What Is Responsible Gambling?
Responsible gambling follows various policies and regulations pertaining to stakeholders, i.e. governments, gaming control boards, operators (casinos), and vendors, to guarantee the fairness of their methods and emphasize understanding of gambling addiction.
In layman's terms, responsible gambling implies being able to gamble without leaving yourself or others at risk of a disadvantage of any sort.
Simply put, gambling responsibly is the only way to enjoy the benefits of gambling whilst eliminating the drawbacks it possesses.
How Popular Is Gambling in Australia?
Australia has a strong pub culture, which descends from the Northern European tradition.
Alcohol plays a significant role in the life of many Aussies. It is commonplace to find many of them drinking at any societal function.
They also love sports a lot. Sport has been an essential part of Australian civilization dating back to the pre-European indigenous community and is a fundamental aspect of modern Australian life.
When you combine sports and drinking together, gambling becomes a common occurrence.
This is why you have 80% of Australian adults who gamble - the highest rate of gambling globally.
There is no gainsaying that gambling is very prominent with Australians.
It is highly popular with adults aged 50 and over. According to a 2018 report, gambling is the least appealing to youthful people aged 18-24, with "only" about 27.5% of the young adult population in Australia enthralled. The next age group, adults, aged 25-34, also wagered at a rate of 37.5%, which is lesser than average.
How much do Australians gamble, and how much do they lose?
Australians are arguably the heaviest gamblers in the world. They lose about AU$1,260 to gambling every year. And they also spend about AU$1,200 per year to gamble.
In 2017, it was claimed by a casino website that the country documented gambling losses of AU$1,324 per head of the population.
A statistic published by a prominent Australian gambling source showed that from 2016-17, they bet about AU$208 billion. The figure went upward, as they spent over AU$242 billion in 2017-18.
Find more Australian gambling statistics: https://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/statistics/theme/society/gambling/australian-gambling-statistics
These ludicrous amounts were averaged across all 19.75 million Australians aged over 18, which means more than AU$12,000 per individual.
The Australian government has published data that reveals that up to 170,000 Australian adults experience difficulties due to gambling addiction.
They have easy access to diverse forms of gambling.
Therefore, it is no surprise that Australia ranks first globally amongst countries that gamble the most.
Gambling becomes a problem when one is addicted to it. Becoming an addict often happens when one gambles irresponsibly.
How To Note a Gambling Addict?
When the aim of a person's gambling is tied to risking something of importance in the odds of earning something of even enormous value, then it becomes a problem.
This is because, in the event of a loss, such a person won't stop gambling.
A casual gambler will quit while ahead or stop after recording losses. But a person who gambles irresponsibly keeps at it, probably risking more funds.
The more they do this, the higher the chances of falling into gambling addiction.
How can you note a gambling addict? These are some ways:
- Being distracted with gambling or anything related to it constantly.
- Trying to reduce or stop gambling to no avail.
- Becoming restless or unruly when you try to reduce gambling.
- Gambling to evade difficulties or alleviate feelings of sorrow, uncertainty, or depression.
- Attempting to get back lost gambled money by gambling further.
- Fabricating lies to family members or friends or other people to disguise the magnitude of your gambling.
- Compromising or sacrificing significant relationships and opportunities due to gambling.
- Turning to fraudulent and mischievous ways to obtain gambling money.
How To Handle the Stress of Gambling?
It is majorly working-class people that gamble. Young people of school age also indulge in it, but as the statistic earlier showed, the adults gamble more.
The responsibilities of being an adult quickly take a toll on one. Combining one's personal life with the professional one can be very strenuous. If there are extra responsibilities like being a parent, it becomes even harder.
Gambling is meant to be a coping mechanism for all of the stress, as it provides a momentary means of escape from one's reality.
However, the addictive essence of gambling also means that it can quickly become a stream of more stress.
How do you handle the stress that gambling brings?
