How to Use Responsible Gambling Tools at Online Casinos

Learn how to improve your gambling entertainment experience by incorporating responsible gambling tools as part of your iGaming strategy! (Image Courtesy of LeoVegas)

One of the most useful pieces of tech online casinos have introduced over the years is responsible gambling tools.

This is part of an ethical effort to help players manage their bankrolls more efficiently and side with common problem gambling issues mentioned in our ‘avoid gambling addiction’ guide here.

It was the UKGC and the MGA licensing authorities that were among the first online gambling licensing authorities to make responsible gambling compulsory.

The AGCO in Ontario, Canada, has also introduced this rule into its licensing framework.

However, the Curacao licensing authority has yet to force casinos to add this tech to their casino and sports betting platforms.

Just to be clear, these rules set by the above-mentioned licensing authorities do not mean that it is compulsory for you to use the tools.  With that said, I recommend using them anyway, and I will explain or more detail as we dive deeper into the topic.

Now, some of you reading this may be thinking, where is the fun in limiting the amount you can spend on gambling? And what on earth can get out of banning yourself from gambling altogether? Well read on!

What are online casino responsible gambling tools?

Responsible gambling tools are there to help you put limits on the amount you spend when gambling. You can also ban yourself from real money gambling. Another feature some platforms offer is a reality check that keeps track of your balance and session times.

The idea is to prevent you from over-gambling. I.e., betting more than you can afford or allowing gambling to affect your day-to-day life because of over-gambling.

Responsible Gambling: This guide goes hand in hand with our guide to avoid problem gambling. If you feel you are developing signs of problem gambling or if you want to know what the signs of gambling addiction are, read the guide and take the problem gambling tests.

Online Casinos With Responsible Gambling Tools

Helping you manage your bankroll and avoid over-gambling

In the screenshot (below for mobile readers and to the right for desktop readers), I took a screenshot of the LeoVegas responsible gambling tools. You can see the typically responsible gambling tools offered to members of the casino platform.

There are three key ways these tools can help you ensure you gamble responsible:

1. Using them can help prevent you from chasing your losses a.k.a. over-gambling.
2. They you manage your online casino bankroll.
3. You can keep track of your spending.

All online casino platforms registered with the UKGC offer these same responsible gambling tools on their platforms across multiple jurisdictions:

• These tools are available via LeoVegas whether you sign up from the UK under the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) licensing or outside the UK via the Malta Gambling Authority (MGA) licensing.
• The casino provider also offers the same tools on its Ontario version of the site in Canada and, no doubt, anywhere else LeoVegas has licensing.

You will find the same responsible gambling tools available at ‘ALL’ UKGC casinos. We have the full list on our UK casinos advice page.

• You’ll also find more information on how the UK limits players 25 or under from gambling more than £ 2.00 per spin playing slots and players 26 an over gabling above £ 5.00 per spin.
• Plus, there is more info covering affordability checks, another problem gambling intervention tool the UKGC has included into its framework to prevent people from running into financial difficulties due to gambling.

Deposit Limits Explained

Deposit limits prevent you from depositing more than your daily, weekly, or monthly budget.

• Set your limit by entering an amount you are happy with according to the available timeframes.
• You can set a limit on one or all three options.
• If you would like to change any of these limits after they’ve been set, you have to wait 24 hours.

Deciding how to set your deposit limits shoud align with your bankroll management strategy. Decide how much you are comfortable with spending each month, devide this by 4 or 5 for your weekly deposit limits. As for daily deposit limits can be tricky because some days you may want to deposit more than others.

Loss Limit Explained

Using the loss limit tool may take some planning on your behalf. It is mostly useful if you feel like you are on a losing streak. For example, maybe you have set 100 spins for your session at $1.00 per spin. However, you want to stop

• Loss limits are useful if you have a habit of raising your bets to chase losses. If you do this, you’ll reach your loss limit faster.
• The daily option is particularity useful if you play every day and want to quit if you feel early session losses are too high.
• The downside is if you set you loss limit too high, you could give yourself a false sense of security and lose your bankroll faster.

A good way to use loss limits is in conjunction with session limits. Lets say you want to play for 1 hour or 2 hours sessions, but you hit a losing streak. The loss limit will cut your session short and preserve your bankroll for future sessions where hopefully next time you’ll hit a winning streak.

Wagering Limit Explained

As an alternative to setting deposit limits, you can set wagering limits. These can also be set per day, per week and per month. You should not that this tool does not prevent you from making more deposits.

• When you reach the max limit, you will receive an error message saying you have insufficient funds.
• This is a useful tool to prevent yourself from burning through your entire casino bankroll.
• It takes 24 hours for the casino to adjust these setting if you wish to change them.

For those of you who use a bankroll management strategy designed to build up your casino bankroll with regular deposits this is a great tool. It is especially useful if you use a bankroll management strategy by which you limit yourself to set number of spins or bets per session.

Session Limit Explained

This tool is perfect if you want to set a time limit on how long you play each session.

• As soon as you hit the session limit, the casino will log you out.
• 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 hours are the usual session limit times, as per the screenshot from LeoVegas.
• The disadvantage of this tool is that you can log straight back in, and the session time resets.

