Growing year on year, especially since the pandemic began, online gambling has never been as popular worldwide as it is now. In most regions, the number of players gambling online has significantly surpassed those visiting physical casinos.
The reasons for this shift in gambling culture are simple. Online casinos are widely available, give access to hundreds (often thousands) of games, are generally safe, can be accessed from anywhere, and help fund millions into countries’ economic growth.
Despite its advantages, online gambling does have some negatives. Finding a way to mitigate these negatives will provide you with the best gambling experience possible.
Here are the most common disadvantages associated with gambling online, along with tips to minimise the adverse effects they could have on you and your gameplay.
Online Gambling Can Throw Your Life Out of Balance.
While some countries’ laws and regulations still limit, if not outright prohibit, the accessibility of online gambling, millions of players worldwide can access gambling websites any time of the day.
Although this accessibility is one of the most significant advantages of online gambling, it can also be a negative. Being able to play 24/7 could lead some players to spend more time gambling than they otherwise would—and, in the process, ignore other aspects of their lives.
To minimise the impact that online gambling could have on your schedule, set clear limits for yourself. Having defined timeframes of when and how long to spend placing wagers can ensure you won’t suffer any negative consequences from overindulging.
Doing this ensures nothing else is overlooked in the pursuit of a significant win and makes the time spent gambling more enjoyable. As Oscar Wilde famously said, “Everything in moderation, even moderation.”
Online Gambling Can Become Addictive.
One fear shared by governments and health industries internationally is the harmful effect gambling addiction can have on punters and society. In the UK, it is estimated that almost half a per cent of gamblers are already addicted, with a further 3.8% at risk of addiction.
Gambling addiction can severely affect a player’s personal life, relationships, finances, and those around them. Almost 7% of the adult population in the UK are said to be negatively affected by somebody else’s addiction to gambling.
For players who feel like they are losing control over their ability to stop playing, there are multiple avenues to follow to avoid any adverse outcomes. Among the most effective of these is using the self-exclusion options available on online casinos.
These self-exclusion options allow a user to grant a casino permission to exclude them from gambling activities. These exclusions can be applied after a specific timeframe, after losses of a particular amount, or even entirely.
Should self-exclusion not work, as is the case when players simply visit a different website, another way to avoid a debilitating addiction is to seek help. Organisations like GamCare or GambleAware are always available to help players break the cycle of addictive gambling.
Online Gambling Can Lead to Financial Difficulties.
Directly linked to the two disadvantages of gambling above, placing excessive wagers online can lead to financial difficulties and even excessive debt. Whether simply enjoying the games or trying to recover losses, the expenses of gamblers in over their heads can quickly run away and lead them to spend more than they bargained for.
Like keeping a decent balance between life and gambling, setting boundaries is the best way to mitigate this possibility and ensure that a player’s finances are kept in order. Working out a fixed budget for gambling before beginning to play can help limit the amount spent.
Not only does having a set limit help players walk away once their limit is reached, but it also protects their financial status from reckless spending. If players have difficulty instituting this budget, most online casinos will allow them to limit how much they can deposit or spend within a specific timeframe.
Online Gambling Can Lead to a Player Being Scammed.
Like anything in life, gambling online carries a degree of risk. This risk goes beyond the chance of making a win or loss. It extends to whether the casino you’ve chosen to play on is a legitimate website that offers secure gambling or one that will take your money and run.
The risk of stumbling upon a scam website is minimised through regulation, licensing, and constant monitoring of websites offering gambling services by the government and organisations like the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
However, despite all these checks and regulations, it is still possible to access a website that may have nefarious intentions. As such, researching the casino you wish to use is vital before beginning to play.
An established casino, PartyCasino and others like it hold licenses from the UKGC, have a decent reputation online, and have a track record of fair operations. Having these credentials and achievements means gamblers can trust and safely use them.
Gamblers should always check criteria like this when looking for a new online gambling site. Doing so will help them avoid the loss and frustration of dealing with a scam website.
Online Gambling Offers Odds that are Generally Against You.
It is common knowledge that the house almost always wins. Regardless of how you choose to gamble, the reality is that gambling is a risk that could set you up financially but (more often than not) is simply a form of entertainment in which you lose money.
However, having the odds of winning stacked in favour of the casino or website doesn’t mean that winning is impossible, as there are ways to better your odds of winning online.
Among the most common methods to do this is playing games that offer better odds—such as blackjack and roulette, which have the best odds of any card game. Meanwhile, choosing slot games with a high RTP (return to player) percentage and medium volatility can also help boost the chances of winning.
Ensuring that you stick to games that lean the odds in your favour can help minimise losses and give the added benefit of more frequent wins.
