Responsible Gambling in Australia

If you are new to online gaming, responsible gambling is a crucial concept every punter must understand. It’s easy to keep playing your favourite games until you get carried away, spending more time and money on this hobby. Gambling can be highly profitable, especially with jackpots. However, reckless playing leads to regrettable decisions, which might result in addiction over time. Australian players must practise responsible gambling, allowing them to track their actions.

When playing casino games, your primary goal is to have a fun and relaxing time. Boosting your bankroll should come afterwards, as casino games are based on luck, meaning there are equal chances of losing and winning money. Most people become addictive gamblers after repeatedly playing for long hours or relentlessly trying to recoup their lost funds. However, companies that provide help to problem gamblers solely or in partnership with an online casino. Learn more about responsible gambling in Australia further in this article.

What Is Responsible Gambling?

It is impossible to play casino games without losing, so you must exercise caution to avoid developing an addiction in a bid to break even. Responsible gambling refers to how individuals react to the consequences of their gambling habits. It’s not one activity that defines gambling responsibly, so anyone following this practice must check these points:

• Controlling how much time and money you spend gambling.
• Playing casino games for entertainment and not as a money-making venture.
• Wagering only funds you can afford to lose.
• Understanding your chances of winning against the games house edge.
• Avoiding the mindless act of chasing losses.

Though it seems punters should be fully responsible for how they play, gambling sites must also help players avoid the risk of developing an addiction by providing regular advice and tools. Moreover, these platforms are tasked with providing a safe and transparent environment while offering a stringent verification procedure to tackle underage gambling.

Aussies are known to be highly interested in gambling activities ranging from casino games to lottery tickets. Therefore, the country has legislation in place to ensure gamblers play responsibly and that online casinos protect their customers from fraudsters.

5 Tips for Gambling Online in Australia

If you are a brand-new gambler, it’s common to make some rookie mistakes. However, it can be avoided by learning some essential tips for gaming online. We compiled the section below to provide all the information you need to get started.

1. Pick a legitimate gambling site

Australians need to check the legitimacy of an online casino before signing up. When reviewing gambling sites, always make sure there are no illegal or suspicious details across their services. First, scroll to the bottom of the homepage to confirm the availability of a valid gambling licence from reputable bodies, such as Malta Gaming Authority, United Kingdom Gambling Commission, Curaçao eGaming Authority, and others. These organisations prove online casinos protect their customers and offer fair games. Therefore, their licences represent a stamp of legitimacy. Licensed gaming sites provide responsible gambling services for customers with risky behaviour.

2. Always play within set limits

People lose track of time when doing things they love. Whether it is watching tv, spending time with friends, or playing casino games, you should always know when to quit. Getting carried away while gambling might prove costlier than crashing at your friends when it’s too late to leave. To monitor your gambling habit, you should use a timer and play within a budget. You can also use help from e-wallets like Skrill and ecoPayz, to control your finances by setting up daily, weekly, and monthly limits. Consistently playing with caution will keep you far from addictive behaviour.

3. Assess your history with gambling

On our page, you will find numerous casino sites in Australia with a function allowing punters to track their gambling history. After playing for some months, it helps you review how much you spend and the games in which you suffered the most losses. Here is a good example: if you love playing at live dealer tables, you should keep track of how much you have spent on these games monthly by checking the online casinos gambling history page. This helps you decide which games suit your gambling needs the best.

4. Never keep your addiction a secret

Online gambling is a normal daily activity for millions of people worldwide, and your relatives would most likely know if you dabbled. So you should not keep your involvement a secret as this only creates room for addiction to grow. Instead, invite your friends to join your online blackjack or poker room for a memorable gambling experience. Therefore, you can gamble responsibly because there are friends to monitor your activities. If you discover a brewing gambling addiction, you should share your worries with your friends or loved ones.

5. Take a periodic break from gambling

A key principle of responsible gambling is knowing when to take time off, even if you don’t have a problem. A periodic break from gambling gives you time to focus on other important things such as work, dinner dates, laundry, and more. However, if you discover an addiction, it is necessary to take a break by using the self-exclusion tool. This function prevents you from accessing your account or playing casino games for a set period. During the break, you can seek the necessary help from top authorities like GamStop.

How to Define if You Have a Gambling Problem?

Most people engage in gambling for its high entertainment value, and it stays this way. But for some punters, this fun activity can become a total nightmare without the actual information. Unfortunately, having a gambling addiction will adversely affect all areas of your life, be it family relationships, work, or finances.

This is the most serious type of gambling problem, stemming from an impulsive-control disorder. Addicted Aussie punters have no control over their urge to gamble, despite fully understanding the consequences. Gambling addiction is similar to other types, characterised by spending excessive time and money on casino games to the detriment of every other aspect of your life. Note that anyone can be a victim of this, as it has nothing to do with the persons background or level of intelligence.

Furthermore, it is possible to have a gambling problem without developing an addiction. In this milder form, the individual might not be reckless, and their life might still seem fine. But living with risky gambling behaviours is what eventually results in addiction. Therefore, you must be able to recognize the signs of problem gambling before it evolves into an addiction. This way, you can get help before things get worse.

