We on Bookmakers.bet hold a strong belief in responsible gambling. We also support the idea that everyone should be informed about the consequences associated with gambling addictions, as well as about how their prevention, intervention and treatment conditions can be improved.
Although most players are generally considered social or fan bettors, there is a certain percentage of players that falls under the following categories:
1. They wish to play but are under 18 years old or 21, depending on each country’s law.
2. They face social or monetary problems due to their gambling addiction.
You should always remember that betting is a form of entertainment and not a way to earn more money. Before you participate in this kind of activity, you have to be aware of the social and monetary problems that may occur and are relevant to a gambling addiction.
Keeping your control
Although most people find it easy to play within some limits, others may find it hard to contain themselves, which is why we have also created a guide on how to stop betting. You can always keep your self-control by remembering the following steps:
- You should only participate in such activities for fun and not as a means of earning money.
- Do not spend money that was supposed to cover bills or other economical responsibilities.
- Avoid rebetting in order to cover your losses.
- Do not bet in order to escape from your problems and daily concerns.
- Carefully calculate an amount of money that can be spent on betting and never exceed it.
- Determine you betting limits beforehand and do no exceed them.
- When you feel that you have crossed the line on gambling, it is best to take a break or even self-exclude from betting.
- Don’t be afraid and do not hesitate to ask for help when you realize that you have spent more money than you intended or that you might be playing more than the usual.
Moreover, you can find certain applications that may help you determine what your betting budget should be. Those apps can be found on several bookmakers and are sure to help you quite a bit.
Responsible Gambling’s Questionnaire
If there are serious worries that betting may have become an issue on your or someone else’s daily routine, the following questions will help you determine if you really are in trouble.
- Is gambling your way to escape from a boring life?
- Have you ever caught yourself gambling alone and isolated for long periods?
- Is gambling the reason for you to stay away from work, college or school?
- Did you spend a great amount of money and you caught yourself lying about that?
- Have you lost interest in your family, friends or pastimes due to gambling?
- After losing, do you have in mind that you have to get back your losses the soonest the possible?
- When you run out of money because of gambling, do you feel in despair and that you need to gamble again?
- Do you gamble until your balance is equal to zero and some times you can't afford the cost of a cup of coffee?
- Do you have suicidal tendencies because of gambling?
If you happened to answer “Yes” more times than “No”, then there is a possibility that you are seriously addicted to gambling. Do not hesitate to ask for help, by contacting one of the following authorities;
UK
International
How you can perceive and help someone who seems to be addicted?
The more the following signs seem to fit someone, the more likely it is that they need help in order to alter their gambling behavior:
- They seem unable to stop gambling.
- They tend to spend increasingly more time playing on gambling sites.
- When this person tries to reduce or stop gambling, he becomes easily irritated.
- They seem to have lost interest on other hobbies. They also refuse invitations to attend social events.
- They tend to gamble alone for long periods.
- They increase the amount of money they gamble.
- They borrow money for gambling purposes or to pay off gambling debts.
- They lie to others to cover the extent of their gambling activity.
- They have lots of unpaid bills and debts as a result of gambling
- They have lost the ability to control their gambling behavior and their repeated efforts to reduce or stop gambling have been unsuccessful.
They list may contain even more signs, but in which ways can an addicted person be helped?
- By setting boundaries and communicating with the person that is in trouble.
- Establishing a “safety net” of supportive family, friends and community support agencies.
- Carefully calculating his average monthly income and expenses.
- Keeping a close eye to all the valuable objects the gambler has an access to.
Minors protection
It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 (or 21, depending on the laws of each country) to register on a betting account and gamble.
Parental control
There are a number of applications that parents and guardians may use in order to monitor or restrict the use of Internet access through a minor's computer.
1. The filtering program “Net Nanny” protects children from inappropriate internet usage. http://www.netnanny.com
2. The filtering program CYBERsitter allows the parents to add the websites they would like to be blocked. http://www.cybersitter.com
Self-Exclusion
In case you feel that you need a break, you can always block betting apps and choose the path of self-exclusion. This might mean a permanent solution of deleting your betting accounts, or just blocking them until you feel that you are able of controlling your betting activity.