Responsible Gambling Guidelines - Tips & Advice to Gamble Safely

At OnlineCasinoSpinz.com (OCS) we encourage all our visitors to gamble responsibly. As a provider of information regarding gaming and gambling, OCS promotes responsible gambling and requests all the visitors to our website who wish to game and gamble, to do so responsibly.

Legal age for gambling

Before you begin gambling, please check your local jurisdiction laws on what entails underage gambling. In most regions, people can only gamble if they are over the age of 18. However, the age at which gambling/gaming is considered legal under the law or jurisdiction which applies to you (“Legal Age”) varies from one region to another.

If you are with any person who is not of legal gambling age, please take steps to ensure that they don’t have access to your username and password to any gambling website. Please do not leave the underage unattended near your computer when a gambling website is open.

Responsible gambling

To gamble responsibly, you should consider the following:

Gambling is a form of entertainment only. Gambling is not a way to become rich quickly or to pay off your debts.
The majority of gamblers actually lose money;
Never bet more than you can afford to lose comfortably.
Never wager with money that you need for your daily living expenses;
Put limits on your gambling, and this can include setting time limits on your gambling, the amount you deposit in a casino each week and/or the amount you can afford to lose.
Never chase your losses.

Best Practices for Gambling Responsibly

First, it is important to mention that gambling does not necessarily lead to addiction. Certain types of people are more susceptible to such influences and problems, much like alcoholics.

The triggers can be personal traits, certain neurological issues, or a range of mental health disorders. As an example, people suffering from depression or anxiety are more vulnerable to developing addictions.

The same goes for people with serotonin deficiencies. There are also various social factors that can contribute to one’s gambling addiction – occupation, education, health, etc.

Bankroll Management

One of the most important things when betting is managing your money smartly.

Remember to never start a game with more money than you can comfortably lose. You should keep your funds separate in order to prevent spending all your money at one go. If you are having a bad play day, do not try to wager bigger and bigger to compensate for your losses – you may end up losing even more.

It is very important to control your emotions and to know when to stop playing. Always try to keep a clear head and consider the results of your actions carefully. The moment you start feeling itchy, it is advisable to stop and take a break.

Self-Limitation

Most online casinos have a set of tools that encourage responsible gambling and prevent related problems. For example, you can set limits in your account to how much you can deposit every month, or put a cap on your losses for a specific game. Also, you can set limits on your gaming session length, that’ll prevent you from getting too engrossed in the game and helping you keep track of the time you spend gambling.

Another nifty option that most online casinos offer is to take a break. You can set a time period in which your account will be temporarily inaccessible to you.

Self-Exclusion

This option should be used by players who feel like gambling is becoming a problem for them, and leading to addiction. If you choose self-exclusion, the casino will do what is necessary to block your access to your account and return any funds it contains back to you. You can set a time period in which the exclusion will be in effect. After the self-exclusion period is over, your account will not be automatically reopened – you’ll need to contact the casino in order to reactivate your account.

How to stop gambling

You need to be aware of how to stop gambling before it becomes a big part of your life. Top gambling sites offer various safeguarding measures such as below, so put them to use.

Set deposit limit: you can choose a maximum amount daily/weekly/monthly/annually that’ll limit your gambling spend.
Apply a calming-down period: where available, put a hold on yourself for a certain amount of time.
Pop up Timer: set up a pop up timer that’ll ask if you want to continue playing while you’re logged in.
Self-exclusion: ask to exclude your account from all or selected services for a specific time period. If you want to lift the self-ban before the set date, you’ll need to contact the casino’s customer services.
Responsible gambling information: every gambling site has a page with advice and information, as well as links to related organisations and help services.

If you feel the signs of a problem are becoming obvious, seek help:

Seek support by confiding in a close friend or attending a Gamblers Anonymous meeting
Busy yourself with other activities that you enjoy and avoid isolation
Put off gambling by giving yourself a longer cooling-off period (it may help the urge to pass or weaken)
Give yourself a reality check – imagine what’ll happen after you gamble, and the way it makes you feel

How to help a gambling addict

We realize that some people who develop a gambling problem don’t always realize it. You should consider the following questions in order to establish whether you or a loved one has a gambling problem.

Have you ever lied about the extent of your gambling?
Do you gamble when you feel depressed or want to escape from your issues?
Do you borrow or steal money to gamble?
Does gambling affecting your relationships with other people?
Do you gamble to solve your financial problems?
If you’re out of money in the middle of gambling, do you feel disgusted and look for more money right away to gamble again?
Do you lie to cover up the money or time you spent gambling?
Have you ever been pushed to ask others to finance your gaming?
Do your thoughts constantly turn to gambling?
Have you ever tried to win back your losses by taking unnecessary risk?

Gambling addiction help services

If you feel that you are having problems related to gambling, you should seek professional help. You can ask for help from the below organisations and services, but remember that there may be more depending on your location.

Compliance with law

Please be aware that OCS is only intended to be used by visitors in jurisdictions where the use of online gambling services is legal. Before thinking of gambling online, you must check the gambling laws applicable to your location. You must stop using this site, and/or any other third-party websites to which this site may link, if the laws in jurisdictions where you reside prohibit such use.