How to Stop Gambling on Online Slots

The moment has come, the player presses the spin button. Neither winning nor losing makes any difference; there is always another spin. The thrill of the game stops when there are no more coins in your pocket. The excitement turns into self-loathing when the amount of money lost exceeds the bet.

Slots are favorite games worldwide; the U.S. is the leading, multi-billion-dollar casino market. Followed closely by China, the number of online slot lovers is growing. According to research done by H2 Gambling Capital, one of the gambling data suppliers, 85% of adult Americans have tried their luck at least once in their lifetime.

Although slots produce small wins, a significant number of players recognize they have a slot addiction. A typical American player of slot games is in the late fifties, but no matter the age, a gambling problem is equally bad. Gambling addiction starts when your ability to stop gambling stops.

What Goes on Behind Slot Design

The slot machines’ game design is created to thrill the player and encourage them to keep spinning the reels. Winning and losing animations cause the same excitement. A flashing light accompanied by epic music is there to encourage the player to continue even if they did not win anything.

If you look at the reels, an instant thought while the lights are flashing and the music is playing is that the person has won; when, in reality, the player has won less than they wagered, which is a great example of the famous expression “Losses disguised as wins.”

Gambling Research Lab at the University of Waterloo has explained how slot machines work in a single video. On a modern multi-line slot, players can wager on more than one line. A loss disguised as a win occurs when the payback on a spin is less than the amount wagered. A casino’s only goal is for visitors to play games as much as possible, hence the small wins.

Human Psychology and Addiction to Spinning the Reels

There are many reasons in human psychology why slot machine players keep pressing the spin button. One of many is the fact that online casinos are available to anyone, anywhere. The second one is that addiction creates false hope with each spin, a greedy feeling which urges us to get more. Slots are the least likely games in a casino to win “big money.” The third reason is that a person’s self-esteem is connected with winning at slots.

Last but not least, many players realize they are problem gamblers when they cross the safe limit of their budget. Hoping to take home additional income, 23 million Americans go into debt due to losing money while gambling. With each spin, a person’s debt has a potential of increasing which leads to other problems in the family.

Thirteen Tried-Out Ways to Stay Away From Slot Games

Deciding to stop doing something which became part of your routine is hard. Some rely on these routines as emotional and psychological support. Gambling becomes a habit created by repetition during long periods. And every pattern in behavior can be broken by creating a new one. Walking away from it makes you see things differently. There are ways suggested by ex-gamblers to cope with an online gambling addiction:

1. Decide to stop gambling. — If you are thinking about it, you are halfway there which means you have recognized the problem.
2. Do not delay the decision. — Delaying the decision is just another way to wiggle out of this commitment. Many people fear change as it means getting out of their comfort zone.
3. Set a budget limit for each time you want to play on a slot. — Opening a casino webpage with no budget in mind is risky. Set a limit on the amount you are comfortable spending and keep an eye on your bankroll.
4. Set a time limit. — Slot machine design makes a player lose sense of time and keep playing. By walking away you’re actually one step closer to completely stopping.
5. Stay away from the “gut feeling.” — Many players are superstitious or rely on their intuition, but the reality is the game has completely random outcomes.
6. Do not chase after losses. — This may turn into an endless race to return the money lost. In real life, your odds of winning are truly slim.
7. Do not consider slots a way of earning money. — The odds are always against you; the companies which provide these games, as well as the casinos which offer them, want to make money. The end user is there only for entertainment.Do not borrow money to gamble. — Slipping further into debt by borrowing a lot of money to gamble is only adding to your troubles.
8. If you do not win on a slot, walk away. — Walking away from a slot is a matter of self-discipline. Walking away while you still have a positive balance is a win.
9. Balance playing on slots with other activities. — Making slots your single occupation makes you miss on other opportunities. Start introducing other activities in your life you are interested in.
10. Check if the casino you want to play at has a self-exclusion program. — Many casinos offer support for their players by providing a self-exclusion program. The policy of a casino which offers this kind of program is to freeze a player’s account for the amount of time the player decides on. It can range from 6 months to five years, during which time the player is unable to access their existing account or open another one.
11. Install self-exclusion software — There are companies like Gamban that have developed software which, when once installed, disables the user from visiting any online casino. Furthermore, the software cannot be uninstalled.
12. Do not give up. — Even after a failed attempt, you can still regain control of your life.

A step toward stopping playing online slots takes self-control and self-discipline. Letting slots become a pastime means acknowledging them as entertainment. Making a risky spin for “the big win” is the foundation of Las Vegas. The city of casinos was built from the Mojave Desert sand into the gambling capital of the world on this notion.