Responsible Gaming

No matter the culture or the era, humans have loved gambling throughout history. Whether rolling dice or betting on sports outcomes, gambling is a treasured pastime enjoyed by many.

However, for all the fun that gaming can provide, it can be a little too tempting for some. That’s why there are responsible gaming guidelines that every bettor can follow.

It’s estimated that about 1% of all US adults have a “severe” gambling problem. But even gambling problems that don’t qualify as addictions can cause betting to interfere with an individual’s daily responsibilities and overall wellness.

Because gaming is both fun and potentially risky, it’s important to understand responsible gaming and ensure that you practice it for your well-being.

What Is Responsible Gaming?

In a nutshell, responsible gaming means partaking in gambling activities without letting them affect your overall livelihood. Practically speaking, responsible gaming entails the following guidelines:

  • Always betting less than you can afford to lose.
  • Setting limits on gambling activities.
  • Avoiding gambling activities when other responsibilities are more important.

In a way, responsible gaming means recognizing one unavoidable truth: the house is designed to win. This applies to casino games, sportsbook apps, and any other kind of betting activity you might enjoy. Gambling establishments of all kinds attract bettors, knowing that some will win, but most will lose. This house edge ensures establishments can make a profit and stay in business.

With this uneven playing field in mind, anyone partaking in a gambling activity should do so, first and foremost, from the perspective of fun. Responsible gaming means gambling for the excitement and engagement inherent to betting, not because you expect to make money.

Put another way, when you gamble responsibly, you are prepared to lose. But if you practice responsible gaming regularly, this won’t be a problem because you’ll never bet too much on any wager. At Gaming Today, you can learn more about setting gaming limits and what resources are available for responsible gaming. 

Why Is Responsible Gaming Important?

Responsible gaming can help adults enjoy regular gambling activities without experiencing the consequences of gambling addiction. By playing mindfully, bettors should be able to acknowledge and manage impulsive parts of their personalities and keep up with their social circles and favorite pastimes without having to “quit” betting entirely.

The consequences of gambling addiction or irresponsible gambling can be severe and include:

  • Losing money that you need to pay for crucial bills, like your mortgage or rent.
  • Spending too much time away from friends or family.
  • Going into significant debt to pay for gambling habits.

Responsible gaming can help gaming enthusiasts avoid all of these potential pitfalls. Learn more about Gaming Today and how we support responsible gaming efforts throughout the industry. 

Best Personal Practices for Responsible Gaming

Responsible gaming is a joint effort between players and gambling institutions. Players can take responsible gaming into their own hands by adopting smart practices. Here are a few examples that have all been vetted through our editorial guidelines.

Players who enjoy gaming all the time can help themselves by setting strict budgets. For example, with online casinos and sportsbooks, players can train themselves to deposit only as much as they can reasonably lose. Responsible gambling means not binging or going all-in for the rush of it. Furthermore, some mobile sportsbooks have deposit caps to prevent players from depositing cash beyond a set limit.

Similarly, online and brick-and-mortar gamblers can often benefit from setting time limits. This prevents them from spending too much time at the local casino or staring at their smartphone screens all day.

“Loss chasing” (where a player continually bets more money to make up for progressively mounting losses) is always a bad habit. Players must stick to their time and budget limits even if they have a rotten day and lose everything after a few hands or rounds. If you’re playing within a budget and you’re cleaned out, well, unfortunately, you lost your allotted betting money. But “chasing losses” is when financial disasters can happen.

Some of the best online casino apps and sportsbooks have time-recording functions that tell you how long you spend on your app or activity. This can help you avoid spending too long gaming and get back to your life.

Players who have trouble quitting while they are ahead might benefit from gaming only in short bursts or time frames. This prevents their minds from setting into routines, which may make it more difficult to quit when it’s time to go home.

Remember, the fun of gaming is found in the experience itself, not winning big (which will rarely, if ever, happen). Instead, enjoying any small wins you might experience is a better practice. Small wins are a bonus to the main joy of gaming on your favorite app or at your favorite casino.

