People have been gambling for a long time. The ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Japanese used knucklebones for dice, and the bible has many references to the drawing of lots.
Gambling in Sweden can be traced back to the Vikings. It’s said Sweden and Norway settled disputes between them with a game of dice. In the UK, gambling was so popular in the middle ages that restrictions were enacted as early as 1190 AD.
These days we have online casinos and the choices can be overwhelming.
There’s plenty of good information online to help you select the right casino and games.
So regardless if you are based in the UK or in Sweden, if your favourite game to play in the casino is slots, there are many from which to choose. To help you with this, it’s always good to have a look at some slot reviews to help you decide.
Control Your Gambling
The speed and convenience of online gambling make it particularly important that you develop healthy habits. You can still get into trouble in land-based casinos, but you can do it so much faster as an online casino player.
Gambling in Sweden has been legal since 1934, but only four land casinos are still owned and run by the government-controlled Svenska Spel. Online gambling is also now legal, so you need to have no fears in that respect.
New regulations require that all casinos must provide the option of self-exclusion to players, which is a bid to help control problem gambling. So, now that we are sure that casinos and gambling are legal, how do we proceed without developing an addiction?
What Is an Online Gambling Addiction?
It’s easier to avoid something when you know how to recognise it.
Gambling addiction is an emotional problem with financial consequences. It also affects relationships with family and friends in the form of missed events and missed work. The dos and don’ts listed below will help you establish healthy gambling behaviour.
Dos and Don’ts of Healthy Online Gambling
Do tell people what you’re doing rather than trying to hide it
Never borrow money for gambling. At best, It will only get you into debt. You will likely ruin relationships with friends and family when you find you can’t pay them back.
If you find yourself raising the stakes for the sake of a bigger thrill, you may have a problem.
- Don’t gamble when upset, bored, or depressed.
- Do control your activities.
- Do keep control of your finances, relationships, and work.
- Avoid gambling during significant life changes such as poor health, retirement, job loss, and divorce.
- Avoid gambling if you are depressed, anxious, or lonely.
- Avoid gambling entirely if you have other addictions.
- Only gamble with money you can afford to lose and never chase your losses.
- Guard your self-esteem and self-respect.
- Know your triggers – sadness, boredom, or whatever it is that prompts you to gamble.
- Understand your gambling behaviour.
- Check that you can stop. It’s a good idea to do this periodically to prove to yourself you’re still in control.
- Find other alternative healthier pastimes such as a hobby, sport, or volunteer work.
Above all, remember that online gambling is just another form of entertainment.
Set Yourself Limits
There should obviously be limits on how much you’re prepared to lose, and set boundaries that will force you to stop after you win a certain amount. This will prevent you from losing everything you’ve just won. Win limits also help control the time you spend gambling and encourage you to cash in your winnings and stop while you’re ahead.
What may not be so obvious is that you should set specific time limits too. Your friends and family will love you for this, and you may also find it makes a difference at work.
Set yourself deposit limits – daily, weekly, monthly. Many online casinos now provide tools to help you to do this. You could also consider opening an account with a debit card that you use exclusively for gambling – never use a credit card, but if you must, make sure you set a credit limit.
In Conclusion
Now that you have some guidelines on what to do and what to avoid, you can start playing online casino games. It can be a lot of fun, but remember, it’s only entertainment. If, at any stage, you do feel your gambling is getting out of control, seek help – there’s plenty out there.
