Responsible Gambling in Canada
For the majority of Canadian folks, gambling is a benign pastime. But unfortunately, there is still a considerable size of the population for whom gambling poses a serious addiction risk. Without the right checks and balances in place, at risk individuals could develop a crippling gambling compulsion that can wreak havoc on their professional lives, finances and personal relationships.
Responsible gambling is the industry’s solution to effective battle and ward off gambling addiction. In this article, we shed light on the various aspects and best practices of gambling responsibly when playing at Canada-facing online casinos. Furthermore, we’ve also included contact information of professional gambling deaddiction and counselling services across Canada for anyone that may need a helping hand.
Table of Contents
What is Responsible Gambling?
In the broader sense, responsible gambling essentially means knowing your limits and gambling within your means. By this definition, it is clear that gambling responsibly is largely one’s own individual responsibility to bear. However, this does not absolve gaming companies, governments, service organizations, and other groups from the responsibility for preventing gambling-related problems. It does, however, imply that initiatives aimed at preventing gambling-related problems are in reality programs to encourage and empower individuals to play responsibly or seek treatment if they have a problem.
In essence, there are two concepts that should drive the design and implementation of the responsible gambling framework in Canada, these are: a structured set of policies and activities that increases the chances of individuals gambling responsibly while mitigating the risk of habit gambling and its associated consequences.
Responsible Gambling at Canadian Online Casinos
Most online casinos that serve players based out of Canada are licensed offshores. Some hold a license issued by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, but there are also tons of Canada friendly casinos that are licensed by regulators such as the Malta Gaming Authority, Kahnawake Gaming Commission and the Curacao eGaming Commission.
For any online casino to acquire a license and then keep it, it must adhere to several standards as prescribed by the regulator. These standards are not just limited to data protection, privacy, etc. but also extend to responsible gambling. An online casino that cannot offer the responsible gambling features deemed mandatory by the license issuer will lose its license. Therefore, playing only at licensed online casinos is a good way to ensure you’re playing at platforms that have the required responsible gambling facilities.
Since virtual online casinos cannot monitor players and their gaming habits in person, they will generally offer a myriad of tools that players can use to self – regulate their gambling and stay within the limits as defined by themselves.
The specific responsible gambling tools featured on a particular site may vary depending on the casino operator and the jurisdiction in which it is licensed.
However, in most cases, some of the common responsible gambling tools at the disposal of players will include the following:
Players can set these limits on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. At any given time, a player is allowed to decrease the limits and the changes take effect immediately. But, if the player increases any of the limits, the change will only take effect after current setting time frame has gone by. So, if you have a monthly deposit limit of $500 set and you try to increase it to $600 in the middle of the month, the change will only be applied the following month. This way, you cannot simply increase your limits whenever you want to and continue to gamble since it defeats the purpose of having any limits in the first place.
How to Know if You Are Playing Responsibly
In additional to offering customizable, player-defined limits, most Canada facing online casinos will also have a self-assessment questionnaire on their websites. This questionnaire is a mix between yes/no and multiple-choice type of form which can usually be found under the websites ‘responsible gambling’ webpage. The link to the responsible gambling webpage is generally available in the footer section of the website.
The thing with gambling addiction is that it is insidious in nature. Basically, it develops without you being aware of it even happening. You may think that you are in control and continue to play without understanding that compulsive patterns are already taking over and that you are not actually in control of your gaming sessions.
When you truthfully answer the self – assessment questionnaire, it will clearly tell you whether you have a gambling problem or even if you are at a higher risk of developing a gambling problem.
Some of the questions you will come across in such self-assessment questionnaires are:
- Have you borrowed money to gamble?
- Do you turn to gambling when you feel anxious or restless?
- Do you chase your losses and try to win them back by playing more?
- Has anyone close to you told you that you’re gambling too much?
- Do you exceed your gambling budget that you initially had in mind?
- Do you find that you’ve played for much longer than you planned to?
At the end of the questionnaire, or when you provide your answers and submit the form, you will get a legend where it tells you your risk level depending on how many questions you answered ‘yes’ to. It can also suggest corrective actions such as getting professional help or using the gambling limits on the site.
Self-Exclusion Explained
The concept of self-exclusion is pretty simple. If you feel your gambling is getting out of hand, you can activate the self – exclusion feature. By doing so, your account is temporarily suspended for a pre-defined period of time, but you can also close it permanently. This is called the cool-off period. It allows you time to think clearly and does not let you gamble online even if you want to, you must wait until the cool-off period is over, and by this time, your compulsion to play may also have subsided. During your cool-off period, you will not receive any marketing communications from the casino enticing you to play. Even if you wish to play again, you can only do so once the cool off period has lapsed.
Seeking Professional Help
If you have a gambling addiction, you may not always be able to come out of it by yourself. It is a well-studied phenomenon that certain personality types have higher risk for addiction and may need help from professionals. In extreme cases, gambling addiction is akin to alcoholism or drug addiction and external intervention and help could be key in overcoming it. If you are based in Canada and need help with a gambling problem or you know someone that may need help, the below organizations are there to assist you.
This is a helpline number that you can call and they will link you up with a support service which is near you. The help line is operational 24/7.
Helpline Number: 1-888-230-3505
CAMH runs various support groups for those that have issues with excessing gambling and internet use. This includes 8 support group sessions spread across 4 weeks. You can opt in via self-referral by simply getting in touch with CAMH using the contact details below.
Website: https://www.camh.ca/
Phone: 416 535 – 8501 press 2
Gamblers Anonymous is a group of men and women who get together to share their experiences, strength, and hope in order to solve their shared challenges and help others recover from gambling addiction. Only a willingness to stop gambling is required for membership. Membership is free.
Website: https://www.gatoronto.ca/
Phone: 1-855-222-5542
