Are you betting responsibly?
With the festive season here, the focus should ideally be on spending valuable time with family and friends. Of course, for punters that also means it is a busy time of the year with a whole host of sporting fixtures to enjoy.
So, this is probably a good time to reflect on how to enjoy betting responsibly on them as a punter.
Sites like bet365 Sport have always placed the highest tariff on customers enjoying their site and betting responsibly on the markets they offer.
Responsible Gaming protocols are also evident across bet365 and many bettors now know the importance of betting responsibly.
However, sometimes it can be hard for people to recognise that they may not be betting responsibly or safely. So this is where we can hopefully help.
In this article, we seek to clarify some of these warning signs and then provide you with clear and simple solutions on how to avoid them thus keeping you betting responsibly. Thus keeping gambling the fun activity it is intended to be.
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Ten Warning Signs You May Not Be Betting Responsibly
- You underestimate how much time and money you spend betting.
Example – Someone asks you how long you spend betting and how much you spend and you estimate about 10-15 minutes per week and around £20 per week. However, when you check your finances you see you are spending much longer and much more money on average than you expected.
Solution? – Use the Time Out and Spending Cap tools available on sites like bet365 which you can set to warn you when you have deposited a set amount or spent a set amount of time on the site.
- You seek additional sources of funds to bet with beyond what you can afford.
Example – You have used all your funds that you would ordinarily use when betting but there’s a ‘sure thing’ running in the 2.50 at Kempton Park, so you apply for a credit card with a view to using it to make a bet.
Solution? – Review your finances and work out what you can afford to bet with every week/month. Set yourself this budget and use the Spending Cap tools on sites to ensure you stick with it. Bet365 has a very useful Budget Calculator you can use precisely for this.
- You don’t get enjoyment from betting but feel a need simply to bet.
Example – You are on your phone one morning perusing the markets looking to bet on something, pretty much anything and you realise that you are not getting any enjoyment from it. Instead, it has become more of a habit.
Solution? – Take a time out from betting using the tools to stop you accessing your account for a period of time. Take the time to consider your priorities and, if necessary, seek help from a professional organisation about your attitude to gambling.
- You need to bet more to feel the same excitement you felt when betting smaller amounts.
Example – When you started betting, a £5 bet on which American Football team would win the game was exciting enough. But now you have to bet £50, more than you can sensibly afford, in order to get the same ‘buzz’.
Solution? – Take a Time Out and review your finances. Work out what budget you can easily afford to bet using disposable income. If betting is not fun, then you should stop and take a break (time out) until such a time that wagering smaller amounts becomes enjoyable again.
- You miss out on family activities or hobbies to bet.
Example – There’s a family birthday coming up, but the party is scheduled at a time when there’s a horse race you are desperate to bet on and watch, so you decide to feign an illness, or a work-related issue, to skip the party so you can watch the race.
Solution? – Never miss a family activity, hobby or to make a bet instead. If necessary schedule a time out in your timetable to make time for these events. You can always bet another day, but some of these events are a one off and cannot be repeated. Betting responsibly is not just about knowing when to bet, it is also about knowing when not to bet!
- Your concentration at work or home is often impacted by wanting to gamble.
Example – You are trying to get some work done for a client, but you are distracted by the fact there is a football match on that you would like to have a few live bets on.
Solution? – This may be a time to take a time out from gambling. If gambling is becoming an obsession, rather than a means of fun, then you should contact a support company like GAMCARE to help you with this.
- You’re not betting for fun.
Example – You log into your chosen site as a matter of routine, or because you feel the need to bet, rather than doing so because it is a genuine enjoyment for you.
Solution? – Stop gambling and take stock of why it is no longer fun. A key part o betting responsibly is that it is enjoyable and fun. Do not start betting again until it does. If necessary seek help from a professional body.
- You are betting to try to make money or chase your losses.
Example – You’ve lost a bet that you couldn’t afford to lose and have no betting budget left. So you decide to use some of your money earmarked for bills to try and win back the cash you have lost by making further bets.
Solution? – Gambling should never be looked at as a way to make money. You need to re-evaluate your approach to gambling. Stop immediately, seek help and do not restart gambling until you have addressed this issue in full.
- You feel depressed or anxious about your betting but feel you cannot stop.
Example – You’ve realised your gambling is becoming a big issue, but don’t know how to stop or where to turn. This makes you wake up at night worrying and anxious and you feel miserable and a failure that you cannot stop.
Solution? – Speak to someone. A friend, family member, doctor or an organisation like GAMCARE can help people who have these issues. It really does help to talk and from there the issue can be addressed.
- When you have placed one bet, you feel the need to place another almost immediately.
Example – You used to place a £5 accumulator bet each Saturday on the football. But now you place a £5 acca bet, plus two more bets on other sports. You don’t really mind which sports, but you feel that unless you make more bets, you won’t get the same enjoyment out of it.
Solution? – Again, this is like having to bet more money to feel the same excitement. Here you are obsessing simply about the process of betting. It’s time to take a Time Out and re-evaluate your approach to betting to reset and understand why you are betting on more events than you should.
It is important that betting responsibly is at the heart of every gambler’s attitude towards their betting and wagering. Maintaining a healthy approach and keeping things fun and enjoyable, affordable, and safe is the best way to enjoy betting in all its forms.
