Are online casinos controlling your life?
Gambling addiction is probably not recognized as much as other forms of addiction. You might be surprised to learn that there are more gambling-related suicides in a year than from all other addictions combined. This might be because, unlike in the case of substance abuse addictions, gambling addiction is not commonly associated with physical harm or visible effects. But the damage inflicted is no less severe.
Self-exclusion is the first important step you can take to stay away from online casinos. But the problem is, many fail to recognize or acknowledge that they have a gambling problem. How do you identify if you or a person you know has a gambling problem? Let’s sort that out first.
How To Know If You Have A Gambling Problem?
Here are the signs to look for if you suspect you have a gambling problem.
- Do you miss work or college to gamble?
- Do you regularly feel guilty after gambling?
- Do you try to recoup losses by placing more bets?
- Does gambling affect your family life?
- Is gambling interfering with your career or studies?
- Do you spend more time or money at a casino than you intend to?
- Do you engage in emotional gambling?
- Do you play with loaned money?
- Do you lie about your gambling habits?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, know that you are at risk of gambling addiction. It’s time for you to take action.
Self-exclusion is a powerful tool that gambling authorities have come up with to allow you to effectively stay away from all forms of online gambling. This includes casino games, sports betting and sometimes lotteries. Now, if you ask why self-exclusion is one of the most effective options to pull the brakes on your gambling habits, it’s because it doesn’t rely on your willpower to stop gambling. Rather, it cuts off your access entirely to gambling without letting you look back. Let’s take a look at the responsible gambling tools casinos commonly offer.
Responsible Gambling Tools
Casinos need a valid license from the government or the state’s gambling regulatory authority to conduct their operations legally. In order to obtain the license, they are to strictly abide by the standards set by the licensing authority. As part of this, casinos have to ensure that they have a solid responsible gambling policy in place.
Licensed online casinos have a dedicated section on responsible gambling on their website. Here you will find details of all the features available to you to help you gamble safely. These features include:
- Deposit limits
- Betting limits
- Wager limits
- Informative materials for gambling awareness
- Gambling addiction support helplines
- Game restrictions
- Self-exclusion
While most of the above options allow you to set a limit on your gambling, self-exclusion is a more extreme step. If none of the other options worked for you, self-exclusion can be your solution. It is one of the most useful options that casinos provide to implement responsible gambling.
How Does Self-Exclusion Work?
Self-exclusion is the process by which you voluntarily forfeit your access to any or all gambling platforms for a predetermined period. For this, you have to visit the licensing authority’s site and sign up for the self-exclusion program. Or you can individually self-exclude from particular online casinos that you participate in. You can visit their Responsible Gambling page or contact the casino’s customer service directly and ask them to block you.
How Long Can You Self Exclude?
When self-excluding, you can set the period for which you want to be blocked from using your casino accounts. This period usually ranges from 6 months to forever.
Now, say you choose to exclude yourself for a few months or years, even after the completion of this period, you will remain excluded. You can renew or extend the term at any time.
To lift the block, you need to apply or request the agency that activated your self-exclusion. However, you will not be able to apply for cancellation or reduce the term before the expiry of the set period.
Conclusion: Permanently Self-Excluding From Online Casinos
Self-exclusion is an effective responsible gambling tool that allows players to voluntarily give up their access to online casinos. It’s a great tool to prevent or put an end to gambling addiction or gambling problem. When you sign up for the self-exclusion program with a gambling authority, individual casino or a third-party website offering this service, you can select the time period for which you want to remain excluded. To permanently exclude yourself from online gambling, you can select the ‘lifetime’ option while applying for self-exclusion. This will block your access to all the applicable casino accounts forever.
