Online gambling can be a very fun pastime, especially with things like real cash poker online where you can earn extra money by playing it. However, it can be very damaging to your life, mental health, and financial status if you don’t have a good relationship with online gambling. Let’s review some of the signs that could denote that you’re addicted to online gambling.
Gambling More and More
One of the most obvious signs that you’re addicted to online gambling is that you’re doing it more often. Placing a bet or playing a casino game when you wake up and before you go to bed are the most worrying signs. Other upsetting trends can be that when you pick up your phone or device you head straight to an online gambling site or app.
How to stop it: It can be difficult to get out of this cycle of playing online gambling but not impossible. Try with willpower to not play for 24-48 hours uninstall the app from your device, or activate some of the responsible gambling tools that a lot of real cash poker online sites have to help protect players.
Gambling with Money You Don’t Have
Another major red flag that can be seen in gambling addicts is they are gambling even when they don’t have the resources to do so. This could mean wagering money that was supposed to be spent on food or gas. Other signs could be using a credit card to make betting account deposits which can lead to serious financial repercussions if repayments are not met.
How to stop it: One top protocol to always abide by when gambling is only to gamble what you can afford to lose. Segregating your funds to ensure you do not overspend and don’t land in financial hot water with your gambling activity. If you want to play casino games but can’t afford to gamble, you can usually play versions of these online which will still provide the game experience just without the financial risk.
When Gambling Appears as a Solution to a Problem
Gambling should never be an answer to a financial problem. You can’t bank on being able to get money from online gambling because the outcomes are never certain. If you can’t pay your car re-payments or other important bill then you should try to raise funds through other means. Whether that’s taking out more employment, cutting down other expenses or potentially speaking to the company that you owe money to see if you can reduce your payment amounts.
How to stop it: Remember that gambling is not a means to an end. It is a source of entertainment and shouldn’t be considered a legitimate income stream because you can easily end up with less money than you started.
Gambling on Markets You Have No Interest In
There are certain joys you can get from watching live sports. This can be enhanced by placing a bet on a specific result or event to happen. I.e. you’re an ardent Liverpool fan and love watching Mohamed Salah score in the Premier League. Betting on that and having it come in will make your time watching the match even sweeter if Liverpool wins and the Egyptian manages to find the back of the net. That’s a perfect way to better your gambling experience.
The problems start when you start betting on the women’s third-division baseball league from Venezuela when you’ve never watched the sport before. While you can read tips and get information on every bet under the sun, betting like this can have serious consequences if you keep doing it.
How to stop it: Only wager on markets you have an active interest in or know about. That way you’re more invested in your wager and you won’t see every sporting contest as an opportunity to bet,
Chasing Losses
Winning and losing money in online gambling is the key pillar of the pastime. You must accept that during the pastime you have every chance of both winning and losing. Problems arise when gamblers react emotionally to losing bets. At this point people who are addicted to online gambling will persist to keep betting in order to win back the money they originally lost. This is called: ‘Chasing Losses’. This almost never works out and end up with a bigger amount of money lost that the original stake.
How to stop it: Be at peace with the fact that you can lose money. When a bet doesn’t come off accept that you have lost money and leave the issue there.
