The days of having to pay a visit to land-based casinos, bingo clubs a betting shops or even amusement arcades when you fancy gambling have long gone, thanks in no small part to the increase in popularity of online and mobile gaming sites and apps.
As more and more people log onto gambling sites and with many more downloading gambling apps that let them play casino games, place a bet, or even settle down to play as many bingo sessions as they like, the UK Gambling Commission has stepped forth and insisted all sites and apps they license and regulate have player safeguards in place.
For let’s face it, as you can now gamble from the comfort of your own home, such safeguards do need to be in place to ensure people stick to their limits and do not drain their bank accounts if they do get carried away.
As such what I will be doing in this guide is looking at what those safeguards and responsible gambling tools are and how gamblers can make full use of them when needed.
Opt-In and Fair Promotional Offers
There will be no shortage of new bonuses and free spins deals available to everybody that signs up to a casino site or app these days, in fact you will no doubt come across many advertisements for such offers on TV, Radio and even in Newspapers.
However, those offers have, in the past had some terrible and un-player friendly terms and conditions attached to them, and as such a clear set of bonus rules must now be firmly attached and associated with all of them, to ensure those who may be tempted to make use of them know what they must do when playing off for example bonus credits and how much they can win before any maximum payout cap comes into play too.
Deposit Limits
One of the ways that players can be encouraged to gamble within their means and never run the risk of overspending when gambling online or via a mobile app is by them being offered a deposit limit.
That has now been a requirement for all UK licensed gambling sites and apps, and as such a player can choose for themselves the maximum amount that they wish to have set as their deposit limit, therefore never putting them in danger of gambling more than they have selected as that limit.
Any attempt to continue depositing once they have arrived at their limit is blocked.
Onscreen Reality Checks
Spinning cyber slot reels or Roulette wheels for hours on end and losing all track of time and the amount of money they have been wagering is a common tale for those who do gamble online, and that is something regulators were very keen to address.
As such they now legally require all gambling sites available to customers throughout the UK to display on a player’s screen just how long they have been logged into an online casino and show them just how much and in real time they have wagered and/or their current profit or loss figure too.
That onscreen reality check as it is known is there to ensure anyone who does end up going into a trance like state when gambling online can at all times see the current state of play in that gambling session.
Take a Break Option Settings
When someone does recognise for themselves that their gambling activities are getting out of hand then there are a couple of additional options that they can make use of when gambling online the first is known as the take a break option.
That is a self-imposed time out in which a player can choose to remove themselves from that site for a pre-determined, but determined by themselves period of time, in which the casino operator or gambling site or app operator will lock them out of their account.
It should be noted that option has proven to be a popular one with players, for it negates the possibility of a player winning and then cashing out, but then continually making deposits when they are feeling invincible after a series of winning outcomes.
There is also what is known as a self-exclusion tool any online or mobile gambler can make use of and by filling in an online form that they can quickly self-ban themselves from every single gambling site and mobile gambling app that is licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, which is another way players are protected.
