It’s much easier to tackle problems before they become overwhelming. Issues experienced due to gambling are one such case. Once gambling problems start to escalate, they can be challenging to tackle and create a paradoxical situation where it appears to the person that the only way to reduce problems is to keep gambling.
As an example, a person experiencing financial difficulties due to gambling may think that the only way to overcome these difficulties is to attempt to win back their losses through more gambling. Unfortunately, this strategy will most often lead to further losses and escalation of problems.
Limiting Negative Consequences
The best approach is to be proactive and take actions to limit your risk, even if you feel like you are in control. In a way, taking preventive measures like setting reasonable deposit limits is like putting on the seatbelt before driving. You know you probably won’t need it on your trip, but it can save your life if you’re involved in an unexpected accident.
Most gambling providers offer various limit tools. Most commonly, you’ll have the option to set a deposit limit on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Sometimes you will also be allowed to set limits on other aspects of gambling behaviour, such as maximum time consumption, bet size or total loss within a period of time. Setting limits makes it easy to keep an overview of your spending.
The measure can also help you stick to your decisions about your gambling budget, even if you occasionally get caught in the heat of the moment. If you gamble with multiple bookmakers, you’ll have to make a bit more of an effort to set them up, as limits don’t transfer across providers. You may even want to keep track of your deposits in a spreadsheet or set a lower limit for each betting site.
How Much Is Too Much?
The exact amount of money a person can gamble without experiencing any risk differs from person to person. A good strategy is to create an entertainment budget that includes gambling and then set a limit that reflects how much money you are willing to lose on gambling after setting aside money for all your regular expenses. Often, people will also benefit from setting limits on their time consumption.
Consider how much time you have for leisure activities, and then decide how much of that time you want to spend on gambling, leaving time for other enjoyable activities. Remember to evaluate your limits occasionally. Changes to your financial situation or other aspects of your life will change how much time or money you want to spend on gambling.
More Help
If you find it challenging to stick to your limits, you might benefit from taking a break from gambling for a while. Remember, gambling should never cause you any harm. You can reach out to the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 if you need to talk to someone about your gambling behaviour and what actions you can take to limit your risk.
Deciding to put on the gambling seatbelt can help you avoid having to deal with more problematic situations down the road.
