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  Money: Gambling cannot happen without money. Put away your credit cards, let someone else be responsible for your money, have your bank make automatic payments for you, close online betting accounts, and keep a limited amount of cash on you.

  Time: Even online gambling can’t happen if you don’t have time. Schedule some fun, recreational time for yourself that has nothing to do with gambling. If you gamble on your smartphone, find other ways to fill quiet moments throughout your day.

  A game: Without a game or activity to bet on, there is no opportunity to gamble. Don’t put yourself in a tempting environment. Tell the gambling establishments you frequent that you have a gambling problem and ask them to ban you from entering. Delete gambling apps and block gambling sites on your smartphone and computer.

  Sustaining recovery from gambling addiction relies heavily on finding alternative behaviors that can replace gambling. Some examples include:

  It’s normal to feel the urge to gamble, but when you build healthier choices and a strong support network, resisting the urge becomes easier. When the urge to gamble strikes:

  Delay gambling. Tell yourself you will wait 5 minutes, fifteen minutes, or an hour. As you wait, the urge to gamble may go away or become weak enough to resist.

  Visualize what will happen if you give in to the urge to gamble. Think about how you will feel once all your money is gone and you have let yourself and your family down again.

  Distract yourself with other activities, such as going to the gym, watching a movie, or doing relaxation exercises to relieve the urge to gamble.

  If you find yourself unable to resist the urge to gamble, don’t be too hard on yourself or use it as an excuse to give up. Overcoming a gambling addiction is a difficult process. You may slip up from time to time; the important thing is to learn from your mistakes and continue working towards recovery.

  Dealing with a gambling problem is never easy and seeking professional treatment does not mean you are weak or incapable of dealing with your problem. However, it is important to remember that every gambler is unique and you will need a recovery program that is tailored specifically to your needs and situation. Talk to your doctor or mental health professional about treatment options, including:

  Inpatient or residential treatment and rehabilitation programs. These are for those with severe gambling addictions who cannot avoid gambling without full-time support.

  Treatment for underlying conditions that contribute to your compulsive gambling, including substance abuse or mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, OCD, or ADHD. This can include therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes. Problem gambling can sometimes be a symptom of bipolar disorder, so your doctor or therapist may need to rule this out before making a diagnosis.

  Cognitive behavioral therapy. CBT for gambling addiction focuses on changing unhealthy gambling behaviors and thoughts, such as rationalizations and false beliefs. It can also teach you how to resist gambling urges and resolve financial, work, and relationship problems caused by problem gambling. Therapy can give you tools to overcome your addiction that will last a lifetime.

  Family therapy and marriage, career, and credit counseling. These can help you address the specific issues your gambling problem has created and lay the groundwork for repairing your relationships and finances.

  If your loved one has a gambling problem, you likely have a lot of conflicting emotions. You may have spent a lot of time and energy trying to keep your loved one from gambling or having to cover the costs. At the same time, you may be angry at your loved one for gambling again and tired of trying to keep up the act. Your loved one may have borrowed or even stolen money with no way to pay it back. They may have sold family possessions or run up huge debts on joint credit cards.

  While compulsive and problem gamblers need support from their family and friends to help them in their struggle to stop gambling, the decision to stop should be theirs. As much as you want to, and as hard as it is to watch the effects, you can’t make someone stop gambling. However, you can encourage them to seek help, support their efforts, protect yourself, and take talk of suicide seriously.

  When faced with the consequences of their actions, problem gamblers can experience a severe decline in self-esteem. This is one reason why suicide rates are high among compulsive gamblers.

  If you suspect a loved one is suicidal, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the US at 1-800-273-8255 or visit Befrienders Worldwide to find a suicide helpline in your country.

  Start by helping yourself. You have the right to protect yourself emotionally and financially. Don’t blame yourself for your gambling problem or let your addiction dominate your life. Neglecting your own needs can lead to burnout.

Online Gambling

  Don’t go it alone. Dealing with a loved one’s gambling addiction can feel so overwhelming that it may seem easier to rationalize their request “just one last time.” Or you may feel ashamed, feeling like you’re the only one with this problem. Seeking support will help you realize that many families have struggled with this problem.

  Set limits on money management. To ensure that the gambler remains responsible and prevents relapse, consider taking over the family finances. However, this does not mean that you are responsible for micromanaging the problem gambler's urges to gamble. Your first responsibility is to ensure that your finances and credit are not in jeopardy.

  Consider how you will handle requests for money. Problem gamblers are often good at asking for money, both directly and indirectly. They may use pleading, manipulation, or even threats to get it. It takes practice to make sure you don’t let your loved one’s gambling addiction get the better of you.

  Seek support. Self-help groups for families of problem gamblers, such as Gam-Anon, can introduce you to people who have faced similar challenges.

  Encourage and support your loved one as they deal with their gambling problem, even though it may be a long process filled with setbacks.

  Expect your partner's recovery from a gambling problem to be smooth or easy. Even when their gambling stops, other underlying issues may emerge.

  Those who have not yet fully engaged in online casino playing may be hesitant for a number of reasons. There is an element of myth and conjecture surrounding the industry, especially when it comes to questions of fairness and the possibility of actually making a profit.

  Are casinos rigged? It’s a common question among new players and those outside the industry, so we wanted to take this opportunity to address some of the concerns.

  If you read a number of slot reviews, many will refer to RTP. This initials stands for Return to Player and the percentage figure displayed shows how much, on average, a slot player can expect to receive in return for their bets.

  For example, if a slot shows an RTP of 95%, that means that for every £1.00 wagered, 95p will be paid out. That’s a fair amount and at , our slots have an average RTP of 97% which is well above the UK Gambling Commission’s minimum recommendation of 70%.

  On a slot machine with random payouts, the average is taken from at least 100,000 spins so it would take a lot of play to determine the percentage. However, it is important to remember that this is just an average and certainly not a guarantee of how much you can expect to win after a stint on the reels.

  Potentially, you might hit an average which means you get back a small loss. Alternatively, you could hit a 100% RTP and break even or, you might be one of the lucky players who will add a profit to their bankroll. It’s all about random payouts and that’s another important measure of fairness in online slots.

  Online slot machines pay out in a similar way to the earliest mechanical games that existed before the internet. These were mechanical devices that used random number generators to trigger cash prizes at intermittent points in the game. There were no predetermined stages as to when a win would occur - it all happened randomly.

  In the modern age, with new technology at the developers’ disposal, it is easier than ever to install that random feature into every slot that goes online. Machines are officially tested for this element, but since casinos are required to be open and transparent, it is relatively easy for players to do this when you think about it.

  Take a look at the Progressive Jackpot payouts for slots like Mega Moolah or the aptly named Lucky Larry's Lobstermania 2. The numbers are laid out and it's easy to see when the jackpot is triggered. Follow this pattern over a long period of time and you'll see that the process is completely random. The jackpot may 'swell' but there is no set point when it is due and the same applies to all slot wins from the smallest to the largest.

  Another popular misconception is the fairness of land-based slot machines compared to online games. Are land-based slot games more likely to be profitable? Can you guess and form a strategy based on previous game patterns?