The Paddy Power guide to safer gambling… everything you need to know

What Paddy can do to help.

Safer Gambling 24 1200 x 600

By / Guides, Responsible Gambling / 2 days ago

It’s easy for us to say we don’t want gambling to have a damaging effect on people’s lives. But what are we actually going to do about it? Without any solid commitments to back up what we say, our words are about as useful as a pitching wedge at Roland Garros.

So our commitment is to reduce the likelihood of gambling having a negative impact, through:

  • Taking action when we see that a customer may need support
  • Educating everyone about safer play
  • Investing in ways that tackle the problems
  • Not shying away from talking about the risks with gambling

Where do we draw the line?

When we talk about ‘safer gambling’, what are we on about? You might say a little flutter on an outsider is unsafe, but that’s not always the case.

Essentially, safer gambling means you are having fun, and feel in control of how you play. If your gambling is creating financial stress, anxiety, depression, or affecting your life in a negative way overall, then it may develop into a problem.

TIPS FOR BETTING SENSIBLY

A few pointers for getting it right. Firstly, Jobs are for making money but gambling is for entertainment. Treat it as an entertainment expense, like a ticket to that 18th Fast and Furious film down the cinema, rather than a way to make money.

  • Only gamble with money you can afford to lose.
  • Know your limits, and be clear about them before you start betting.
  • Take a break. Gambling continuously without taking a break will impact your judgement.
  • Don’t gamble when you’re upset or depressed. Talk to mates or family or use the support contacts which can be found here.
  • Do other stuff. Sometimes less is more, so make gambling a part of a well-balanced lifestyle.
  • Don’t go chasing bets. Set your limits, stay in control.

HOW WE CAN HELP

What’s Paddy going to do to tackle all this?

We want to be a part of the solution. So what we do to tackle the problem, is provide help both from ourselves, and from other organisations that specialise in helping people with gambling problems.

See our ‘Tools’ section for ways that we can help.

Like so many other things, ‘having a problem with gambling’ can seem like a grey area. It’s not just a case of losing too much, but also about the behaviours, and how they can be checked.

These tools let you self-check, to see if you have a problem, and then take measures to stop you gambling if you need to.

We ask you to always bet sensibly, and within your budget. To help you stay in control, you can specify a daily, weekly or monthly deposit limit. Once set, we will warn you when you’re trying to deposit more than your limit, whether online or on your mobile. The deposit limit is not affected by any transfers of money between wallets or by withdrawals. If you increase the amount or frequency (making the limit less restrictive), it will not take effect for 7 days. Decreases take immediate effect.

If you increase the amount or frequency, it will not take effect for 7 days. Decreases take immediate effect.

This gives you a choice of how long you would like to suspend access to your Paddy Power account for between 1-30 days. During your selected period you will be locked out from playing on the Paddy Power site. This will block you from using all products on the Paddy Power website for the period of your choosing.

You will have the option to stop playing or to dismiss the reminder and continue playing.

– The Reality Check covers only the games played with real money and will be initiated by a bet placement.

– The Reality Check will be applied per Gaming Session. Such a session includes the betting activity on all the games played on Casino, Games and Bingo which take place in the same Paddy Power session. The betting activity on Poker will be covered separately as distinct Gaming Sessions.

– Changes to your Reality Checks will take effect after you log out and login again. Please do this after saving your changes or the check will not be activated until your next login.

You can choose which products you want to be excluded from or whether you want to be excluded from the site as a whole. This action cannot be reversed under any circumstances.

If you are unsure whether or not you may have developed a gambling problem Gamcare.org.uk have a simple test on their website to help you assess if your gambling is causing a problem.

The assessment will give you a series of statements and ask you to select how much the statement applies to your gambling behaviour on a scale of 1 – 10. At the end of the test you will be presented with a breakdown of how gambling is affecting your life and will give you personalised recommendations for your next steps.

SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS

We like to act the maggot, but we’re no fools, and we’d be stupid to help you identify a problem and then not tell you how to address it. So where should you or someone you know go if there’s a problem?

First of all, it might seem like a big deal to admit that there’s a problem – and it is. Problem gambling can destroy lives and ruin all kinds of relationships. But people admit they have a problem every day and nobody thinks any less of them. In fact, it’s a sign of greater strength to admit there’s a problem, and even greater again to seek out help.

Below is a list of organisations who deal with people who have gambling problems every day. They’re the best people to contact first if you need some help.

Gambling Therapy offer online support to anyone addicted to gambling and those who show problematic behavior. They offer a global service and support is available in multiple languages, so if English isn’t your first language this group will be very helpful. The Gambling Therapy app is free to download on iOS and Android devices.

GamCare operates a national telephone and online helplines for anyone affected by a gambling problem and provides both face to face and online counselling.

Gamblers Anonymous is a support group for people who wish to do something about their gambling problem and help others to do the same through attending meetings.

Dunlewey provides counselling, mentoring, education and support to individuals directly or indirectly affected by a gambling problem.

When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. Whoever you are and whatever you’re facing, they won’t judge you or tell you what to do. They’re here to listen so you don’t have to face it alone.

What do you think?