Casino games, like many other things in life, can be addictive. It is important to understand that neither the casinos, nor the services they offer (including pokies, card games, live dealer tables, or any other games) are evil itself if a person knows how to set boundaries. This is what we generally call Responsible Gaming: and it refers to a good time playing fun and amusing casino games while a person understands what games of chance are.
By Jamie Bungaree · Last updated
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CasinosAU, as a socially responsible business, focuses on providing the best information for players: not only about the best online casinos in Australia but also about responsible gaming and how to promote it. Here we would like to explain how to enjoy casino games in a safe way, how to set gaming limitations, how to identify the addiction in the early stage, where to look for help, and how to protect yourself from being stuck in a circle of problems.
What Responsible Gaming Is?
If being short, responsible gaming means playing at online casinos with common sense. You should keep it fun and enjoy the process as you would playing any other board game. The key point is to understand that casino games such as online pokies are referred to as ‘Games of Chance’. It means that the possible winning or losing is determined by probability or luck, and your skills can’t make an impact.
Once you get this idea, you can be sure that losing one round isn’t your fault and there is no point chase it when you lose. The best advice is to try to maintain the attitude: “it was fun but now it’s over”.
- Choose a reputable casino. The first and the most crucial thing is to avoid any suspicious or even illegal casinos. Such sites don’t care about their players and just take their money.
- Set your limits. Sometimes, if we feel very engaged and interested in any activity (whether it is working out, chatting with friends, watching series, or playing pokies), we can easily lose the track of time. To avoid such a situation, turn on a timer for a particular amount of time or set up a spending limit. If you use e-wallets such as Skrill, ecoPayz, or other banking options accepted by online casinos, you can control your finances and set up daily, weekly, and monthly spending limits.
- Review your gaming history. Our recommended Australian online casinos have a tracking function, so players can check up on their activities anytime. It’s a very useful habit to review how much money you spend or what games might be not the best option for you. For example, if you are playing at live dealer tables and you don’t have a clear picture of what you have spent so far, the gaming history feature may be a good way to understand if that type of game is the best fit for you.
- Don’t keep it a secret. Playing at online casinos is an absolutely normal choice to have fun, so there’s no reason to hide it from friends or family. Be confident and show people that the rumors about online casinos are just empty myths – invite your friends to join the same Poker or Blackjack room and have an amusing gaming session together.
- Give yourself a break. Responsible gaming also means knowing when it’s time to step away. If you see that things are getting out of hand, use the function of self-exclusion. When you enable this function, you can’t log into your player’s account or place a bet on any casino games. All the details are up to you, so you decide for how long you are willing to be excluded and from what online casinos.
How to Identify a Gaming Problem?
The most difficult part is to understand and accept the fact that you have a problem. First of all, if you don’t keep up with the above-mentioned points of responsible gaming, it might be a sign that you are abusing the game. In this case, you must be honest with yourself.
Here is a list of symptoms to look out for, which have been provided by the American Psychiatric Association in order to help yourself to identify the uprising problematic gaming:
- You constantly think about casino games and when you’ll have an opportunity to play again;
- You need to bet more money in order to receive the same thrill;
- You feel agitated and annoyed when other people try to keep you away from online casinos;
- You choose playing instead of dealing with some real problems;
- You are chasing losses, no matter the cost;
- You lie to friends and family about how much money you are spending on casinos;
- You turn to illegal activities to fund your player’s account;
- You use friends and family for financial bailouts to cover gaming losses;
- You try to stop gaming at online casinos but the attempts fail repeatedly.
If you see yourself in some of these statements, it means you should be more careful, limit your casino activities, or look for professional help.
What Exactly Gaming Addiction Is?
The addiction to casino games is similar to any other impulse-control disorder when people are unable to control their actions, even when they know that it is harming them and others. According to the researchers, there are three most common types of addictive gaming activities.
| Compulsive Gambling | Binge Gambling | Problem Gambling |
| A compulsive player has no control over the gaming activities and will carry on betting money no matter the consequences. Such persons will often look for any excuse to make a bet, even if they know that they aren’t capable to pay it in case of losing. | This case is not immediately obvious, but there are some similar symptoms. The person will act like a compulsive player, but only for certain periods of time. It can give the illusion that they have gaming activities under control. But once they start betting, they lose control and have no self-limitation. | This is the least extreme type of addiction on this list, where players aren’t completely addicted to casino games. While they may not be a compulsive type of players, their gaming activities still lack control. These casino players chase their losses, and they are not always able to stop themselves from taking too much risk. |
These types of addictions are very serious issues that can’t be solved independently. In such cases, we highly recommend looking for support and professional help.
What Kind of Help Is Available?
As it was said before, no battles should be fought alone. If you assume that you might have some problems limiting your online casino sessions, there are plenty of solutions:
- Read about online casinos and educate yourself on how to act in a responsible way.
- Limit your player’s account, set the maximum amount of deposits, use time tracking.
- Try self-exclusion for a few months to see how you are dealing with the fact that there is no possibility to log into a player’s account.
- Use the special apps that block all the websites with any possible casino gaming and betting activities. You may not be titanium, so smart technologies can take the responsibility.
- Talk to others about your struggles, tell the people who are close to you how to do you feel, join the support group, and share your experiences. Saying it out loud might be that crucial eyes-opening step.
- Look out for a doctor and/or psychologist to get professional help and care.