New ZealandCasinos is an intermediary between online casino games and their users. On our page you will find guides on the games and reviews of the best online casinos and online betting sites. Knowing that gambling can become a compulsive activity and even an addiction for some people, we consider it our obligation to provide readers with the essential information about responsible gambling, addiction in gambling and contacts of specialized bodies that can help.
What is responsible gambling?
Casino games and sports betting and in lottery they are called gambling because they are based exclusively on luck. Although the games require some knowledge and skills from the players, in part, the player continues to depend on their luck to emerge victorious.
Responsible gambling is the attitude with which the player bets his money on gambling and encompasses some behaviors and habits that make this activity a healthy leisure and fun activity, which does not harm the health and physical, emotional and social well-being of the player. Let's look at some habits that the player must have to keep betting as an exclusively leisure activity:
- Do not gamble or gamble under the influence of alcohol or other substances that affect your ability to make conscious decisions.
- Keep track on the time he spends betting and never exceed a reasonable time limit.
- Responsible gaming does not commit too much Player time and does not interfere with your monthly budget.
How to gamble responsibly
While gambling and casinos are prohibited by law in New Zealand, the online casino and betting industry works through a loophole in New Zealand law: because they are not physical establishments, they can function to receive bets from players around the world. Accessible on any computer with internet and even on mobile phones, these platforms must take responsibility for offering information and precautions against compulsive gambling.
If you, a relative or acquaintance of yours bet or play online frequently, you need to be informed about the risks of gambling and the attitudes of compulsive gamblers. To keep gambling a pleasurable activity, it is vital to play responsibly. Below we have listed the main factors that players should pay attention to in order to maintain a healthy and responsible relationship with gaming and online betting :
- Be over 18 years old. Children and adolescents at no time should have access to gambling.
- Have adequate and correct information on the terms of use of online casinos and betting sites.
- Know the operation of the games and bets and the odds of victory.
- See gambling as a fun activity, and not a means to make money, avoid problems or clear debt.
- Know your limits (time, income, etc.) during the game.
- Do not gamble just to try to recover previously lost money.
- Don't bet money you don't have.
- Don't bet more than you can afford to lose.
- Do not bet money intended for basic needs, such as food, and other essential expenses.
- Gambling and betting are done with the knowledge of family and friends, and never in secret.
- Don't spend most of your time playing or thinking about playing.
- Gambling as a form of entertainment.
- Know the rules of the games in which you bet and increase the chances of winning with tips and strategies.
- Being aware that gambling is based on luck and that losing is part and often inevitable.
- Only place bets on safe online casinos .
What is compulsive gambling?
Compulsive gambling is also known as pathological gambling or ludomania. Until a few decades ago, the medical community treated problem gambling as a compulsion rather than as addiction or addiction. From the 1980s, however, pathological gambling was included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM, used by specialists) as an impulsive disorder, along with other similar disorders, such as kleptomania.
This new understanding of the problems associated with compulsive gambling has been awakened by increasing research in the area, which also covers aspects of the treatment and Prevention of the disorder by physicians specializing in psychiatry. For those who suffer from pathological gambling, treatment is vital, as it can harm all spheres of social life.
Recent research points out that compulsive gambling problems are increasingly common today, as gambling is also more present, accessible and socially acceptable. Studies done to date demonstrate that pathological gamblers and drug addicts share the same genetic predispositions for impulsivity and inclination to “exciting”situations.
Just as people who are addicted to drugs need higher and higher doses to feel satisfied, compulsive gamblers are always in search of higher risks, which translate into bets that they cannot afford. In addition, according to the same research, both experience withdrawal symptoms when they do not feed the addiction.
The new understanding about compulsive gambling in recent years has caused researchers to redefine the concept of addiction and addiction. Previously, it was believed that addiction was exclusively dependence on a chemical substance. Today, the addition has a broader character, and can be defined as the search for an exciting and exciting experience, but that brings serious consequences.
Risks of gambling
The main risks that a player may come to suffer during his experience with casino games and online betting do not involve the games themselves, but the player. It is the player who is responsible for evaluating his attitude and posture towards the game, he is also responsible for understanding the operation and rules of each game and site, as well as understanding how the game can affect his life. Casinos themselves should make information about the dangers of gambling available, and some even offer sections that talk about the topic, but visibility is still small.
It is not all players who will face compulsive gambling disorders. Some factors may or may not determine the inclination to the problem:
- Age-young people tend to be more susceptible to stimuli like these.
- Gender-much of the casino audience is male.
- Emotional state-people with emotional or psychological disorders.
- History of addictions-alcoholics or drug addicts are more likely to harm themselves with gambling, among others.
- Financial status-people with debt tend to be desperate for an easy solution to their problems, but usually they end up getting even more into debt from gambling.
We recommend that people who are more predisposed to develop compulsive gambling problems do not expose themselves to unnecessary risks. Prevention is essential in these cases, as these individuals can easily develop clinical pictures of compulsive gambling.
According to experts, there are 3 types of players, defined by their behaviors. They are:
- Social players, who play without presenting problems on the occasion of the game.
- Players who experience some consequences of the game.
- Compulsive gamblers, with gambling disorder, or ludomania.
What makes a gambler a compulsive gambler?
