In gambling, you wager the money you have on a game or event that has an uncertain outcome. This is done with the hope of winning a much bigger amount. Research data shows that nearly 85% of adults in the United States have gambled at least once. About 15% gamble every week. Almost 6,000,000 adults and 500,000 teenagers have been identified as ‘problem gamblers.
The gambling industry was estimated to be worth $110 billion in 2020. What’s even worse is the fact that gambling gets more than 20 million Americans into debt. In order to pay for their losses, these individuals borrow money from different sources. Savings accounts, credit cards, and retirement funds are some of them.
They do it with the hope of winning that one big amount that would clear their debts forever. Instead, the pile of chips become a pile of debt for most of them. Now, the biggest question is how to avoid getting into debt from gambling? Here we’ll explore some of the tried and tested ways:
1. Bank controls
There can be a sense of embarrassment in you to tell your bank that you have a gambling problem. Nevertheless, you must contact your bank so that they can come to your rescue. Banks can help you in many ways. They can temporarily put a freeze on your card to prevent you from spending on gambling.
Another way in which they can help is by switching off your cash withdrawals for a certain period. They might also consider limiting the amount of money you can withdraw from the ATMs each day.
2. Creditors’ plans
If you’re already in a lot of debt and struggling to pay back, speak to your creditors. This must be done on priority before things get worse. You must understand that they can only help you if you tell them about your situation. Creditors might include your local council, loan providers, credit card companies, mortgage lenders, and your landlord.
They can help you with an affordable payment plan. You can explain how you’re going to stop gambling in order to convince them.
3. Notice of Correction
You can add a note to your credit file, which is also called ‘Notice of Correction’. In this note, you can tell your potential lenders not to lend to you. This must be done when you feel that you’ll be applying for credit to pay for your gambling activities. By adding the Notice of Correction, your potential lenders would know what to do.
4. Responsible gambling
Some of the popular casino review websites promote responsible gambling. It is an initiative to educate gambling enthusiasts about the dangers of gambling addiction. So, if you want to play online casinos without getting into debt, check out Casinos Jungle. It is an immensely popular casino review site that has some excellent resources for players of online casinos.
Under the ‘Guides’ tab on this website, you’ll find a section called ‘Responsible Gambling’. It acts as a guide for new as well as experienced players with regard to playing responsibly. This section takes players through some steps that they can take to make playing online casinos safe and fun. For further details, visit www.casinosjungle.com.