Responsible Gaming in 2020: What Casinos Can Do to Help

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Everybody knows and appreciates the importance of responsible gambling. But exactly whose responsibility is it to ensure gambling activities are kept responsible? Does it come down to the casino itself, or should the whole thing by shouldered by the player?

As with most things, the answer lies somewhere down the middle. On one hand, you could argue that yes – every gamer is technically responsible for their own actions and activities, so they need to keep tabs on their gambling habits. On the other, it’s also true to say that under no circumstances should casinos turn a blind eye to problematic gambling.

If anything, you could also argue that casinos can and should be doing much more to protect their customers.

Detection and Prevention

Right now, the vast majority of decent online casinos have relatively strict policies and procedures in place to both detect and deal with signs of problematic gambling. If it’s noted that an individual seems to be getting in over their head or displaying the warning signs of addictive behaviour, they’ll usually be picked up on and addressed.

Nevertheless, the very best casinos are taking things a step or two further.  Examples of which include STSBet.co.uk, where all the standard measures for detecting and combating problematic gambling are enhanced with a whole bunch of additional tools and features.

Truth is, nobody expects to develop a gambling problem. Likewise, acknowledging you have a problem and doing something about it can be extremely challenging. Hence, it’s good to see major operators like this making every possible effort to keep things safe and responsible.

Taking the example from STSBet.co.uk, these are just a few of the things today’s online casino can and should be doing to safeguard players from potential harm:

The option to turn off marketing notifications

If you are even remotely suggestible, you may find yourself making ill-informed decisions based on the marketing materials you’re bombarded with. Particularly when it comes to those oh-so tempting bonuses, it’s pretty easy to find yourself spending money you really didn’t intend to.

Hence, any casino that provides players with the option to turn off marketing notifications is a pretty outstanding casino. They’re few and far between, but they do exist.

Deposit and betting limits

Telling yourself you’ll stop gambling after spending X amount of money is all well and good.  In the heat of the moment, it can be extremely difficult to stick with these good intentions. Precisely why a far better option is a tool that actually allows you to establish deposit and betting limits, which you then cannot breach – even if you wanted to.

In accordance with the day, the week or the month, you simply establish how much you can afford to deposit and your maximum betting limit for the period. Once reached in both instances, you’re barred from playing until the end of the allotted time. An absolutely fantastic way of staying within your limits.

Friendly reminders via periodic popups

Something as simple as an occasional reality check can also be surprisingly useful. Roughly translated, something that automatically generates a pop-up after a given amount of time has passed, just to remind you that you’ve spent X amount of time playing.

If you’re only planning on playing at a casino for a couple of hours, it simply makes sense to keep your eye on the time. Otherwise – and particularly when playing full-screen or in a live-dealer setting – it can be surprisingly easy to completely lose track of time and spend way more than you can afford to.

Optional timeouts

STSBet.co.uk is one of a select few online casinos that currently enables players to set up optional timeouts. This means having the option to temporarily lock yourself out of your own account, for anything from a couple of days or so up to six weeks. During this time, you will not be able to access your account for gambling purposes under any circumstances.

After the allotted period of time has passed, your account automatically reopens, and you can play once again. An excellent option for anyone concerned they’ve been going at things a little too hard.

Self-exclusion

Taking things one step further, self-exclusion features enable players to lock themselves out of their accounts for anything from six months up to permanent exclusion. The difference being that with self-exclusion, you have to apply directly to the casino’s customer support team to reopen your account after the time period passes.

In addition, anyone who opts for permanent self-exclusion will be permanently prohibited from opening a new account with the casino in question.

Additional Tips for Responsible Gambling

These are just a few of the things quality casinos can and should be doing to safeguard their players. As for the players themselves, there’s also plenty that can be done to keep things on the straight and narrow.

Even if you consider yourself to be a relatively safe gambler and don’t have a natural proclivity to problematic behaviours, it’s still important to be mindful of the following when gambling online:

Every aspect of online gambling is supposed to be enjoyable and entertaining.  The moment things become stressful, irritating, annoying or a source of anger, you should walk away as you are already in dangerous territory.

Track your expenses carefully and continually monitor how much you are spending, in order to ensure you are not taking things too far. If you exceed your budget even once, you might want to think carefully about any future gambling activities.

Playing under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a fundamentally terrible idea. Unless you are 100% capable of making rational and informed decisions, don’t go near an online casino.

Take plenty of breaks while playing and also make a note of how much time you spend gambling online. If you’re spending more and more time playing at online casinos, consider taking a break.

Last up, under no circumstances should you ever attempt to chase losses in the heat of the moment. Even if you blow your entire month’s gambling budget on a single terrible decision, you need to walk away, accept your lot and vow not to make the same mistake next time around.

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