The Swedish experience: what is "responsible" gambling

There is a huge number of gambling fans in all countries of the world. It is fun, exciting, addictive , and exhilarating. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to stop in time and realize when an innocent hobby turns into something more serious. In order to prevent this from happening, various strategies of "sensible and responsible" gambling are used around the world.

What is self-exclusion in Sweden?

Sweden is one of the first countries that, instead of banning gambling (which doesn't work anyway because everyone knows how to use VPNs and other methods of circumventing bans), attempted to regulate gambling more leniently.

The local regulatory body Spelinspektionen has created the Spelpaus program. It is designed to regulate gambling, and mainly to allow members of this program to block a player at his own request. This is what self-exclusion is all about.

A person who feels that he or she has gotten a little too carried away simply adds himself or herself to this base. And gets himself banned from gambling establishments. It must be said that the experience has caught on with many - more than 10,000 people have used the "self-exclusion" service between now and 2019.

How you can benefit from the Swedish experience

This is not yet the case in other countries. However, there is definitely a trend towards "responsible gambling". After all, online casinos are also unprofitable that people take huge loans, and cannot pay them back - in short, that around the industry of fun and gambling, but generally harmless entertainment created a negative halo.

Therefore, both the operators themselves and experienced players offer to use the Swedish experience, even if there is no special base. Here are some ideas:

1. Don't see gambling as a way to make money. It's always just a game. Get lucky - great, no - some other time.

2. Play with free money. After all, we all set aside a certain amount of money for entertainment. Some buy video games, some pay for platforms with TV series, etc. Gambling is no worse if you treat it similarly: here I have a certain amount of money for entertainment, I'm ready to give it and generally do not expect anything. You don't expect Netflix or Steam to give you the money, right?

3. Set a spending limit. It's called a bankroll. Make a separate card that you transfer a strictly defined amount of money to. Forbid other cards to transfer more than a certain amount of money to these details.

4. Pay attention to time. Many players get carried away, spending not only money but also time. Sitting in online casinos until the night, until morning. This leads to irritability, nervousness, and loss of performance. Think about this point to limit the time for games. As the saying goes - business as usual, business as usual.

5. Do not try to win back. Sometimes lucky, sometimes not. This is the main principle of gambling. If this time is not lucky, just leave, turn off the computer, close the application, and do other things.

6. Do not forget about other activities. Sports, socializing with family and friends, and work or study should be a priority, not gambling.

7. Forbid transferring more than a certain amount to internet payments. Especially if you use a credit card. And even a regular bank account - put a limit on it "no more than such and such amount per month".

8. Take a break between sessions. Go for a walk, socialize, work. Switch your brain to something completely unrelated to gambling.

9. Do not drink alcoholic beverages while gambling. Alcohol shuts down rational thinking.

Many responsible online casinos, even those without Swedish law, have a self-exclusion option. If you see that the entertainment is taking too long, ask to have your account blocked.