We wanted to take the opportunity to remind you of how important it is look after yourself (and your money) when gambling online.
Placing sports bets or playing casino games can be fun, but you need to understand the risks and be aware of how much you’re spending. Remember: you won’t always win.
1. Understand the risks
Awareness is the first step towards gambling safely. While all forms of gambling come with a risk of losing money, you’re more likely to lose on games with high variance.
A game’s variance reveals to what degree the outcome of the game is down to luck. A game with high variance involves more luck than other games.
High variance games are harder to predict, so the risk of losing money increases.
2. Set limits
Never bet more than you can afford to lose. To manage this, it’s important to set yourself a bankroll – money you’ve set aside for betting.
Sticking to your bankroll means making sure you don’t go over your chosen limit.
Decide on your bankroll ahead of time rather than leaving it to how you feel in the heat of the moment. Once caught up in the thrill of a game, it can be tempting to spend more than you planned.
Track how long you’ve been playing and decide on a cut-off point when it’s time to log off. Setting timers or session limits can help you keep to this rule.
Taking regular breaks is important too.
3. Never gamble when upset
It’s not a good idea to gamble when feeling emotional; whether you’re angry, upset or depressed.
Turning to gambling to deal with uncomfortable feelings or stress is a warning sign. If you find yourself doing this, you should reach out for support.
4. Know where to go for support
Find out who to contact for support so that help is within easy reach if you need it…
Contact the National Gambling HelpLine on 0808-8020-133 if you feel like your gambling is out of control. You’ll be connected with a trained advisor who will listen to your difficulties and provide options to help you out. You can also communicate with an advisor through live chat on the website.
How Skrill can help
A Skrill account lets you keep your bankroll separate to the funds in your bank account. By keeping to the money available in your Skrill account, you limit the funds you have within easy reach.
We hope these important safety tips will help keep you safe when gambling online.
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