How Do NZ Online Casinos Tackle Problem Gambling

Online gambling if done responsibly can be a great source of fun. The graphics for online casino games are top notch and the advances made in connectivity means that the games can be played from wherever you desire. The flip side to this is the problems that one can get themselves into if they do not play responsibly. You should never visit an online casino if you are under the influence or use it to repay any financial debts that you might have. If you feel that your time at an online casino is taking a turn for the worst, then you should follow some of the steps we have listed here –

Gambling Addiction Tests

The first step towards a healthy gambling experience is to decide whether you have a gambling problem. If you feel the need to play all the time, to play when you can’t afford to then it is a good time to look in the mirror and ask yourself if gambling is getting in the way of your life. Denial to such a problem can cause it to snowball into something much bigger often leading to disastrous consequences.

The most reputable of online casinos will offer you links to various tests to help you understand if you have an issue with online gambling. These tests will only take a few minutes of your time but will end up saving you years of grief. If the results do indicate signs of problem gambling, then you need to walk away and should start working on limiting the damage it may have incurred upon your life already.

Online Casino Account Settings | Deposit Limits

Once you have recognised that you might have a problem, the first step is always try to minimise the damage. You never want to reach a stage where you have racked up enough debts that you have to turn to mortgaging your house to pay them off. The good news is that online casinos licensed by authorities such as MGA, UKGC and Gambling Commission have a Responsible Gaming policy. This allows you to set to limits on how much you can deposit daily, weekly or monthly. Turning this on usually takes a few minutes and can be achieved by reaching out to customer for the respective online casino.

Once you have set these limits it becomes increasingly difficult to raise them in the future. You can request for the limits to be raised this is usually accompanied by a cool down period of at least 24 hours or even a week. Once you passed the cool down period the online casino will ask you if still want to raise your deposit limits. The aim of cool down period is to prevent you from taking decisions in the spur of the moment and to ensure that you are never out of control when making decisions.

The final step that can be taken by the casino is to block your account entirely. This is also referred to as the customer self-excluding themselves from gambling activities at that casino. If the casino is part of a much bigger group that owns multiple online casinos then self-excluding from one usually closes the doors on all of their respective properties.

Non-profit Companies

In certain cases, the addiction could have reached a stage where limiting deposits or even closing accounts will not curb the problem. The online casinos we have listed on the site provide gambling addicts with links to organisations that can help Kiwis battle their gambling addiction. These are usually non-profit organisations that teach you various techniques on how to cope with your problem. They can even connect you with psychologists and therapists in New Zealand that can help you battle this along with connecting you with former addicts who are now clean and can provide invaluable advice on how to tackle the addiction.

While the main aim of the gambling policies listed above is to either reduce, control or put an end to the addiction, the policies also help to deal with other issues that can arise due to online gambling. Here are some of the most prominent ones –

Underage Online Gambling

Online casinos from around the globe will always agree on certain aspects with prevention of underage gambling being one of them. While it may be easy for an underage person to open an account using an alias, certain measures taken by responsible casinos can prevent the person from playing the casino games. These can include requesting (know your customer) KYC documents to verify the identity of the user. These documents are usually in the form of passports or national identity cards. The online casinos will also require a method of payment which an underage person is unlikely to have as a minor.

Fraudulent Users

Identity theft is a well-known crime and fraudulent people might try to use data and payment options of someone else to open an account at the online casino. However as per the last point, if the casino has rigorous KYC procedures than it will become difficult for the fraudulent user to open the account. While some legitimate players might be turned away by these procedures the cost of forgoing them vastly outweighs the benefits of not having them in the first place.

At the end of the day the online casino can implement dozens of procedures to prevent gambling addiction, but the fact of the matter is that the responsibility lies mainly with the player. You should never underestimate gambling addiction and must be aware of the causes and the remedies on how to deal with it effectively.