Strategies for responsible gambling: Setting limits and staying in control

Whether you're gambling online or traveling to a casino in person to play, it's important to remember that you're playing the games for entertainment, not to get rich. If you don't gamble responsibly, you could lose more money than you can afford or that you're comfortable losing. That is why you must learn to gamble responsibly and some simple techniques to help you avoid most issues with gambling.

Set Loss and Win Limits

As a gambler, it's tempting to keep going whether you're winning or losing. If you've lost some money, you probably want to try and win it back. If you've won some money, it's natural to want to win even more. That's why it's important to set limits for how much you can lose and how much you can win during a given session. Before you start playing any game, decide how much money you're comfortable losing. When you lose the amount of money in your limit, you have to stop playing and do something else.

The same rule should apply to winning as well, and if you can walk away with a small win, you'll be less likely to lose the money or develop unhealthy gambling habits. If you get a huge win in just a few turns, great, but you shouldn't try and turn small wins into huge victories; you should celebrate the small wins.

Set a Time Limit

If you gamble for longer, you are likely to lose more money. You're also more likely to start playing emotionally and making real mistakes. This is why you should have a reasonable time limit for each gambling session. Decide to stop playing after an hour or two, or maybe even less than that, to keep yourself under control.

Play for Fun

The worst thing you can do is see gambling as a way to make money. Instead, you should see it as an activity that costs money for entertainment alone. You're paying for fun, and when you've spent your limit, the fun is over, and you're done. If you can think of gambling this way all the time, you shouldn't have any issues with gambling addiction or losing more money than necessary.

Remember the Odds Favor the Casino

It's common for players to feel like they're beating the casino or like their odds are improving over time. Don't tell yourself that you will start winning soon because you've been on a long losing streak. Remind yourself that you could keep losing forever and that it's all random. Instead, stick to your limits and don't try to make up for losses by getting wins. Play for fun, and remember that the odds aren't in your favor. You are likely to lose more money if you keep playing, and if you've lost enough for your play session, you should stop playing and do something else instead.

Gambling responsibly doesn't have to be difficult, but it's much easier if you have some rules in place before you start. Decide what amount of money you're comfortable spending each time you gamble online, and use that value to plan each gaming session online. If you're disciplined enough to plan out each gambling session and stick with your plan, you can have a good time, experience the different games and avoid ever developing a gambling problem.