Personally, I like to use this tool in sync with loss limits. Even if I decide I want to play longer after my initial session limit hits, I can’t continue if I already hit my loss limit. However, the risk I do take here is that I could log back on, hit a losing streak and hit my loss limit. This means you need to be extra careful how you decide on your loss limit setting.

Reality Check Explained

This super handy tool keeps track of your gambling session time. It is a pop-up that at first might become a little annoying if you have not used it before, but after a while, you get used to it,

• It helps you keep track of the time you spend gambling by popping up at set intervals.
• The reality check shows you your casino balance and win/loss amount for the current session.
• As per the screenshot, you can set the pop-up to appear every 15, 30, 45, 60, or 90 minutes.

There are no disadvantages to having a pop-up that tracks multiple elements of your gambling sessions. If it gets on your nerves, set the session time for longer. If you find it is getting on your nerves because you are losing, head to the top of the guide and check the problem gambling page for signs of gambling addiction.

Cooling Off or Time Out Explained

If you want to cool off because you are feeling tired or you feel like you are making emotional bets out of anger because of a losing streak, then colling off briefly is a good idea.

• Ban yourself from real money gambling for a short period of time to regain your thoughts.
• This tool is similar to self-exclusion tools. However, self-exclusion is for a longer period of time versus cooling off or time out.
• The disadvantage of using the cooling-off tool is that you may not ban yourself long enough to calm down.

Cooling off tools are great for avoiding going on tilt. This is a famous poker term used for people who get emotional after a loss or after a long losing streak. The same can happen when playing online casino games.

Self Exclusion Tool – Banning yourself from real money gaming long-term

If you are tired of losses or feel like you are showing signs of long-term problem gambling habits, then the self-exclusion tool is an option you should seriously consider.

• If you self-exclude, you cannot play any real money casino games.
• In some licensing jurisdictions, self-exclusion networks across multiple casinos.
• One of the cons to using self-exclusion is you may make a rash decision and ban yourself for longer than needed.

The alternative to banning yourself for a long period of time is to use the time out tool (sometimes called cooling off) to ban yourself from real money gaming for a shorter time period. However, it is esxtremely important that you use this tool if you have developed serious gambling addiction issues.

What is Networked Self-Exclusion?

Some licensing authorities require online casinos approved to operate within the authority’s jurisdiction to sign up for a networked self-exclusion program. If you self-exclude yourself from real money gambling on your online casino, you cannot sign up for another online casino under the same licensing authority and play. This is because all other casinos connect to a central self-exclusion register. The same networks are also being used in land-based casinos in some countries.

• The UK: All online casinos registering with the UKGC must connect their self-exclusion registers to GamStop.
• Ontario, Canada: Under the AGCO, all casinos must connect to the PlaySmart self exclusion-register.
• MGA Casinos: Currently, there is no self-exclusion tool online casinos operating under the Malta Gaming Authority can connect to. However, according to the Safe Gambling Tools section on MGA’s Player Protection page, all MGA online casinos must offer self-exclusion tools.
  Curacao Online Casinos: There is no equivalent to GamStop or Playsmart for casinos operating under the CeG licensing framework. Casinos do need to offer self-exclusion, which can be a tool under the player’s account or via a request to the casino’s support team.

The Evolution of Responsible Gambling Tools and My Personal Experiences

Much like the other editors here on Casinoplusbonus, I began gambling before the internet. Heck, we didn’t even have mobile phones back then. The latest piece of mobile tech was a pager or a car phone. We gambled in high street betting shops placing sports bets and playing slots. We also played the old style mechanical reel slot machines with flashing LED boards used for bonus games in pubs and clubs. For multi-player poker tournaments and cash games, plus a spot of blackjack and roulette, we’d head to the land-based casinos.

It was around 1994 to 2000, the internet blew up and so did online gambling sites. However, it tool a while for responsible gambling tools to appear because at the time the topic of responsible gambling wasn’t as serious as it is today. It was when I live in London when the first signs of responsible gambling tools came along and built up to what they are today.

Did this page help? If you find this page useful? Is there anything you think we should add to help you gamble more responsibly? And did you like reading about my personal experiences? Where would you like us to blog more about our personal gambling experiences? please let us know in the comments.

Responsible Gambling Tools FAQ

Why should I consider an online casino with responsible gambling tools?

There are several reasons to use these tools. They help you devise a sound bankroll management strategy. They can also help you gamble within your budget and never exceed an amount you cannot afford.

Which online casinos do you recommend with responsible gambling tools?

Read our online casino reviews and look at the pros and cons section. If the casino has responsible gambling tools and there are not too many cons that affect your style of play, check the casino score next. If it also has a high score and player rating, then the casino, on the whole, has a good reputation and comes recommended by our review team and Casinoplusbonus readers who have voted for the casino.

How can I find Curacao online casinos with responsible gambling tools?

As mentioned in this guide, all online casinos under the UKGC, MGA, and AGCO licensing authorities must provide responsible gambling tools. However, they are not a requirement for Curacao online casinos. However, all casinos using the SOFTSWISS platform use responsible gambling tools.

Are there other recommended guides for responsible gambling advice?

A full guide that gives you an overall perspective of responsible gambling is the Readwrite Play it Safe Online guide. You can also use the link at the top of this guide or in the footer leading you to the Casinplusbonus page covering how to spot online gambling addiction.