Questions for Identifying problem gambling

If you are unsure about having or not having a gambling problem, there is a list of questions that could provide more insight if answered truthfully. If your answer is “yes” to most of these questions, these are tell-tale signs of a looming addiction, and you should seek professional help. Below we highlight a few of the questions to identify problem gambling.

• Do you prefer to keep your gambling habits a secret? 
• Do you withhold information about how much time and money you spend gambling?
• Do you have little to no control over your gambling? Do you feel the need to play casino games till you exhaust your funds?
• Do you gamble even if you are broke? Are you borrowing money to play casino games? Are you diverting rent money or childrens school fees to fund your gambling habit? Have you been taking loans or selling belongings to raise money for gambling?
• Do your friends and family worry about your gambling habit? Do they complain about how often you gamble enough to piss you off?
• Do you think and talk about gambling all day long?
• Do you gamble to relieve stress or sadness?
• Do you play casino games to feel a type of adrenaline rush?
• Have you been consciously trying to reduce how often you gamble and fail?
• Do you feel depressed or suicidal?
• Are you feeling angry or irritated whenever you spend less time gambling?

Protecting Underage Children from Gambling

In most jurisdictions worldwide, gambling is prohibited for underage individuals, and this is no different in Australia. These activities could be addictive and, therefore, should not be accessible to children who are prone to poor decisions. This is why many countries have created legislation prohibiting the involvement of anyone below the legal age in any gaming activities. In Australia, the gambling age requirement is 18 years, though it rises to 21 years in other countries. Parents are responsible for their childrens actions until they reach the age of independence. However, most children hear about gambling early enough and want to experiment. Although most online casinos have mechanisms in place to prevent underage gambling, careful monitoring by parents is the first step.

Since there is no central gambling regulatory authority in Australia, each state regulates its activities. Overall, players can access a variety of games via local or offshore casino sites. The latter use licences from top regulatory authorities, such as Malta Gaming Authority, the United Kingdom Gambling Authority, and the Curaçao eGaming Authority. All these organisations do not permit players below the legal age requirements to participate in any form of gambling in Australia.

Furthermore, online casinos boast strict Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements for age and identity verification after the registration process. While creating the account, you must enter your date of birth, so the casino can confirm your eligibility for its array of services. Decades ago, most gambling sites accepted player names and ages without any verification, but this loophole permitted a lot of underage gambling with disastrous consequences. Therefore, it is not possible to register at a casino in Australia nowadays without uploading documents to prove your age and identity.

Online Casino Verification Process in Australia

After registering your personal information, you have to complete a KYC process to verify your name, age, and address. Note that you cannot make your first withdrawal at most online casinos without completing the verification. At the top Australian gambling sites, players are required to upload the documents listed in this table.

You do not have to upload all the above while verifying your account. Usually, an ID card or international passport validates your name and age, while a utility bill confirms your place of residence. The verification process should only take a few minutes to complete.

At top online casinos in Australia, this procedure follows the steps below:

• On the casino home page, click the Sign-Up button.
• During registration, you must enter your personal data, such as name, date of birth, address, email, and more.
• Then, upload copies of your identity card and utility bill.
• Choose your preferred payment method, currency, and withdrawal method.
• Tick the checkbox to accept the online casinos terms and conditions.

You must know that unless a gambling site has confirmed the veracity of your details, it is not possible to access its full array of services, especially withdrawals. Ensure that all the information you provide matches the data on your documents to avoid any issues. There is no maximum timeframe for verifying your account after registering at the best Australian online casinos.

Getting Help for Your Gambling Problem

Once you discover that you have a problem, that’s your first sign to get help. It is usually hard for most gamblers to admit, but many have found themselves in this predicament and managed the situation with calm. This section focuses on the hardships many customers face and how to make things better. You should always seek healthier ways to unwind from stressful situations, so when you argue with your boss next time, try a new hobby, such as exercising or having drinks with a friend.

If you find yourself having signs of gambling addiction, seeking professional help is your best option. In Australia, there are numerous authorities providing treatment and resources for managing addiction. For immediate help, you can contact any of the following:

Moreover, it pays to contact respectable organisations such as Problem Gambling Australia, Gambling Help Online, and Gamblers Anonymous, which provide top-notch information and tools to help you recover in no time. Furthermore, we recommend Relationships Australia and the Salvation Army, offering physical counselling sessions and workshops to learn how to deal with and overcome your addiction. One thing is certain, you shouldn’t do this on your own! So, it is important to get the best help possible.

Conclusion  

Playing casino games online is a fun way to unwind and relax after stressful days at work. However, you must never get used to this habit till the point it becomes an issue. Gambling consistently without any control or spending limits will eventually lead to an unfortunate cascade of events. Therefore, every Aussie punter must be vigilant in observing the measures to prevent themselves from developing a gambling addiction.

It’s important to get acquainted with the best responsible gambling practices and tools before any problems arise. If you become an addictive gambler, the next step would be taking a break using the self-exclusion tool and contacting the appropriate bodies for support to fasten your recovery. Though it might seem tempting to continue gambling online, this would only do you harm. So, take the necessary time off until you feel confident enough to start gambling responsibly.