Gambling addiction prevention when gambling

Gambling addiction prevention when gambling

Gambling addiction is as old as gambling. The dangers of gambling should not be underestimated because it can affect even experienced players. That's why we want to show you what exactly gambling addiction is and how you can recognize it. It also shows how you can best protect yourself from gambling addiction. The most important information at a glance:

• Gambling addiction is a recognized illness: USA an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 people are affected, men significantly more often than women.
• Typical warning signs include ever-increasing stakes, hiding gambling, and playing to suppress negative feelings.
• Reputable providers offer stake and time limits as well as a self-blocking option - advice is available free of charge and anonymously, for example at “Check your game”.

What is gambling addiction?

Gambling addiction is also known as compulsive or pathological gambling. Gambling addiction is characterized by the inability of the affected person to resist the impulse to engage in gambling or betting, even when it may have a major negative impact on one's life. This can be the case, for example, if the person concerned is already heavily in debt due to their own gaming career and still continues to borrow money in order to be able to continue financing their own compulsive gambling. Men suffer from gambling addiction more often than women. The number of those affected USA is estimated at around 100,000 to 300,000.

What are the symptoms of gambling addiction?

Gambling addiction can usually be recognized by certain typical symptoms. This includes:

• Excessive mental preoccupation with one or more games or bets
• The repeated attempt to obtain enough capital for one's own game, even if the player has already invested significantly more money than he actually wanted
• The constant increase in the use of money
• Hiding gambling or betting from friends or family
• Playing helps combat negative feelings and problems, which are often pathological (e.g. Depression and anxiety).

If such symptoms are noted, the player should address their behavior before it worsens. Ours provides you with a first anonymous clue Self-test for gaming behavior, which is based on the criteria of ICD-11.

Prevention: How can you protect yourself from gambling addiction?

In order to prevent gambling addiction from occurring in the first place, you can take various precautionary measures. Good online casinos allow you to make certain technical settings. You should also write down some rules for your own behavior before playing and betting and stick to them later. On online casinos you will find extensive online casino test and experience reports and answers to the question: Where can you find licensed online casinos ? Among other things, you will find the best ways to get in touch with customer service, who will be available to give you help and advice.

Gambling addiction prevention: Technical possibilities on the Internet

Reputable online casino sites offer technical options for regulating one's own behavior. This includes setting stake and time limits. A betting limit can be set by the player or by the platform. Such a limit prevents the player from betting more money than originally intended. If the player changes this limit, it will only take effect after a certain period of time. A possible time limit prevents the player from playing longer than this time limit allows. Another technical option is self-exclusion from playing on a platform. This allows the player to ban themselves. The online platform will then not allow this player to become active on the platform for a certain period of time. Different lengths of time can be chosen for this.

Gambling addiction prevention: rules for self-control

Furthermore, players should inform themselves before they become active in online gambling , give them their own rules that they stick to while playing.

Dealing with money

How much money for playing in a real money casino used should be clarified before you start playing. This is the only way to prevent more and more money from being slowly invested in gaming, perhaps without the player really noticing. This also prevents the player from trying to make up for losses with possible future winnings - this is the first path to gambling addiction. From the outset, a player should only bet money that he can safely lose.

Dealing with time

Before playing, a player should also set time limits, i.e. Think carefully about how much time he wants to invest in gambling. This period of time should not be exceeded. You should also always take breaks when playing. Furthermore, gambling should never become the main activity, so the player should definitely have other activities.

Dealing with your own feelings

A player should always be aware of their own feelings when gambling and betting. Gambling should not be used to mask negative feelings. Gambling should also not be used as a distraction from other problems. It should always be viewed for what it is: a form of entertainment and not a way to make money.

Protecting minors from gambling addiction

Protecting children and young people from the dangers of gambling is a separate chapter, as they are not yet able to fully assess their own behavior. Parents and site operators should therefore take special precautions. This includes the use of software that prevents minors from accessing certain sites and the site operators actively searching for active underage users of their platform. The platform’s employees should also receive special training for this.

Help with gambling addiction

If a player notices that he has some symptoms of gambling addiction or is even pointed out by those around him, he should urgently find out more about the topic and seek help. The first port of call for this can be:

• Joint gaming authority of the states (gambling regulator) – the state supervision of gambling USA, including information on the nationwide player blocking file OASIS
• Check your game – the free and anonymous advice offered by the Federal Center for Health Education
• Nationwide against gambling addiction – Look for advice centers and self-help groups in your area

The earlier a gambling addiction is treated, the easier it is to break this vicious circle.

Conclusion: Players should take gambling addiction prevention seriously

It is easy to become addicted to gaming, especially online, because the player is anonymous and unrecognized. Therefore, all gamblers who play online should pay particular attention to the above tips. Gambling should, first and foremost, be fun and a form of entertainment. If this is no longer the case, you must act quickly!

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