There are some people who consider themselves ‘professional gamblers,’ and their sole income tends to come from things like being a professional poker player and finishing in paid positions at several major poker tournaments, or they might be an expert card counter who knows the ins and outs of blackjack and has a knack of winning at land-based casinos.
A lot of people who are at the top of their game, especially pro poker players, also tend to get sponsorship money, don’t forget. You also have some who consider themselves pros at sports betting.
These are the people who frequently bet vast sums of money on betting markets with high implied probability rates just to win relatively small, almost guaranteed sums of money, which can be extremely risky.
In other words, although iGaming platforms offer an additional income opportunity, gambling should never be thought of as a job or a way to make a living.
Let’s take a closer look at the most responsible ways to gamble that can help reduce losses and potentially earn a profit from your gambling activities.
Are there any ways to gamble responsibly so I can hold on to my money for longer periods?
Yes. Whether you are prone to placing sports bets, participating in Sit ‘n Go or MTT (multiplayer table) poker tournaments, or playing online casino games, you can gamble responsibly in many ways. Here are a few great examples of how you can practise responsible gambling:
- Where possible, set limits. You can often set daily, weekly, or monthly limits for deposits, session time, or win/loss limits. This is one of the best ‘safer gambling tools’ anyone can have access to, especially when playing online casino real money games
- Set a budget, too. If you don’t have any safer gambling tools available, try to set your own reasonable budget based on how much you earn and what you need to spend money on (groceries, bills, etc.) For example, if you set a budget of ₹10,000 for a month, try your hardest to only spend ₹10,000. You don’t have to deposit the entire ₹10,000 in one deposit. Perhaps just deposit ₹2,000 to begin with. If you end up with a profit, you could withdraw your winnings and leave the initial ₹2,000 for another day to save you from having to make another deposit. If you lose, you still have ₹8,000 left of your initial budget
- Never chase your losses. Sometimes, chasing what you have lost can be all too tempting, but it can result in losing even more money
- Before playing any online casino game, take time to learn the rules and the odds/payout structure
- Try to understand the ratio between the odds and the implied probability rate. For example, a betting market with 1.01 decimal odds means this outcome/result has a 99.00% IPR and is almost certain to win. Something with a 50/50 chance of happening, therefore, a 50% IPR rate, would appear as 2.00 in decimal odds, and something that is basically never going to happen would appear as 101.00 in decimal odds (1.00% IPR). If you can learn the basic odds and what they are trying to tell you, it can help you place more strategic bets
What else can I do to gamble responsibly?
Simple things you can do are remember that the house always wins. Millions of gamblers worldwide win, but the majority lose. In other words, keep in mind that you are always subject to losses and that no bets, no matter how certain they seem, are never guaranteed to win.
Also, gambling while under the influence or intoxicated is a big no-no. It can impair your judgement and make you take risks you wouldn’t normally take.
Remember to take regular session breaks instead of spending hours at a time placing sports bets or playing online casino games. Stretch your legs and have a quick snack and some refreshments.
Try to balance your online gambling activities with your real-life activities. Don’t ever let gambling come in the way of doing other things you would have normally done to relax and unwind. Think of gambling as a fun way to pass the time, and never as a job.
Also, if you hit a winning streak and feel as though the game you are playing is currently in the mood to pay out, you may want to increase your stake a little. Similarly, if you hit a losing streak, you can try reducing your stake or closing the game altogether and trying something else.
How often should I withdraw my winnings?
How often you should withdraw your winnings and how much you should withdraw depends on many things. For example, if you win a progressive jackpot worth $/€/£1,000,000.00 (or equivalent currency value), you may want to withdraw it all at once.
However, most online casinos today have a maximum amount you can withdraw per day, week, or month. Therefore, be expected to wait to receive your entire jackpot win. It could take weeks or months to fully process the entire amount you won.
Very rarely will you find an online casino that pays out a huge windfall like this in one lump sum. Also, the operator may want to contact you to discuss the easiest and cheapest way for you to get your winnings.
Some online casinos may have a $/€/£50,000 monthly withdrawal limit, and others might not have a capped limit on how much players can withdraw. It varies from one online casino to the next.
In the case where there are maximum withdrawal amounts per month, most of you will want to withdraw the maximum amount allowed per month so it doesn’t take forever to get your full winnings.
However, if you win relatively small amounts, you may want to keep building up your winnings and then withdraw a larger amount instead of keep withdrawing small amounts.
For example, if you deposit, say ₹2,000 (e.g., $/€/£20) and then within just a few hours of winning, you double your money, you could sign out of your account and then come back another day instead of withdrawing. You could then see how things pan out over the next week.
If, at the end of the week, your initial deposit has turned from ₹2,000 to ₹50,000 (e.g., $/€/£500), you could withdraw ₹48,000 of your winnings and leave the ₹2,000 in your account for another day.
It means you have successfully cashed out your winnings and left some money in your account to gamble another day without having to make another deposit.
Final note
One final thing to remember is that if you haven’t verified your account, the site operator might temporarily block your account, meaning you won’t be able to withdraw.
This means proving you are who you say you are (and that you’re of legal age) by sending in colour copies of your proof of ID and proof of address via email to the casino’s account verification department. Getting your account verified can take anywhere from a couple of hours to a few days at most.
