Responsible Gambling Policy - Legalities and Seeking Help

1. Legal age for gambling

Before you start gambling, always check your local jurisdiction laws on what constitutes underage gambling. In a lot of cases, people may only engage in gambling or gaming if they are over the age of 18. However, the age at which gambling/gaming is legal under the law or jurisdiction which applies to you ("Legal Age"), varies worldwide. Casino.org provides further information about gambling ages and local casino restrictions.

If you live with any person who is not of Legal Age, take steps to ensure that they do not have access to your username and password of any gambling site. Do not leave those who are not of Legal Age unattended near your computer when the site is open.

There are a number of third party applications that parents or guardians can use to monitor or restrict the use o f their computer's access to the Internet:

2. Responsible gambling

Have you ever found yourself wondering how to recover lost money in the casino or how to recover from a big gambling loss? Take a step back and consider if the way you are playing means you are gambling irresponsibly.

How to gamble responsibly

In order to gamble responsibly you should remember the following:

Gambling is a form of entertainment. It is not a way to get rich quickly and pay off your debts.
Gambling is not a way to make money, the vast majority of gamblers actually lose money;
Never wager more than you can comfortably afford to lose.
Never wager with funds that you need to use for your day to day living expenses;
Place limits on your gambling, for example, this can include setting limits on the time you spend gambling, the amount you gamble each week, the amount you deposit in your account each week and/or the amount you can afford to lose each week.
Never chase your losses.

Do you ever find yourself thinking, how is my gambling luck today? Do not allow this to dictate your gambling behaviour. NEVER trust sites about gambling horoscopes or sites telling you which days are lucky to gamble on. This is not responsible gambling – these are absolutely not based on any data and gambling is, by nature, purely about chance.

How to stop gambling

You need to be aware of how to stop gambling before it becomes a big part of your life. Trustworthy gambling sites include safeguarding measures such as the following, so look out for these in advance.

Set a deposit limit: you can choose a capping amount daily/weekly/monthly/annually and your account won’t let you surpass this.
Apply a cooling-off period: where you can apply a pay-to-play restriction on yourself for a certain amount of time.
See profit and loss graph: see at-a-glance your 'winning' and 'losing' months through an easy-to-understand infographic.
Reality check: set up an interval-based popup timer to ask you if you still want to play while you're logged in.
Self-exclusion or self-ban: choose to exclude your account from all/selected services for an amount of time (normally there is a minimum time set). If you want to know how to lift a self-ban from a casino, you’ll usually need to get in touch with their customer services if it’s before the set date.
Responsible gambling info: every single gambling site should a page with advice and information, as well as links to related organisations and help services.

The American Association of Psychiatry recommend certain self-help strategies to help with cravings if you feel the signs of a problem becoming prevalent.

Reach out for support by confiding in a trusted friend or going to a Gamblers Anonymous meeting
Distract yourself with other activities that you enjoy - avoid isolation by looking for healthy ways to socialize
Postpone your gambling by giving yourself a longer period to wait (it may allow the urge to pass or weaken)
Try to give yourself a reality check - imagine what will happen after you gamble, and the way it makes you feel

The financial implications of gambling

A very common player questions is how much money can you win gambling without paying taxes? The tax-free amount varies depending on your country of residence.

In the UK, you do not have to declare or pay taxes on gambling winnings
In the USA, you will be taxed 25% on your winnings, known as gambling income (this includes casino games, sports betting, racetracks, game shows, lotteries, and bingo)
In Canada, you do not have to pay taxes on gambling winnings, but must declare if you earn interest on your winnings (this is taxable)

Something related that a lot of players don’t know about is how to prove gambling losses. Again, in the USA you must follow the IRS guidelines on this. Take a look at the official site page about Gambling Income and Losses.

Be aware of the signs: how to help a gambling addict

We understand that some people who develop a problem with their gambling don't always realize it. You should consider the following questions, in order to assist to establish whether you or a loved one has a gambling problem.

Have ever you lied about the extent or success of your gambling?
Do you gamble when you are depressed or to escape issues in your life?
Do you borrow or steal money to gamble?
Does gambling affecting your relationships with other people?
Do you gamble in order to solve your financial difficulties?
If you run out of money when you're gambling do you feel loss and despair, and want to find money to gamble again as soon as possible?
Have you ever lied to cover up the amount of money or time you have spent gambling?
Have you ever been forced to rely on others to finance your gaming?
Do your thoughts constantly turn to gambling?
Have you ever tried to win back losses by taking risks you usually would not take?

When it comes to working how to stop a gambling addiction, seek help from professional bodies such as psychologists and the organisations listed in our Gambling addiction services section. If you are looking for more information on how to deal with gambling addiction, you can look at our gambling addiction help page or read our blog interview with an addiction specialist.

3. Gambling addiction help services

If you feel that you are experiencing problems with gambling, you should seek help from a professional body or gambling addiction charity. You can seek help from the following organisations and services, but remember that there may be more depending on which country you are in.

4. Compliance with law

Please be aware that Casino.org is only intended to be used by visitors in jurisdictions where the use of online gambling services is legal.

Before considering gambling online, you must check the gambling laws of the country you reside in. You must refrain from using this site, and/or any other third-party websites to which this site may refer, if the laws of the jurisdiction in which you reside, prohibit such use.