The compulsive gambler feels the need and urgency to continue betting on games of chance, such as the bingo , even being aware of the negative consequences of their actions. Your desire to stop is usually forgotten at the sign of the first bet. Many factors can contribute to the development of addiction, including the items mentioned above, such as desperation for money, a taste for the excitement of gambling, among others. Unfortunately, identifying compulsive gamblers and treating them can be difficult and time-consuming.
Compulsive gamblers will typically lose a lot of money from gambling and will continue gambling with the excuse of recouping the Lost amount. Unfortunately, even when they do manage to recoup something, it is far less than what they have already spent.
The relationship between gambling and compulsive gamblers
Gambling is based on randomness (luck or chance), which involves chances (not always equal) of winning and losing. That is, the result does not depend much on the player, whose experience, practice and skill in the game has a limited role. The mystery is what makes the game so appealing to some people.
Casino games always involve a bet, that is, a financial investment on the part of the player. Betting implies the risk of losing the invested money or winning an even larger amount. Behind only alcoholism and smoking, compulsive gambling today affects about 1% of the New Zealand population.
But what is the difference from the gambler to the pathological gambler? How to differentiate them? Usually, the actions of these players themselves answer this question. The compulsive gambler does not play for entertainment or leisure, he plays to recover lost money, because he is addicted to the emotion that gambling arouses or because he needs gambling to distract himself from other aspects of his life.
Compulsive gambling problems deserve attention
For those who are just a spectator of this scenario, it can be difficult to understand the behavior of a compulsive gambler. After all, if a person has already lost so much money gambling, How can he think that he will recover this amount through gambling? It often occurs in people with gambling disorder, a selective memory: they forget all the money they lost and remember only the times they won. That is, if at the end of the week the compulsive gambler bet 600 Dollar (NZD) and won 300, he will only remember the amount he won, not realizing that he actually lost 300 Dollar (NZD). He will only realize that the balance is negative when he lacks money for other expenses.
Although medicine was slow to recognize ludomania as a clinical picture of behavioral disorder, today compulsive gambling is considered a disease quite similar to alcoholism and drug addiction. It is worth noting that this disorder, like others, does not mean a lack of character or a desire for self – destruction-the disorder has a treatment and must be accompanied by a professional in this field.
In most cases, the damage caused by gambling disorder affects not only the financial life of the gambler, but also his personal and professional life.
Signs and behaviors of compulsive gamblers
Gambling disorder happens when gambling stops being just for entertainment and starts to take a rampant course. The player loses track of the time and money he loses while betting, and can spend more than 12 hours betting. Behaviors associated with compulsive gambling directly affect the player's relationships and professional life.
The compulsive gambler will keep selective memory very much in mind, focusing only on his winnings and forgetting his losses until debts accumulate before his eyes. Most of the time, even though they are aware that they are doing harm to themselves and their family members, the compulsive gambler simply cannot leave the bets. This behavior can be explained scientifically, since gambling problems today are considered addictions that act on the brain in the same way as psychoactive substances such as drugs and alcohol. When gambling, the compulsive gambler feels pleasure, and it is this feeling that causes dependence. Gradually, the amount wagered increases because the higher the risk, the greater your feeling of pleasure.
People with gambling problems tend to hide their condition, but usually gambling disorder is easily recognizable by the player's actions and behaviors. The compulsive gambler tends to behave as follows:
- He swaps other activities, which he once enjoyed, for the game.
- He bets more than he can afford to lose, sometimes taking on debt to keep betting.
- He bets impulsively because he likes the risk.
- His productivity in professional life is compromised, since he spends his time betting or thinking about betting.
- Their relationships and family life are shaken.
- Bet to feel better about your life.
- Invents lies or excuses to hide their compulsion.
- Bets money intended for basic needs.
- He makes bigger and bigger bets, because small bets no longer satisfy him.
- Loses personal items such as cars and real estate thanks to gambling debts.
Seeking help and treatment
Treating compulsive gambling as an addition is not just a theoretical question for experts. By admitting gambling as a pathology, psychiatrists have found that pathological gamblers respond much better to medication and treatment usually used in cases of addiction, to the detriment of therapies and strategies to control the compulsion.
Dozens of researches also demonstrate that another possible treatment for gambling addiction is behavioral-cognitive therapy, which aims to help addicts understand and change their thoughts, habits and behaviors. Compulsive gamblers, for example, will be able to learn to question their irrational beliefs in gambling and understand the damage it has brought to their lives.
However, seeking treatment requires compulsive gamblers to admit the problem in the first place. About 80% of compulsive gamblers never seek treatment, and a large part of those who do end up returning to the world of gambling, so it is important to prevent relapses and warn about the possibilities of treatment.
If you are a compulsive gambler or if you know someone who is, do not hesitate to seek professional help. Below you can find information from professionals who specialize in gambling disorder who may be able to help.
Support and guidance groups
Gamblers Anonymous:
Visit Gamblers Anonymous
Gambling Therapy
Visit Gambling Therapy
Responsible gambling is conscious gambling
We hope that this content was useful and informative. We at New ZealandCasinos stress the importance of responsible gambling and the magnitude of the problems that can be caused by gambling. Always bet responsibly, with conscience, with respect for yourself and the people around you. Play for fun.
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