Responsible Gambling in the USA

There’s nothing more important when betting online than responsible gambling — it stands as the cor💃nerstone of a safe and enjoyable betting experience. And the good news is that responsible online gambling is both easy to understand and to put into practice thanks to the variety of tools and resources provided. Read on!

Explore this page with our Table of Contents

ON THIS PAGE

1. 1 What Is Responsible Gambling?
2. 2 Available Responsible Gambling Tools
3. 3 Signs of Problem Gambling
4. 4 How To Use Responsible Gamblꦰing Tools at US Sportsbooks
5. 5 National Responsible Gambling Resources
6. 6 State-Specific Responsible Gambling Resources
7. 7 ThePuntersPage Final Say
8. 8 faqs

What Is Responsible Gambling?

Responsible gambling is simply about engaging in healthy gaming behaviors and mitigating potential harms associated with the activity.⛦

On an individual and practical level, it is simply about making a conscious♈ effort to maintain control over one’s gambling activities. This might mean ensuring you stick to a budget, avoiding betting more than you can afford to lose, never chasing losses, and never betting emotionally or compulsively.

From an industry persไpective, it involves implementing policies and practices that would encourage safe behavior, and prioritizing the✨ well-being of customers, including the use of responsible gambling tools.

Available Responsible Gambling Tools

If you think you could use some additional help maintaining responsible gaming behaviors, then most US sportsbooks offer a broad selection of tools to help you s🦹tay in control. We recommend taking advantage of the following:

Deposit Limits

This limits how much you can deposit over various periods of time, often ranging between daily, weekly and monthlyꦗ deposit limits. Choose whatever best suits yourﷺ budget.

Time Out Sessions

This tool allows you to voluntarily self-exclude from making bets or accessing gambling websites for a set period — typically over 24 hours, with your account being automatically restored. Ideal if you thinꦦk you’d ben🌼efit from a cooling off period.

Self-Exclusion

Think of self-exclusion as a more extended version of a time-out, which can range from months😼 and years, to permanent exclusion. 🐻

The rather fragmented nature of online gamblingꦿ in the United States means that self-exclusion typically only impacts one specific operator. But for this to work optimally (as we’ve seen be successful through the likes of GAMCARE in the UK), a broader self-exclusion option that would prevent users fro🎃m accessing as many operators as possible would be optimal for responsible gambling.

This doesn’t exist right now in the US. However, with seven operators (FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Penn Entertainment, Fantastic Be🐓tting & Gaming, bet365, and Hard Rock Digital) coming together to form a responsible gambling council of sorts, such advaജncements seem likely in the future.

Right now, our only advice is that if you do feel the need to self-exclude, do so across as many gambling si📖tes as possible, and seek 💜help if you find yourself tempted to sign up to an alternative.

Wagering Limits

This is just like deposit limits except it limits how much you can wager over a set period of time. Ther🗹efore, it is especially useful if you have plenty of cash in your account and a deposit limit wouldn’t necessarily be that effective in encouraging responsible gami🎶ng.

Loss Limits

This prevents you from gambling once a certain amount of money has been lost over a set period. Important both fo🦹r responsible gambling and a useful tool for smart betting strategies.

Reality Checks

The way this works is very simple, the site notifies you when you’ve been playing for a certain amount of time, often an hour or every few hours. You can generally set a custom time based on how you like to play. This prevents you from betting compulsively by putting into perspective the amount of time you’ve spent gambling. As the Draftkings responsible gambling tagline goes, “It’s More Fun When It’s for Fun”, and reality checks are a great way of keeping it 🗹that way!

Session Limits

Just like reality checks, but instead of simply being reminded of how much time you've spent gambling, session limits automatically log you off when the limit is met, 🅰and you’re only allowed back on on𓆉ce a cool-down period is completed.

Signs of Problem Gambling

Unsure of whether you might need help? One of the simplest ways to deter𝕴mine if you have a problem is by seeing if you fall into any of the common signs of problem gambling. Remember that having issues with a💦ny one of the below is enough for us to recommend seeking help with how you bet online.

How To Use Responsible Gambling Tools at US Sportsbooks

Taking advantage of the responsible gambling efforts of bookmakers is simple. Tools are generally mad﷽e as accessible and as easy to use as possible,𓂃 so you can stay in control of your online betting by following these three straightforward steps:

1. Consider what tools would be most helpful to you

   You don’t need to have a serious gambling problem to utilise such tools. In fact, many of these, such as loss limits, can help everyone focus on the fun while staying in control. Other people may need more serious help depꦉending on the issues they are facing. The first step towards better responsible gambling in any case is to consider your habits, and then the tools available that can best aid in your safety when betting online.

2. Find a bookmaker which has the tools you need

   Most good US bookmakers nowadays will provide most, if not all, of the tools listed on this page. So, once you’ve figured out which of them you need, pick a reputable bookmaker available in your state and ensure they offer that specific tool.

3. Go through the process to utilize those tools

   How specifically tools work does depend on which one we’re talking about and the individual operator. Often, it’s a case of setting them up through your profile, and betting limits are often part of the registration process. You may need to contact customer service🤪 for certain servic﷽es such as self-exclusion or if you’re confused about how anything works,

National Responsible Gambling Resources

While there are differences in state law, and the way responsible online gambling is handled varies per jurisdiction, there are also plenty of national resources worthy of your responsible gambling trust. 💎

The following are greaღt starting points regardless of where iꦰn the USA you call home.

State-Specific Responsible Gambling Resources

Ther🐈e’s also state-specific responsible gambling help if you’re looking for more regional assistance. The table below includes all the states that 𒉰currently offer legal gambling, and the relevant resources.

What to do if there are no hotlines in your area

Some jurisdictions do ෴not appear to have any sort of regional hotline for problem gambling. For such cas🦄es, we’ve put in the national hotline 1-800-GAMBLER so everyone reading this has access to help should they need it.

ThePuntersPage Final Say

Compared to many European countries, being able to legally bet online is relꦏatively new to the United States. That’s why we're thrilled to see responsible⭕ gambling taken so seriously on both a state and national level.

Licenses are given out very strictly, with strong rules and regulations on what operators must do to encourage players to bet safely. Wherever you are, there are tons of resources to help you gamble responsibly. We strongly encourage everyone who can benefit from them in any capacity to take advantage of the🦂se opportunities.