Responsible Gaming at Americasino
With the recent rise in the influx of new players into the gaming world, surely one can foresee the inevitable abuse of the industry. This is why it is necessary to have a proper discussion on the essence of responsible gaming. An obvious result of abuse of gaming is gambling addiction and It is a known fact that gambling holds one of the highest levels of addicted parties worldwide. It creates an addiction that keeps making you want more outside your control.
The mechanism behind addiction is the major cause of gaming abuse in many players. The influence becomes stronger when there is intermittent reinforcement included in the gambling journey. This reinforcement can be in the form of a perceived rare reward system. Hence, creating a tendency to pursue this rare winning event, drawing the player deeper.
The science of addiction largely depends on the study of the brain and its activities. Researchers observed that when a person performs an activity that tends towards survival, the brain rewards the person with a chemical that functions as a neurotransmitter called ‘dopamine’. This chemical provides a small sense of satisfaction and which serves to promote those activities and encourage them to be repeated. As a player overindulges in gambling, their body begins to crave more dopamine for satisfaction than it can produce, leading to even more increase in gambling activities.
The consequences of gambling vary largely, and, in most cases, it gets worse over time. At americasino.com we strive to provide responsible gaming and only the best trusted online casinos.
What Is Responsible Gaming?
This involves the concept of establishing certain policies to encourage fair and safe gaming experience among gamers. This concept must be upheld by gaming operators, software suppliers and associated service providers for effective results across the gaming world.
To achieve an encompassing discussion about responsible gaming we need to cover various areas where players can be negatively influenced. The responsible gaming concept includes policies that uphold the highest standards of safety, reliability, fair gaming, customer support, information privacy, and most importantly the protection of players. The idea behind this concept is to set limits with the purposes of putting boundaries to time and money that a player may intend to spend.
It is crucial to note that responsible gaming is a collective effort and all parties included must play their roles diligently including players.
Players can also be involved in responsible gaming by denying gratification and understanding when to stop gambling principles into account to be safe from gambling addiction.
Aspects of Responsible Gaming
There are different aspects to implement responsible gaming policies in an online casino. Some of these aspects are:
Accurate Payments
Online casinos must adhere to the timely payment rule. This improves trust between players and the casino management. It also promotes fairness and transparency.
Customer Satisfaction
The online casino must place a high priority on player satisfaction regardless of the amount they bet. They must be allowed to make comments or complaints to any operator. It is important that operators provide a channel for players to get their queries answered. For more effective service, the online casino can employ the use of third-party services to mediate for both players and operators. An example is Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS)
Fair Gaming
Every game listed in the lobby of any online casino must have been properly audited and tested to ensure fair gaming. The entire process of testing and auditing is done by various independent organizations. The result in games must be generated randomly using Random Number Generators.
Fraudulent activity
Every organization dealing with any form of money is always prone to money laundry and fraud. Online casinos should have a foolproof procedure in place to prevent any sort of money laundering and fraud. An effective way of achieving this is by establishing an effective Know Your Customer (KYC) process. The online casinos can set up a tracking system to identify suspicious behavior.
Safe Gaming Environments and Privacy
It is the duty of the game providers and Online casino operatives to ensure maximum security to prevent identity theft and exposure player data. The casino website must be secured using the latest technology. The online casino must ensure no unauthorized access is allowed to any of your personal information.
Responsible and Ethical Marketing
All marketing materials at any online casino must be factual and not targeted towards vulnerable or underage players. It is, however, important for players to also do a thorough check before accepting offers made by online casinos to avoid being tricked.
Underage Gambling
Under no circumstances can online casinos or any gambling organization promote gambling to underage persons. In most countries, the age limit for any form of gambling is 18 and this is put in place to ensure that there are no underaged persons involved in gambling. It is understood that people below this age cannot make a responsible decision for themselves, which is essentially what gambling is all about. These limits are enforced by law and can issue serious fines.
