Why is Online Gambling Safer?

Online gambling does have a reputation for being addictive and dangerous, however it’s actually safer than gambling in land-based casinos. A study from the Division on Addiction, which is affiliated by the University of Harvard, showed that those who gamble online are no more likely to become addicted to gambling than those who gamble in land-based casinos.

Land-based V's Online Casino's

Though online gambling has become very popular and widespread over the last decade or so, it still only makes up a fraction of the world’s gambling market. In 2013, online gambling only accounted for around 7% of the worldwide gambling industry. When it comes to gambling in land-based casinos, many people become addicted because it’s a night out and there’s so much excitement to it. There’s also the social aspect of having a night out, trying your luck in the casino and encouraging your friends to win big, or having your friends encourage you to win big. With land-based casinos, there’s more of a pressure to win big because there are other people around. You don’t get that with online gambling because it’s just you.

Online Casino protection

One of the main reasons why gambling addiction isn’t as big a problem at online casinos as the media make it out to be is because online casinos do a lot to protect their players and to ensure their players gamble responsibly. Online casinos are required to check forms of identification to ensure no underage players can sign up; checking identification also prevents known criminals from creating accounts. Casinos also have a self-exclusion service, which you can use to have yourself blocked from visiting the casino for a certain amount of time to stop any developing gambling problem you might have from getting worse. Many allow you to impose spending limits so you don’t end up funding your account with money you don’t have.

Help With A Gambling Problem

Most online casinos offer lots of options for anyone seeking help for a gambling problem. Click on the ‘Responsible Gambling’ link on the bottom of the casino’s webpages and you’ll be taken to a page that has full information on the different services the casino offers. As well as self-exclusion services, you might find a self-assessment test that you can take to see if you really do have a problem, as well as filtering programs to stop minors playing and contact details for GamCare, an organisation whose aim is to help problem gamblers and their friends and family.

It’s in the casino’s interest for you to be spending lots of money, of course, but casinos don’t want to be associated with causing or worsening things like gambling addiction, so they will always offer help to those who feel they might have a gambling problem.

Self Exclusion

The reason why online casinos are generally considered to be safer than land-based ones is that online casinos offer lots of services to help people with gambling problems, whereas land-based casinos don’t offer as many services. Even though these services are available, it’s still possible to become addicted to online casinos; even if you enact a self-exclusion service at one casino, for example, you could easily just open up an account at another one.