These are some ways to alleviate the pressure that comes with gambling:
\- Seek professionals to guide and tutor you.
- Speak with trusted people who will understand and not judge you.
- Join counselling or sensible self-help groups.
How To Reduce the Harm in Gambling?
When gambling is a recreational activity, it is fun to do. However, when it becomes an addiction, it becomes destructive to the person and his environment.
Knowing how to reduce the possibility of harm in gambling is essential.
Here are some ways:
- Bet the amount you can afford to lose. It is unwise to wager with money earmarked for other activities.
- Only carry along the precise amount of money that you are prepared to bet with you. This will prevent you from betting more than your limit.
- Never borrow money from others to gamble. If you lose, you end up in debt, and this can damage relationships.
- Never chase your losses by gambling more. You can hardly win all the amounts you lose; however, you can lose more whilst trying to win back your priors.
- Do not gamble online with apps or websites. Rather, gamble at physical stores wherein your gambling ends when they close, unlike websites that are perpetual.
- Set a time frame for when you will be at casinos for gambling and ensure you stick to it.
- Have a trusted aide monitor your gambling—someone who can call you to order whenever you show signs of slipping up.
- Do not gamble under the influence of alcohol or hard drugs. It impairs your reasoning and level of control.
- Spend time on other activities to prevent gambling from becoming your go-to form of recreation.
Gambling is fun when you are in control of your actions. The moment a person becomes addicted to gambling, it automatically turns into a hazardous enterprise.
Understanding how to nip this danger of addiction in the bud is essential. This can only happen by reducing the chances of harmful gambling.
The Australian Gambling Organizations That Can Help
When gambling becomes addictive, the foremost and logical step people take is to consult the expertise of professionals.
These are some Australian gambling organizations that can help with such a problem.
Relationships Australia
They provide a range of counselling and support services to addictive gamblers and their immediate families in Australia.
They offer the following:
- face-to-face counselling services for addictive gamblers and their families.
- aid to conquer a gambling problem, study gambling nature and the characteristics which ignite the habit.
- assistance to decrease the hurt stemming from gambling and techniques to prevent a relapse into disorderly gambling behaviour.
- financial counselling to deal with debts, cope with creditors, and plan financial needs.
Lifeline
They are a national charity committed to providing at-risk Australians with access to 24-hour crisis support services.
They have 40 centres comprising 10,000 volunteers, including 4,500 Crisis Supporters and 1,000 employees, all devoted to guaranteeing no person in Australia has to face their gloomiest periods alone.
They specialize in suicide prevention, public education, and awareness building through their research foundation.
How to Return to Gambling After a Period Of Self-exclusion?
Self-exclusion is a program for people who want to avoid gambling for at least six months.
It is employed when you reckon that you have a problem with gambling and want help to stop.
It is activated once the company closes your account and returns any money in your account to you. It must also wipe out your name and details from any databases it makes use of.
If you want to return to gambling after a period of self-exclusion, you have to complete a survey on gambling-related issues and then complete the tutorial video.
Once you complete this tutorial successfully, you can then be reinstated.
FAQs
Responsible gambling simply means gambling in a safe manner that doesn't put other people at risk.
It is a precise provision of responsible gambling news and warnings; provision of information about self-exclusion, and provision of information about assistance and counselling services.
It is simply gambling that puts oneself or one's community in any form of danger.
- Gamble only amounts you are willing to lose.
- Do not borrow to gamble.
- Discipline yourself not to chase any potential losses.
- Do not gamble under the influence of any substance.
Gambling responsibly is important because it puts the gambler and his community at ease.
Publications:
https://aifs.gov.au/agrc/publications/race-betting-australia - Race betting in Australia.
https://psychology.org.au/publications/inpsych/2010/december/gambling - Special report: The psychology of gambling.
Conclusion
Gambling is not inherently bad as long as it can be controlled.
It becomes a problem when gamblers get addicted to it and start acting out of order.