How to Keep Gambling Addiction Away
No form of gambling guarantees a win. For that reason, you should treat casino play as entertainment only. The following recommendations can help you keep it that way:
- Don’t chase losses. It’s common to feel compelled to recover lost money, but this often leads to larger losses. The safest option is to stop;
- Accept gambling money as spent. There’s no certainty that wagers will be recouped. Treat any money you stake as gone beforehand. That way any return is a pleasant surprise rather than expected profit;
- Manage your limits. Decide in advance how much time and money you can afford to spend and stick to those limits. Crossing them can allow gambling to control you, which is a warning sign of addiction.
If you find it increasingly hard to follow these suggestions, keep the following points in mind:
- Gambling is based on chance: there are no guaranteed formulas or “secret strategies” to make you rich;
- Playing casino games or betting on sports won’t reliably make you wealthy or resolve debts;
- Always monitor how much you spend on gambling;
- Understand the rules before trying a new game;
How to Identify a Gambling Addiction
Telling the difference between a healthy interest in gambling and a developing addiction can be difficult. This quick checklist can help—if you answer yes to at least five of the questions below, you may be experiencing a gambling problem:
- Are you heavily involved in gambling?
- Are the amounts you stake steadily increasing?
- Do you borrow money to gamble?
- Do you frequently gamble for longer than you intended?
- Do frequent visits to gambling venues negatively affect your reputation?
- Do you feel irritable or upset when you cannot gamble?
- Do you use gambling as a way to escape personal problems?
- Do you frequently feel compelled to chase your losses?
- Have you tried to limit your stakes or the time you spend gambling but failed?
- Do you hide your gambling from relatives?
How to Fight a Gambling Addiction
Set up a betting plan. It should outline how much time you allow for gambling each day, week, or month. Do the same for your finances — decide in advance how much you will spend on wagers within a given period.
These recommendations are useful if problematic gambling is only beginning. If your relationships, finances, or career are already being affected by gambling, it is advisable to contact DudeSpin customer support. Depending on the severity of your situation, site managers can impose deposit limits, restrict playing time, or close your account.