The Basis of Responsible Gambling Policy
We have said it a thousand times and yet we never tire of repeating it: "Treat gambling as a form of entertainment and never as a source of income". This establishes the intent behind gambling responsibly and is the first parameter. The other two that lead from it are the money spent on gambling and time spent on gambling.
We shall discuss each of them in some detail:
Intent
Every month, when you work out your entertainment budget for movies, eating out, sports, and more, set a part of it for online casino gambling. What percent you allocate to gambling depends on the importance it holds compared to other forms of entertainment. Since gambling is not to be a source of income, do not gamble to pay off loans and do not gamble to fund a holiday. Enjoy your gambling whether you are winning or losing. If you end a session in a loss, do not go for a few bets more to recover your losses. Treat it as money spent to have a good time.
There are a few corollaries that stem from treating online casino gambling as a form of entertainment.
- There are forms of entertainment prohibited for minors in India and online casino gambling is one of them. If you have children at home then you must ensure that they do not get access to your online casino account. You should always log out at the end of each session and also install parental control software.
- Do not gamble when you are not mentally alert, because you will not have fun anyway. Some common instances when you should not gamble are when you are tired and after you have had more drinks than usual.
Money
Once you have set your monthly budget, divide it over the number of sessions that you aim to play. You can have a larger share for longer sessions over the weekend. The critical aspect is that once the allotted amount has been spent, you log out without making a fresh deposit. If you win then treat that as a bonus. You can add to your savings for use in time of need or you can splurge with your family and friends, may be a bit of both, but do not add it to your gambling budget. Getting used to playing with your winnings is not a good sign. There will be times when you lose and then the non-availability of funds will push you towards gambling addiction. An effective precaution is to withdraw your winnings at the end of a session so that you are not tempted to log in before your next scheduled visit to the online casino.
Not many Indian players do this, but it needs to be said for the sake of completion. Do not borrow money to feed your gambling habit. The only thing worse than creating debt for gambling is stealing money to play at online casinos. If there is a shortfall in your income for any reason, cut your entertainment budget, but do not make up the deficit through other means. The only time you can increase the amount spent on gambling is when your income increases on a sustained basis.
Time
Just as you set money limits to a session, you have to set time limits as well and adhere to them. If you do not inculcate this practice, you will keep spending more time at the Indian online casinos without even realising it. If that happens then time spent with family and friends will start decreasing and you may actually ignore them when they need you. As soon as your set time limit for a gambling session is over, log out immediately even if you have not used up your money budget.
Gambling sessions are not sacrosanct. If you have to bring work home or your children need help with an assignment then do not hesitate to cancel your gambling session.