With the after-effects of lockdowns, and with the entire landscape of gambling changing, there has been a huge change in direction when it comes to the way people now tend to gamble.
With both the online and mobile gaming environments becoming the much-preferred way for those wishing to chance their luck and access the games they enjoy playing such as video poker, card, and table games and of course slot machines.
However, as gambling online or via a mobile device is still a grey area in many countries across the world, many people tend to use a VPN as a way they can ensure their security and privacy are maintained when gambling online and also to ensure they are able to gamble if they are currently living or staying in a part of the world that does not permit online and mobile gambling.
Maintaining a sensible gambling strategy and ensuring you, above everything else, always stay in control when gambling in any environment is important, and they will be topics that I look into in the following article, so please do read on and digest the information contained within it.
➤ Why Use a VPN To Gamble Online
Obviously, when using a VPN you are going to be masking your location, and that is something that may raise a concern with you when are gambling online.
The main reason why people tend to do so is to get around local or national laws that do not permit people living in a certain country from accessing certain gambling-orientated websites.
Visitors to some countries who are not resident in those countries, for example when on holiday, may wish to gamble at an online casino that they already hold an account with, but find their access blocked when trying to log on and that is when and why they will use a VPN.
In fact, using a VPN is what the operators of those sites often suggest their customers do if they are experiencing problems logging onto their websites and accessing their games of chances.
If you do ever get the urge to gamble online be aware there are plenty of online casinos and casino sister sites that are part of the same group ownership, but at the end of the day you should only be focusing your attention on sites that have been granted a full gambling license in at least one jurisdiction.
That way you are going to have the peace of mind in knowing such sites adhere to the highest industry regulations and their games are fair, and they will of course pay you out your winnings in full if Lady Luck is on your side at the slot machines or card tables as you play for real money.
Let me now look at ways that you can help yourself gamble responsibly online and how you can take steps to reduce and just as importantly strictly limit your potential gambling losses or even completely remove yourself from the online or mobile gambling scenes.
The areas that I will be looking at include:
- Self-Exclusion
- Take a Break
- Time Out Options
- Deposit Limits
- Reality Checks
It is vital that you always set yourself a limit as to just how much you are prepared to lose during any one single gambling session and you need to fully understand that you are not invincible, and whilst you could win big at any time, such incidents are rare and long losing streaks are much more likely and whether you like it or not are all part and parcel of the experience a gambler will have.
➤ Self-Exclusion
The quickest way that you can stop all gambling activities online is by you making use of what is known as a Self-Exclusion at each and every single one of the sites you hold a real money account at. There is also software such as Gamban to exclude yourself from every form of online gambling.
That option is a way for you to reach out to the gambling site operator and let them know you have a gambling problem and want your account to be closed and want to be banned from that site forever.
Once taken and put in place any attempt by you to access your now closed account or you attempting to open up a new account will be denied and blocked.
➤ Take a Break and Time Out Options
Sometimes, when gambling, you can get bored or just know deep down that you are not in the best frame of mind, or if you have been experiencing a long run of losing outcomes on the games you are playing you may feel it is time to step back.
You may have spent way more than you usually spend over any given time period and may want to take a break, and that is also an option available to you at casino and other gambling sites.
You will discover either a Take a Break or Time Out option setting, and when making use of them they will allow you to select any amount of time, often up to three or even six months in which your access to your gambling account will be blocked when you make use of such a setting.
By making use of such an option setting, you cannot log into your account and therefore will not be able to access any funds in that account until your time out or take a break has expired, so if you do make use of those settings then only do so once you have withdrawn any funds in your account.
➤ Deposit Limits
When you first log into most real money casino and other gambling related accounts online or when using a gambling related app, you will be prompted to set yourself a deposit limit.
You will be able to decide on an amount over a day, week or month and that amount will then be locked into your account. Once you reach that deposit limit within the timescale your selected, then any attempt at depositing additional amounts into your account will be blocked.
A deposit limit is probably one of the ultimate ways you are never going to spend more than you intended to spend when gambling, and as such it should be one of the option settings that you always choose to make use of.
You will be able to amend and adjust that deposit limit, but as an added protection, there is a cooling off period which means any changes will not come into effect immediately and may take a day or even several days before the new limits become active.
➤ Onscreen Reality Checks
All licensed gambling sites and mobile as are required to ensure their customers get what is called an onscreen reality check at various times during their real money gambling sessions.
As such when playing every 30 minutes or on the hour, a message will flash up on your screen alerting you to just how long you have been playing and often also a snapshot of your current losses or winnings.
Whilst many people consider those alerts an annoyance, as you can only carry on playing when you acknowledge them and dismiss them with a click of your mouse, they can act as a real world reminder of your current state of play and let you know if you have been gambling in that session for way too long.
But at the end of the day, and this is important, it is only you who can decide to stop playing and log out, and if you do feel you have been overspending or gambling for way too long, then stopping that session there and then is probably the best course of action.
➤ Reviewing Your Gambling Logs
Often it is only when you see your actual gambling pend over any given period of time that you will realise just how much money you are sending during your gambling activities.
All gambling related websites and as will offer their customers access to their gaming logs, and as such you will be able to view all financial transactions at any such sites and also view your combined individual game losses.
I always urge people to make use of those logs from time to time and that can often be an immediate wakeup call when you see just how much you have been depositing and possibly losing week in week out.
Consider Playing for Free or Entering Free Tournaments
The most savvy of gamblers will always set aside an amount of cash as their gambling budget and once it has gone they will call it a day. However, keep in mind many online and mobile casinos have free to play games and also offer their customers free to enter casino game styled tournaments, which do offer cash or bonus prizes.
If you do get the urge to gamble but have exhausted your gambling budget for the day, week or even month, then those no risk free to enter tournaments may be worth trying out, as you never know you may just win something when taking part in them.