One of the most important things a player can do when signing up to a fully licensed and regulated iGaming site is gamble sensibly and responsibly.
Fortunately, today’s most trusted casino online operators provide a range of safer gambling tools that can easily help you stay within your budget.
Let’s dive in to discover more about how safer gambling tools can help you gamble responsibly.
What are safer gambling tools?
Safer gambling tools, which are sometimes referred to as account safety controls or responsible gambling tools, are now available at all UK-licensed iGaming sites, including online casinos, dedicated poker sites, online bookmakers (sports betting sites, ala online sportsbooks) and bingo/lottery sites.
Online casino operators licensed by the UK Gambling Commission must be compliant.
In other words, they must show they are actively promoting responsible gambling to protect at-risk players and anyone else who signs up to the casino by offering a range of features and controls that can stop players from spending more than they initially budgeted for.
The main ‘safer gambling tools’ you can often find at today’s best UK casino sites, like the official Unibet casino online, are the following:
- Deposit limits
- Cool off (aka Time Out or Take-a-Break)
- Self-Exclusion
- Reality check (session time limits)
- Account closure
You can also generally find win/loss limits, meaning you will receive a notification when you have won a certain amount or lost a certain amount. Let’s now take a closer look at how some of these safer gambling tools work.
Deposit limits
Setting a deposit limit is possibly the best way to ensure you don’t overspend, provided you set reasonable limits to correspond with how much spare cash you have to spend. Players can choose how much money they want to cap their deposits per day, week or month.
When you reach the deposit limit, you won’t be able to deposit any more money into your account until the period set by you has ended.
For example, if you set a $/€/£50 monthly deposit limit and, for example, deposit the full amount ($/€/£50) on January 1st, a notification would appear on the screen if you tried depositing any more. It would say that you can’t make any more deposits until February 1st.
However, if you deposit $/€/£20 on January 1st (also with a $/€/£50 monthly deposit limit), it means you could still deposit up to another $/€/£30 before February 1st. When the time you set has ended, your limit will reset, meaning you can deposit up to another $/€/£50 from February 1st until March 1st.
There’s no way you can deposit any more money if you reach your limit, which is fantastic for players who always find themselves chasing their losses.
Cool off (Time-Out)
Online casino operators also allow players to take a brief time out, and in that time, you won’t be able to deposit, withdraw, or wager in the casino. Most online casinos let you set anywhere from a one-day (24-hour) cooling-off period up to anywhere from four to six weeks.
Players looking for secure and licensed platforms might consider https://casinofieber.com/curacao-casinos/, known for their regulatory standards and commitment to responsible gaming.
Self-exclusion
If a time-out isn’t long enough, you can set a self-exclusion on your account for 6 months, 1, 2, 3, or 5 years. As soon as you set a self-exclusion, you cannot log in to your account until that time has ended. You also won’t be able to log in to any other accounts owned by that same operator.
Additionally, to reactivate your account after the self-exclusion period has ended, you would need to call the casino to get them to reactivate it.
Final thoughts
Thanks to these safer gambling tools at online casinos, players now have much better control over their spending.
If you feel as though you, a friend or a relative need help for any gambling problems that may have developed, then you may want to consider contacting GamCare, BeGambleAware, Gambling Therapy, Gamblers Anonymous, AnonyMind, QuitGamble.com, Take Time To Think, or DontBetYourLifeOnIt, to name a few trusted organisations.
