Responsible Gambling
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The two main things to remember are:
Although it is obviously everyone's duty to help prevent problem gambling from happening, it is simply a fact that the person who has the most control over this is you, the player. A bookmaker can only make an educated guess at how much each person can afford to lose and has even less idea of how much leisure time someone has to spend doing it. It is the player who is best placed to make judgements on these things so self evaluation is essential, and should be reflected on at regular intervals. Some questions that the leading gambling charities recommend asking yourself when assessing if there may be a problem are:
If you answers any of the questions in a way that may be troubling, then visit the website: BeGambleAware.org
They exist to help "people struggling with gambling, and people who are worried about someone else’s gambling". As well as the website there is the phone number 0808 8020 133 which you can call 24/7 if you need to talk to someone immediately.
If you are satisfied that your gambling is not a problem there are still things you can do to improve your safety and awareness of the real situation. Features that betting sites regularly have for you to use are:
Deposit Limits
A deposit limit can be set either daily, weekly, or monthly and will make it impossible for you to lose more than that amount in that time period at that bookmaker, because you physically will not be able to deposit any more than that. It is a great idea to set this, even if you do not ever expect to use it, and the limit that is chosen will be up to you. Sometimes recently the bookmakers themselves have begun adding deposit limits to betting accounts and this is a trend that is likely to continue.
Use Playing Time Notifications
When gambling time can simply fly by and you can "zone out" from the real world without realising it. By setting up effectively a "wake up call" prior to beginning your play, it is possible to help snap you out of your state of mind and realise what the time is and perhaps consider that you have been playing long enough and it is time to stop.
Consider Self Exclusion
If you feel you definitely do, or are definitely going to, have a gambling problem then self excluding yourself should help to make it very very difficult for you to gamble. The problem here is that you need to self exclude from all betting sites and if you miss any or a new betting site opens, it will still be available to you. There is also the problem of being able to bet in bookmaker shops themselves. However self excluding is definitely a good first step towards shutting down an addiction and all UK regulated bookmakers will allow you to do it.
BeGambleAware.org (or call 0808 8020 133)
Gamblers Anonymous.org.uk (or call 02073 843040)
You can also seek help from your local GP who will either be able to help directly or refer you to others who can. No matter what remember that you are not alone and there are people to turn to.