To properly implement this limit, online casinos require every new member to state their age before they can be successfully absorbed into the system. The casinos can also check if the player provided a false age by performing routine checks and requesting personal documents for identification.
Vulnerable Players
Online casinos must be proactive when it comes to curbing problem gambling. An effective way is to put a limit to the total amount a player can bet with each day. Although this is counter-intuitive since every gambling organization wants its players to bet more every time. However, this measure is important to reduce any sort of problem gambling. Players can be vulnerable, and it would be detrimental if gaming companies play on those vulnerabilities just because of their gain.
Other measures that can be put in place to prevent any sort of problem gambling include offering support and guidance to those who are perceived as problem gamblers. The casinos need to put self-exclusion programs in place and also allow players to set limits on how much they would like to spend.
Responsible Gaming Tips for Players
After considering the different aspects of responsible gaming, we need to establish some take-home advice for all players to follow. Here are some tips that you should follow as a player for safer gaming:
- Gambling was created for fun, so relax, play for fun and not to make money
- Do not be greedy. Your total bet money should be the amount you can lose.
- You might be tempted to try recovering your loss. Try not to fall for that. Just move on after any loss.
- Have a fixed amount set before betting and try not to add to this amount regardless of the outcome of the game.
- Every money put up for bet must be your money. You should never borrow money to bet because losing borrowed money would result in further unpleasant consequences;
- Avoid gambling under the influence. Do not ever gamble if you are feeling depressed or angry. This would definitely impact your decision-making process negatively.
- Be open about your weaknesses to close ones.
- Balance gambling with other great activities. Be sure to be involved in family reunions, social gatherings, seeing movies with friends and family. This balance helps to keep your sanity.
- Take breaks, don’t drink or do drugs while gambling.
Gambling Addiction and Way Out
The thrill of winning and losing cannot be matched with any other activity, this is why gambling can be extremely addictive. As explained earlier, gambling addiction results in uncontrolled gambling activities. This can be highly detrimental to the mental health of the player and the consequence can transcend the player to affect family and friends. Preventing gambling addiction cannot be overemphasized. However, there are a few tips for players who have issues with controlling their gambling activities.
Time-outs, Limits and Self Inclusion
If you are beginning to observe that you have a gambling problem, you can add yourself on the self-exclusion list at any online casino you are registered with. This list automatically suspends your account for you to take a break. During this period, you won’t have access to your account or perform any activities such as making deposits and placing bets for games
Gambling addiction assistance organizations
There are several organizations established to help troubled players who need help to overcome gambling addiction. These organizations include:
- National Council on Problem Gambling: This is an organization dealing with gambling addiction all over the U.S
- Gamblers Anonymous: This organization is targeted towards self-help groups through their website.
- Call 800-Gambler: This is a phone number you can call if you ever find yourself struggling with gambling addiction.
There are several organizations created particularly for problem gaming. Hence, if you are struggling with gambling addiction, do feel free to contact any of the responsible gaming organizations.
Americasino.com supports Responsible gaming
Americasino aims at offering only the best online casinos with the best reputations. Responsible gaming is an important part of any online casino. To identify online casinos with responsible gaming in mind, there are certain criteria to be met. The online casino should hold the correct licenses according to jurisdictions, be audited by third parties and also they must meet our very own requirements at americasino.com!
For us at Americasino, we enjoy online gaming and find it to be one of the best adventures. However, any player who is interested in playing at any of our online casinos must be over the age of 18.
Final note
Responsible gaming is a very important topic for every player and casino operatives. A serious look into this topic would improve the gambling practices and reduce the occurrence of gambling mishaps.
Unfortunately, no one is immune to problem gambling. It can occur at any age and happen to anyone from any background. If you need help with regards to online gambling and gambling addiction, do feel free to get in touch with the various organizations listed above. You would be properly guided as to what step to take next.
We observe that different countries have different bodies set up to tackle these issues. It can be a daunting effort finding the one that best suits your needs. You can take a look through our site to get more information.