Guide to Responsible Gambling: Safe Betting Practices for 2024

Australia has a long history of betting on all sorts of things, but official gambling started at the racing tracks. The first official horse racing meet was in Sydney in 1810. By 1861, the Melbourne Cup was established, and in 1864, the Victorian Racing Club was founded. 

Land-based casinos have been a part of life in the country since the 1970s, and many punters enjoy playing the pokies in bars all over the country. So, Australia has a long and illustrious history of gambling for entertainment. 

With the advent of online casinos, many players can now enjoy the convenience of gambling from anywhere at any time if they have a good internet connection. 

Gambling can be a fantastic form of entertainment and fun. Like buying a ticket to the movies or purchasing a great new online game, you can revel in the thrills and spills of betting online. 

However, it’s essential to understand the principles of responsible gambling and identify websites and apps that provide safe gambling environments. 

In this article, we’ll examine how to gamble responsibly. At Betsquare, our team of experts knows how easy it is to get carried away with online betting. 

We’ve encountered many situations where gambling has been used as a financial strategy instead of what it is: a form of entertainment. 

We’re well-placed to point out the benefits of gambling and how to avoid the pitfalls. So, read on to get our expert tips on having a healthy relationship with gambling and getting the most out of the games. 

Establishing Financial Limits for Gambling

There are several ways to manage your gambling. One of the most effective is to establish strict financial limits. This is a great way to judge when to stop gambling or slow your gameplay. Setting these sorts of limits is a central part of safe betting practices.

At Betsquare, many of our team members like to sit down at the end of each month and work out our budget for the month ahead. This way, we can ensure we have the money to pay our bills and expenses. Then, we decide how much we want to spend on wagering.

By setting a general budget, you can decide on your gambling expenses. Of course, this is only one way of deciding on your budget. But whatever method you use, the goal should be to set safe amounts to gamble with so that you don’t risk any of your other spending obligations.

By sticking to safe betting practices, like setting a gambling budget, you can ensure that you gamble for fun. Gambling budgets are a valuable method of ensuring you gamble within your financial means and don’t overspend.

We know how much fun gambling online and offline can be and how easy it is to get carried away and lose track of time. Many players enjoy not having time pressures when they’re gambling. However, this can become an issue if you spend too much time betting. It can affect the time you spend on other things. 

Good gambling time management is another crucial way in which you can ensure that your gambling remains a safe and enjoyable activity. A lot of casinos and sportsbooks have time management tools available to players. Setting time limits using these tools can be an excellent way to keep track of the time you’re spending betting. 

Often, online betting sites will offer these tools to you when you sign up. Alternatively, you can find them in your personal account settings. Generally, you can set a time limit for a fixed period, and the site will notify you when you’ve reached that time.

When you manage your time correctly, you can spend time on all the other things you need to do. Don’t get us wrong—many of us at Betsquare like to play our favourite games and make exciting bets. But we don’t like to feel that we’re spending too much time betting and have missed out on other fun things.

Responsible betting isn’t just about controlling your bankroll. It’s also about making sure that the time you spend gambling is balanced. So, if you’re the kind of person who tends to lose track of time, setting up time limits can be a fantastic way of helping you keep on top of your gambling. 

Understanding the Odds and Mechanics of Gambling

When you’re playing online or offline games, it’s crucial to understand the game’s rules and how they affect the outcomes. This may seem like a self-evident point. But it’s common for players to either misunderstand the rules and odds or think that the odds don’t apply to them.

The term ‘gambler’s fallacy’ concerns this misunderstanding of game mechanics, rules, and odds. For example, most of us know that pokies are entirely random. Each spin is independent of the previous spin and doesn’t affect the next one. However, when you’re playing a pokie, it is tempting to think that if you’ve had a series of losses, you can keep playing, and you will win.

This is a classic example of a gambler’s fallacy. Although the volatility and RTP of a pokie can indicate what sort of wins you can expect, these values are averages calculated over millions of spins. Therefore, they can’t be used to predict outcomes. 

The odds between different games can vary dramatically. Blackjack, for example, has the best odds of all casino games. The odds of winning are 42.22%, depending on the variant you play. 

You must understand the rules of the gambling game and when to place certain bets to make the most of these excellent odds. For example, if you get two cards of the same value, like two eights, you can split your hand into two hands. This will change your odds of winning. 

So, understanding gambling odds is central to knowing how to play these games. Gambler’s fallacy can lead you into the dangerous territory of chasing your losses. Some gamblers convince themselves that they can bet their way out of losses. This can quickly lead to them betting more than they can afford to lose.

We recommend that you read the game information on any game you want to play. Make sure you understand how the game works. With pokies, you need to remember that the games are random, and even if they have complex mechanics and bonus games, the outcome of every spin is independent of others.

Strategies to Avoid Problem Gambling

The best way to ensure a fun gambling experience is to avoid problem gambling pitfalls. We have pointed out some pitfalls above, like chasing your losses and betting more than you can afford to lose. But how do you prevent yourself from falling into these problematic behaviours?

One of the first rules of gambling is not to gamble when you’re stressed or angry. At these times, your decision-making can be influenced by the intense emotions you’re feeling and can lead to problematic gambling. Sometimes, gambling becomes a way of dealing with stress or other emotions, which can then become difficult.

It is also best to avoid gambling when you’re under the influence of alcohol. It can be fun to have a few drinks when playing pokies and other games. But alcohol can impair your judgment and lead you to make choices you might regret later. 

If you feel that your gambling is becoming an issue, there are many sites online that have responsible gambling tips and give advice on gambling addiction prevention. Online casinos and sportsbooks also offer tools to help you manage your gambling. Self-exclusion is one option where you elect to be excluded from the site for a specific time. 

In Australia, several organisations can help you with gambling addiction, like GambleAware and the National Gambling Hotline. 

How to Cease Gambling

It may seem like a difficult, if not impossible, task to stop gambling, but it can be done. Gambling cessation can be very challenging, but there are many avenues open to you if you want to learn how to stop gambling. 

The first step is to acknowledge it’s an issue. There are several red flags you can look out for, such as:

 

• Thinking about gambling when you’re doing other things
• Not being able to walk away when you’re losing
• Breaking your gambling budget
• Borrowing money from friends and family to gamble

 

As we mentioned above, when you’re seeking gambling help, organisations like GambleAware and the National Gambling Hotline have staff who are experts in dealing with gambling issues and can help you. Friends and trusted individuals may also be able to offer help, support, and encouragement. 

It’s essential to find other interests to help occupy your time when you’re trying to stop gambling. This could be the perfect time in your life to return to a favourite sport, get fit, or learn a new skill. Many alternatives to gambling can enrich your life and help you to stop gambling safely.

Bottom Line

Understanding responsible gambling principles is essential to having a great gambling experience. We know that gambling online and offline can be a lot of fun. But unfortunately, for some people, gambling can become an addiction. 

Gambling safely by following responsible gambling guidelines can mean that you can enjoy this pastime without having to risk problematic gambling. The key is to recognise when gambling becomes an issue and take action quickly. 

This action can be as simple as taking a break from gambling for a few hours, or it can mean that you need a complete break. Whatever the situation, there is plenty of help available if you ever feel overwhelmed by gambling. 

For more details on gambling responsibly and accessing further support, visit Betsquare’s Gamble Aware page.