Responsible Gambling

By Author: Will Win
Total Articles: 162
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Online gambling is a big attraction. It is convenient because you can play from home and it is cheap because the minimum stakes are more than affordable. The attraction can be fatal because first time winners want to keep on winning and first time losers want to recoup their losses.

Most players get over this initial fascination and get into a healthy realistic rhythm. But there are those who get carried away and waste their time and fritter away their earnings in an unending bout of online gambling. Hence it is essential to know how to gamble responsibly so that you do not fall into the trap. There are three kinds of personalities that have found to characterize compulsive gamblers.

The first consists of those who do not have a reality check. They live in a dream world and even before they start online gambling they have planned what they will do with their winnings. Itineraries for round the world trips have been planned and real estate to be purchased has been located. Some have even identified charities to which they will donate funds. Unfortunately the funds never materialize.

The second characteristic ...
... is emotional insecurity. People who find it difficult to interact with other persons are very comfortable sitting in front of their monitors. They have few emotional needs themselves and do not know how to respond to the emotional needs of others. Video poker makes no emotional demands on them and it is one happy relationship till the bill starts mounting up.

The third characteristic is the get rich quick bug. Those who believe that they can become rich without blood, toil, sweat and tears are likely victims of compulsive gambling. Responsible gambling is to have self-imposed mechanisms in place that will prevent you from being sucked in the whirlpool of compulsive gambling.

You are crossing the line if you are wagering tomorrows lunch money on red in roulette. You are crossing the line if you are postponing the economics assignment due tomorrow for one last fling at blackjack. You have already crossed the line if you are borrowing to deposit in your online account. And you have already crossed the line if your wife is preparing the divorce papers.

If you are too far gone then do not worry. Organizations like Gamblers Anonymous, Responsible Gambling Council and the National Center for Responsible Gaming are at hand. The first thing you have to accept is that you cannot gamble again. Unless you are prepared for that you rehabilitation will not begin. Counseling and interacting with others in your position are mechanisms used by these organizations to cure compulsive gambling. But the only lasting solution is to develop another interest to replace online gambling.

I believe that prevention is better than cure and have my own mantras. If I win I set my original bankroll aside and splurge the rest. I do not gamble to pay the installment on my loan or my credit card bill. And if I lose my bankroll I open up a can of baked beans instead of eating out that night.