware of the odds – when gambling be aware that the odds of winning are always against you. You should not expect to win every time you gamble.
- Surround yourself with responsible gamblers – unhealthy gambling habits can become contagious when you are around the wrong kind of gamblers for some time.
- Seek help if you are struggling – if you find that you are struggling with gambling and gambling addiction, there are resources available to help you. In Pennsylvania there are many organizations and services offering help and support to people with gambling problems or who are at risk of developing problems.
How We Deal with Problem Gambling
At Sports Talk Philly we pride ourselves in ensuring gamblers are provided with all the possible resources they need to deal with problem gambling. All of our articles include references and links to responsible gambling websites. Online gambling is meant to be a fun and entertaining pastime and should not cause any strain on your finances or personal life in any way.
Below you will find a few of the ways we promote responsible gambling at Sports Talk Philly.
- Provide Awareness – all of our reviews include reminders to gamble responsible, they also provide links to responsible gambling pages.
- Give Reminders – we always compile a top list of the best online casinos in Pennsylvania, we review all the sites worth visiting, we try and be as transparent as possible when doing this. We always remind our readers about the dangers of gambling and how gambling can become addictive. We provide resources to those who believe gambling could be a problem for them or someone they may know.
- Links to Support Groups and Organizations – in all of our pages you will find links to various support groups. If you find you may need help in any way, click on these links and you will be directed straight to the site where you will find all the information and help you need.
Self-Exclusion Policy
Unfortunately, once you develop an addiction there is no way to “cure” it, but you need to be able to manage it. When it comes to gambling addiction, there are numerous ways you can keep it under control and one of these is by Self Exclusion. There are many self-exclusion tools and blocking mechanisms you are able to install on your device to ensure you gamble responsibly. These essentially block you from registering with any new online casino or gambling site.
Many of the best online casinos will also offer the player self-exclusion schemes when signing up. This comes in the form of limits when depositing into their account, whether it be daily, weekly or monthly deposit limits. These measures are normally set firmly in place and will require a lot of hassle and strain to try and unlock them. The best online gambling sites maintain that this is the best way to control problem gambling and ensure all players safety.
Organizations
As we have mentioned, all of our pages will provide links to different organizations. These organizations provide support and help for problem gambling, and all promote responsible gambling. Below is a list of a few organizations available to gamblers from Pennsylvania which provide support and help to gamblers.
The National Council of Problem Gambling
The National Council of Problem Gambling offers a 24-hour National helpline. You are able to chat for free to a helpful support agent at any time of the day or night. You are also able to become a member of the site. The site has many different web pages dedicated to different issues. On certain occasions they hold events which gamblers can attend and hear success stories of others that have been in the same situation.
Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs
The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs organization offers a section of their website that is dedicated to problem gambling and gambling addiction.
Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania
The Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the National Council on Problem Gambling. Their purpose is to educate and share information on problem gambling and to provide resources for help.