How Gaming Outlets Prioritize Responsible Gaming

Gaming outlets contribute to responsible gaming practices in a variety of ways:

  • For instance, some online casinos and sportsbooks have automatic timeout features that will kick players off their apps if users play for too long in a single day.
  • Retail casinos, horse racing tracks, and other brick-and-mortar gambling establishments will often cut off players who are intoxicated or who seem not in the appropriate mental state to enjoy gaming maturely.
  • Many gambling organizations are legally required to limit advertisements, preventing minors and other vulnerable groups from being exposed to gaming activities before they can control themselves.
  • Of course, underage gambling is strictly forbidden under any circumstances. Common gambling ages of 18 and 21 can be found throughout the US.

Gaming outlets like casinos and sportsbooks often adopt these practices because they want their patrons to have a good time and return. However, sustainable, repeat business won’t happen if their most common patrons lose all of their money, and the operation’s gaming revenue will ultimately suffer.

Responsible Gaming Policies at Top Sportsbooks

All of the top sports betting apps have responsible gaming policies in place to help their users have the best and safest wagering experience possible. Some examples of responsible gaming tools available at top sportsbooks include the following.

One of BetMGM Sportsbook‘s best features is its user-set timeouts, which range from three to 180 days. Users can also set limits for daily, weekly, or monthly play. If you want to request a limit increase down the line, it goes into effect only after a delayed period: one day for daily limits, seven days for weekly limits, and 30 days for monthly limits.

Caesars Sportsbook also allows its bettors to set a maximum deposit limit for daily, weekly, or monthly time frames. The same durations work for spending limits and cooling-off periods. Once a limit has been set, it can be made more restrictive effective immediately, but not less restrictive. This protects the user against giving themselves more money or time, defeating the limit’s purpose.

DraftKings Sportsbook encourages its players to use responsible gaming tools, such as setting budgets, limits on wagering, deposits, time played, and contests, and taking advantage of cooling-off periods. DraftKings also provides the option to self-exclude for a period of time.

FanDuel is another top sportsbook that allows its bettors to set limits in the name of responsible gaming. Users of FanDuel Sportsbook can set deposit limits, spending limits, and time limits. Once those limits are in place, any decrease to those limits will be effective immediately. FanDuel also gives users the option to exclude themselves for a period of time.

Gaming Limits

We strongly recommend that you only use gambling apps and websites that give you options to limit your deposit amount, deposit frequency, and time spent on the app. The best apps will have a variety of safety measures to help prevent you from spending too much money.

If you don’t know whether a casino or online sportsbook has any user controls or safety features, check out the site’s “responsible gaming” section or contact the customer service team. The team should be able to give you information about the site’s tools.

If a particular site doesn’t have any controls, look elsewhere. 

Self-Exclusion Options

Players also always have the power to practice self-exclusion. In other words, players prevent themselves from gambling for a certain period by voluntarily putting their names on lists kept by individual casinos or sportsbooks (or their parent companies).

Players who have difficulty controlling themselves with gambling will do this so that casino authorities, for example, don’t let them in the door or let them place a wager. Self-exclusion is offered as an option in all US states that have legal gambling of any type.

Consider this as a drastic option if other safety resources or self-control strategies don’t work well enough to prevent you from spending too much money on gambling activities.

Those who have questions about responsible gaming options can contact Gaming Today for more information.

Responsible Gaming Resources

Players can contact a variety of responsible gaming resources if they’re having trouble keeping limits on their gambling time.

If you’re struggling with a gambling addiction, you must get help immediately. A gambling addiction can compound every day that you wait to get assistance. You can call the National Council on Problem Gambling (1-800-522-4700) if you or someone you know needs help.

Check out these resources for more information:

Ultimately, it’s in everyone’s best interest to practice responsible gaming. By making gambling a safe and regulated industry, more and more states will legalize different gambling activities, and players will be able to enjoy their favorite pastimes more regularly and sustainably. 

Note: Catena Media encourages its readers to familiarize themselves with Gaming Today’s privacy policy and contact us with any questions or concerns.

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