Playing at an online casino is of course fun and sometimes you can be lucky and win money, provided you know your limits. But do not forget that it is sometimes difficult not to continue playing if you have not won anything or if you have just won a large amount of money.
If you can no longer stop playing and you can only think about playing in a casino, then you have a gambling addiction.
What is a gambling addiction?
Precisely because playing in an online casino is so exciting, you often continue. You still want to play again and win just that little bit more money. But what if you really can’t stop anymore? Then you have a gambling addiction.
You have literally become addicted to the thrill of winning. And it is precisely because of this tension that you no longer see the difference between profit and loss. Of course you are not directly addicted, there is usually a number of years between the first time you play and the real addiction.
There are 4 phases to a gambling addiction:
- Start-up phase: You are introduced to playing online.
- Winning phase: You enjoy playing online and you continue.
- Losing phase: You keep playing. It has now become a part of your life – you can’t live without it, even if you lose more money than you win.
- Addiction: In this phase, gambling addicts begin to withdraw from friends and family. When gambling debt becomes a problem, the debt has often gone beyond money owed to casinos or riverboats.
Master plan
In the final phase, gamblers often begin to come up with a strategy, the so-called Master Plan, which must ensure that all debts are repaid in one fell swoop. Of course that is not feasible because the debts have already reached a high level in this phase.
Addicts play in both the online and offline casino. It is therefore true that the casino does indeed have a protective function towards their players. Of course, players are also responsible for their actions, but casinos have a duty to protect their players against themselves if necessary.
Of course, one person is more susceptible to an addiction than the other. With this test you will learn more about your gambling behaviour.
