Responsible Gambling in the US – Policies and Information for 2024

How to Gamble Responsibly – Full Guide

Stigma can be a huge barrier to getting help. It is important to remember that addiction can affect anybody at any time, and if you find it hard to talk about gambling or seek support, please know that you are not alone.

Many online sportsbooks will offer special tools that can help you monitor and limit your gambling behavior. Here are just some of the basic strategies you can employ to help regulate your gambling responsibly:

• Do not bet more money than you can afford to lose – Allocate a strict budget before you begin playing and stick to it. Always treat gambling as an expense, and only use what money you are willing to lose.
• Statistically, you are more likely to lose than to win – Recognize that the house always has the edge. The entire gambling industry is set up to make money for itself.
• Set a loss limit - – As with the first principle, know to walk away from your losses once you've reached your budget limit. Don't try to win back your losses, as the chase can spiral.
• Stop betting if it makes you experience any strong emotions – Check in with yourself about how you feel before and during gaming. Some people use gambling to get away from other problems in their life.

These are just some of the basic methods that you can use to be proactive about developing safe gambling habits. Nevertheless, your gambling could still develop into patterns of behavior that are harmful to you or those close to you. In our next section, we'll go through some of the signs that you should look out for that might indicate problem gambling.

How to Quit Gambling

If you recognize some of the symptoms that we've discussed in the previous section, it does not necessarily mean that you are an addict: only a qualified professional can make that diagnosis. However, you may decide that it is time to take a break from gambling either temporarily, or permanently.

With land-based casinos, you should consider avoiding traveling to the venue. If you gamble online, you can take some time away from your operators. We'll discuss some of the ways that online sportsbooks can help you with this in the next section.

Most importantly, please know that you are not alone and help is readily available. Further down this page we have a list of organizations that you can turn to for free and confidential advice which you can always refer to.

Most Online Sportsbooks Offers Tools for Safe Gambling

All legitimate online gambling sites should offer tools to help their players with responsible gambling. We recommend that all players familiarize themselves with these tools so they can turn to them easily to help them control their gambling habits.

While you may still want to consider seeking free and confidential advice from the many organizations that offer help, you can get started with some of the self-help tools that online sportsbooks will offer you, including:

• Time Out or Self-Exclusion – You can ask an operator to exclude you from gambling with them for a prescribed length of time. This is typically between six and twelve months but can be up to several years.
• Deposit Limits – To help you with your budget management, operators can assist you with setting deposit limits, so that you can only gamble with a predetermined amount of money.
• Time Management - Limiting the amount of time as well as the amount of money that you spend is also a very helpful tool.
• Spending or Loss Limits – Similar to deposit limits, your operator can help set hard limits on spending or losses that you will incur during gambling.

Land-Based Sportsbooks and Their Responsible Gambling Policies

As a rule, land-based sportsbooks are required to provide responsible gambling and responsible gaming education and resources by their state regulator. This requirement will be included in the terms of their license, which requires that they submit a plan on how they intend to comply.

The plan that land-based sportsbooks are required to submit will include the tools and resources they intend to provide for their customers, as well as other policies they intend to implement. Here are just some of them you should expect:

• Training of employees – Educating every employee on recognizing the signs of problem gambling, and teaching them how to provide support and direction to those who might need help.
• Signage – Putting up appropriate signs and information in clearly visible spaces so that customers know where they can turn to for help.
• Advertising Limits - – Limits on advertising in public are an important pillar of any policies intended to limit problem gambling's effect on society.
• Limits on alcohol consumption – Making sure that customers don't get inebriated to the point where they lose control and become a risk to themselves or others.
• Deposit, betting and credit limits - Just as outlined in the previous section on online gambling, land-based sportsbooks can offer limits on the amount of money customer can deposit or spend.
• Treatment programs - Sometimes, customers will not know who to turn to for support. Offering access to treatment programs is crucial.

How to Receive Help About Your Gambling Problem

Support for responsible gambling and safe online gambling in the USA is available in various forms regardless of where you live. There are national associations, such as the National Council on Problem Gambling, as well as their regional affiliates which operate in your state.

In addition, your state should have plenty of local organizations which you should be able to turn to for free and confidential advice and help. You can also check out some of the national organizations that will have directories of such resources for you to turn to.

National Resources for Problem Gambling Help

In this section, we're going to show you some of the national resources that you can access from anywhere in the United States. These organizations are all here to help you gamble responsibly, and offer free and confidential advice for you.

