WHAT IS RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING?
Responsible gambling means betting on sports (or any other event) in a safe, responsible manner, without negatively impacting your personal life or that of others around you. In other words, responsible gambling is what you should follow if you don’t want your betting to quickly turn into an addiction.
You see, it may start out as casual and quickly become more serious. However, if you don’t follow this path with a set plan of action, rules, and strategies, you may soon find yourself in the dark side of problem gambling.
It can lead to problems in finances, day-to-day life, personal relationships and even mental health. Therefore, your end goal here should be to ensure that your sports betting habit does not impact your personal life, professional life, or simply the opportunities you get in life. There is a fine line that you need to draw early on.
RESPONSIBLE SPORTS BETTING: THE 7 TENETS
To help you become more responsible with your betting, we have outlined our 7 principles of responsible sports betting. These have all been amassed from research and personal experience. Follow these and rest assured, your sports betting habit will never turn into an addiction. The 7 tenants are as follows:
Don’t chase your losses
Bet on what you know
Set a fixed budget
Make data-based decisions
Track your bets
Be patient and disciplined
Trust someone and share your journey
TRUST SOMEONE AND SHARE YOUR JOURNEY
One of the best ways to keep your online sports gambling habit in check is by trusting someone close to you and sharing your experience with them. When you have a bad day in betting (you will, at some point in time), speak to your friends, a fellow gambler, or relatives about it rather than feeling compelled to chase your losses. This way, you will be accountable not only to yourself but also to this person. Keep them informed of your sports bets, your general experience, and how it is panning out for you. You don’t have to give all the details but as long as they know what’s going on with you, they will help you keep your habit in check. Remember that even though sports betting may be a taboo in India, there is no shame in talking about it as long as you do it responsibly. Plus, if you ever feel that your habit is getting out of control, you will have someone to talk to.
SPORTS BETTING AND GAMBLING ADDICTION – THE
TELL-TALE SIGNS
Fun and casual sports betting can quickly, and very subtly, turn into addiction without you even realising it. So it is important that you are self-aware of your betting habits. As a rule of thumb, you have a gambling addiction if you have the urge to gamble constantly, despite knowing of its severe consequences. There’s no self-control, no
strategy – just an addiction you need to feed. To help you in this endeavor, we have prepared this short list of tell-tale signs of problematic sports gambling. It is also a self-assessment of sorts for you to see where you stand. Furthermore, you will also find similar self-assessments at all leading betting sites.
Lying about gambling to those around you
Chasing your losses
Losing track of time and gambling for longer than you intend to
Feeling restless when you’re not gambling
Feelings of guilt about your gambling habits and the consequences of it
Borrowing/Stealing money or selling your belongings to fulfil your betting habits
Always betting more than you need to and increasing bet sizes to get that rush
Scheduling your life around gambling
Obsessing with gambling
Betting until you’re out of money
Neglecting your family, friends, and work because of gambling
Betting recklessly, without a plan
Deteriorating mental and physical health due to gambling
Using gambling as a way to elevate your mood when you’re feeling down
Unable to stop gambling or stop thinking about gambling
Massive debt incurred due to gambling
Gambling with money meant for other crucial expenses
If you find yourself in this category, we recommend that you take urgent action. You may have a problem with sports betting but, with some help, you can kick this habit to the curb and get back to living your life to the fullest.
