People from around the world love to gamble, and the emergence of cheap internet access and high-performance smartphones and tablets have made online gambling one of the most convenient ways to tangle with Lady Luck.  

Gambling can be an entertaining and harmless activity as long as you have things under control. Guest author Lucas Goldberg shares three key tips that will help us keep our gambling activities in check and not go overboard with spending. To find out more about Lucas Goldberg, click here.

Anti-gambling zealots have often claimed that gambling is a destructive activity that is social evil. The problem with this generalization is that the majority of players have no problem with gambling, it is just a small percentage that overspend. 

The key is to educate players about how they can set certain rules in place to ensure that they don’t step over the line and succumb to problem gambling addiction. Here are three tips to keep you protected while gambling online

Be Honest with Yourself: Can You Control Your Gambling?

The first thing you need to do is be honest with yourself before deciding to gamble online. You must be honest about whether you can or cannot manage your online gambling budget.

If you fear that you might be vulnerable to problem gambling, we suggest you stay away from online gambling altogether.

This is because the cliché prevention is better than cure is very true when it comes to any form of gambling. Avoiding gambling is much safer for those who are susceptible to problem gambling compared to trying to treat problem gambling once it is manifested.

The problem with this is that most people have no idea if they have a problem with gambling. It is only when you start playing real money games do you expose yourself to learning more about your gambling-related tendencies.  

People with addictive personalities, in particular, can be susceptible to problem gambling. This is when you keep gambling despite it no longer being fun. For such people, gambling becomes a compulsion that they cannot stop, despite losing money, friends, and their health along the way.

The best way is to set controls on your gambling habit. This includes setting time limits and spending limits on your online casino play. 

Be Proactive About Your Gambling Limits

We recommend a proactive approach to online gambling. Since you do not know for sure if you are someone who is vulnerable to problem gambling, it is best that you play at an online casino that has a strong responsible gambling policy and tools in place to help you set necessary protections on your account. You must learn how to set up a budget.

Most legitimate online casinos have easy ways to set up account limits that place restrictions on your deposits, withdrawals, playing times, bet amounts, daily losses, and more. It is best you choose an online casino with strong responsible gambling policies as it will give you the freedom to tailor your account to your needs.

If it turns out that you are not vulnerable, then you can slowly taper off the restrictions on your gambling account. If it turns out you are vulnerable, then you can rest easy knowing that your limits will prevent you from going too far into the deep end.

Manage Your Online Bankroll

Now that you are gambling online with strict limits placed on your account, it is now up to you to ensure that the limits are appropriate given your lifestyle. The importance of managing your budget at an online casino can hardly be overstated.

Canadian players can protect themselves by learning how to set a gambling budget and also by playing at 5$ deposit casino. The question of how to set up a balanced budget can be answered in dozens of ways. Here is a general rubric that you can tinker with to fit your specific needs.

Use a separate account dedicated to your gambling funds and do not allow funds from this account to mix with the accounts for your daily expenses.

Decide how much you can spend per month on gambling and stick to that budget by using only the funds in your gambling account.

If you are unsure about your ability to not dip into your non-gambling accounts to top up your casino account budget in the middle of the month, consider letting a trusted friend or loved one hold those funds to help you avoid such rash decisions. 

Conclusion

Make sure you set a daily or a weekly budget for your online casino spend and stick with it. If you find it hard to stick to your budget, make use of the online casino self-exclusion tools or talk to a family member and get the help you need. Don’t be embarrassed to do so!