They are the first people you should turn to should you feel you need help with responsible gambling, and they should be able to provide immediate help and guidance, as well as point you in the direction of further support such as finding a suitable therapist.

Many of these organizations will run hotlines that you can contact most hours, if not 24/7, and will offer advice for free and without judgement. Many of them also offer chat services, if you feel more comfortable chatting over text rather than over the phone.

National Council on Problem Gambling

The National Council on Problem Gambling serves as the national advocate for mitigating gambling-related harm in the United States. They operate the 1-800-GAMBLER hotline as well as the1800gamblerchat.org chat line. Free, confidential and available 24/7in all 50 states.

Gamblers Anonymous

Gamblers Anonymous is an organization dedicated to helping people recover from problem gambling. They run a national network of meetings for people to attend in person, as well as hotlines available in every state.

Gam-Anon

Gam-Anon is an international network that provides 12-step programs for those seeking to recover from gambling addiction. They operate in the USA, Canada, and internationally. Look up their directory of meetings to see what is available in your area.

International Center for Responsible Gaming

The International Center for Responsible Gambling is a non-profit founded in 1996 to help people affected by problem gambling by conducting high quality scientific research and developing evidence-based educational programming on the subject. While they don't offer direct front-line services for responsible gambling, you can still access their research and learn about program delivery partners on their webpage.

GamTalk

With a particular focus on Canada and the USA, Gamtalk is an internet forum community and chat group that offers online support for gambling issues. They focus on enabling members of the community to support themselves. Check out their resources section for a useful list of local resources.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the target="_blank">988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress nationwide. 988 is the new three-digit dialing code to access this service and is available 24/7 toll-free.

How to Protect Kids from Gambling

With the increasing popularity and liberalization of online gambling, protecting minors from online gambling is an increasing priority. As with all aspects of online life, society and families should be proactive about protecting children and making sure that they are informed about the risks of gambling.

If you're a parent and want some pointers on how to best prepare your child for exposure to the world of online gambling, here are some points you should consider:

• Learn as much as possible about online betting and gambling – Sites like ours, as well as many of the resources that we've listed on this page will have information about how the industry operates.
• Please mention that the house always has an advantage – It's always good for everybody, regardless of age, to know that the industry is set up to make money, and that all games are designed around this principle.
• Set a proper example by gambling responsibly – As with many things that are best enjoyed in moderation, it's always good practice to show children how to approach something in a healthy and responsible manner.
• Children are exposed to gambling images every day – In advertising, cinema, sports sponsorship, and all walks of life, children are exposed to the same advertising that adults are.
• Pay particular attention to Scratch & Win tickets, poker and sports betting - According to statistics, under-18s are most likely to gamble on these particular games. Make sure to familiarize yourself with them.
• Minors who say their parents have gambled in the past are most likely to engage in gambling activities - This is a principle that applies to any walk of life, but it bears repeating that the example you set for your children will impact them.

Signs of Problem Gambling in Children

Problem gambling can be an issue that also affects minors. While the signs can be the same as the signs we've outlined for adults above, there are some specific signs specific to the experiences of youth.

• Your child has friends who gamble regularly – Peer pressure affects everybody, but it is obviously a huge part of the life of minors.
• Your kid is often playing around with lottery tickets, cards, or dice – A familiarity with some of these games can be a warning sign that a minor is involved in gambling.
• Your child shows an unnatural interest in the results of sporting events - While sports and statistics are enjoyed by people of all ages, do pay attention if sports knowledge is either about betting-specific sports formats or statistics.
• Your child lies, avoids talking, or is secretive about gambling activities – A suspicious and out-of-the-ordinary behavior are definitive red flags that something could be going on.
• Your child borrow money from other to gamble, or you notice that money or personal belongings go missing from the house - Similar to how adults
• Kids who say their parents have gambled in the past are most likely to engage in gambling activities - CGrowing up in an environment where gambling is practiced can increase the chances of developing an interest in it.

Where to Seek Help

As with many aspects of social, mental, and emotional health care and support, children have unique needs that may need to be met by therapists who are specifically trained to deal with minors. If you feel you need specific help and advice to support a minor, please turn to local organizations available in your state.

The International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviours is based at McGill University, Quebec, Canada. For over two decades, they have been producing world-class research on the issue of youth gambling around the world. You can check out some of their top-level guides for parents as well as their research publications on their site.