Cutting down or quitting

You gamble more than you would like, and you want to do something about your playing habits. With these tips, you can make it a little easier on yourself, stick to your plan and get your money matters in order:

•  Find something else to do, sometimes gambling becomes a habit and it's important that you start breaking it. Go do something else, read a book, take a walk or learn something new like painting or playing an instrument.

•  Make sure you are not tempted. Make a list of places and people that can bring temptation. Maybe that one friend who is all about gambling, or the cafe that has a slot machine. You can also take a break through cruks which will stop you from entering all legal websites in the netherlands. Also look at blocking software for all your options.

• Talk about gambling with people who listen carefully to you, your partner, a close friend, your parents or the doctor. Talking will help you get over your guilt and shame.

• Make an overview of your money situation. You can use exel for this, but you can also use a fill-in tool on the nibud or geldfit site. It can be difficult to do this yourself. It can be very nice to ask someone to help you. How much debt do you have and with whom? How do you make a repayment plan? Can't figure it out by yourself or would you like someone to look on with you? At Loket kansspel we can help you.

• Would you like to play anyway? Then be honest with yourself, can you really do this, or is this a way to justify gambling to yourself. Set limits and stick to them. How often do you want to play? How long do you want to play? How much money do you want to gamble at most? Ask yourself if you still play for fun or mainly to win? If so, gambling probably has more control over you than you think. Follow the other steps to regain control over your gambling.

• Credit cards generally allow you to bet extra money at any time. Does that work the same for you? If your answer is yes then it may help to block your credit cards. Maybe you can even ask someone you trust to manage your money matters. This will ensure that you make arrangements that you can stick to and keep gambling under control.

• Block gambling sites. Blocks keep you from gambling. The threshold becomes higher. You can register with CRUKS. You can mark all mail you get as spam and block phone numbers. This ensures you don't get unwanted exposure to gambling. Look here for all your options.

• Do you use drugs, or drink when gambling? It can make sure that if you start using, the barrier to gambling becomes even lower. You are more likely to take more risk under the influence than you agreed to beforehand. If you do decide to gamble, do so sober; it will be easier to stick to your agreements.

• Do you need more help getting control over your gambling? Call loket kansspel, which is free and non-binding. We can talk about your gambling habits and how to play responsibly. In addition, there is online self-help to monitor your behavior or you can check with your local addiction counselor. Click here to go to the help finder, and click here for all help and advice options.

Gambling is not a band-aid for problems

Gambling is not a band-aid for your problems. Do you gamble because it makes you forget your unpleasant situation for a while? Then perhaps gambling is no longer a fun game. It has become a way of dealing with unpleasant events. Read more here about gambling and how you can find other ways to cope.

Measures to cut down

Do you sometimes gamble more than you would like? You can take measures yourself to limit your gambling. (Online) casinos can support you in this. Read more about the tools that can help you here.

Notifications

At online casinos, you can set money limits for yourself. You can set a bet or loss limit to keep you from wasting more money than you would like. Similarly, a deposit limit prevents you from spending more money than you can afford to lose. You then set the maximum amount of money you can deposit into your account.

 Or set a time limit, to avoid spending more time than you would like. Of course, you can also set your own timer.

 You can receive pop-ups about your playing behavior, which you can also set. This way you are confronted with your playing behavior and you can choose each time whether you want to continue or not.

Turn off notifications about gambling, on your social media, for example. You can also install an add blocker, for example.

A good conversation

At the (online) casino you can get a preventive conversation with an employee. For example, when you have been gambling a lot for a period of time. Such a conversation is meant to ask how you are doing, inform you about the risks and the possibility of an entry ban or limit.

 Limit your playing possibilities

At casinos you can voluntarily set a visit limit. You then set the maximum number of times you want to visit the casino. This prevents you from visiting the casino more often than you want to. Also at online casinos you can set a limit, often this is about how much time or money you want to spend on gambling.

 You can also have your account temporarily blocked. You can do this at CRUKS. You can block your account for a minimum of 6 months. You cannot reverse that decision. It can be very nice to take a break the moment you find that gambling is affecting your life too much.

 You can also get permanently blocked. At land-based casinos, you can apply for an entry ban. You can also get yourself enrolled in cruks. Then you can no longer gamble both online and offline. At cruks you can set the amount of time you do not want to gamble. Read more about blocking options here.

Benefits of reducing or quitting gambling

• You know best what works for you. For some, it's cutting back; for others, it's stopping (temporarily).

• There are advantages to stopping or cutting back:

• You keep a lot more money for other things

• Your daily structure changes

• You are more active and put things off less

• You perform better at school, work or studying.

• You get better contact with family and friends

• You do more sports and see other people again

• You are relieved and think better of yourself

• You suffer less from restlessness, gloominess and other negative feelings.