A Guide to Responsible Gaming 

Characteristics of Responsible Gambling

• Responsible gamblers understand that gambling by its nature entails risk and that the odds of winning are with the house.
• Responsible gaming is done socially, with family, friends or colleagues.
• Responsible gaming is done for limited amounts of time, both in frequency and duration.
• Responsible gaming always has predetermined, acceptable limits for losses. 

Setting Personal Guidelines

You can establish your own limits and provide direction to others by developing a set of personal guidelines to determine whether, when and how much to gamble.

The decision to gamble is a personal choice. No one should feel pressure to gamble, or feel that he or she must gamble to be accepted.

Gambling is not essential for having a good time. Gambling should not be perceived as necessary for having fun and being with friends.

What constitutes an acceptable loss needs to be established before starting to gamble. Any money spent on gambling should be considered the cost of entertainment; people should only gamble with money they can afford to lose. For those who choose to gamble, it is essential to know when to stop.

Borrowing money to gamble should be avoided and discouraged. Borrowing money from a friend, relative or any other source of funds with the intention of repaying with gambling winnings is always high risk and inappropriate.

There are times when people should not gamble. Never gamble when under the legal gambling age; when it interferes with work or family responsibilities; when in recovery for addictive disorders or dependencies; when the form of gambling is illegal; when gambling is prohibited by organizational policy; or when trying to make up for prior gambling losses (“chasing” losses).

There are certain high-risk situations during which gambling should be avoided. Avoid gambling when feeling lonely, angry, depressed or under stress; when coping with the death of a loved one; to solve personal or family problems; or to impress others.

Excessive use of alcohol when gambling can be risky. Irresponsible alcohol use can affect a person’s judgment and interfere with the ability to control gambling and adhere to predetermined limits.

Keep gambling what it should be – entertainment.  Know how to set limits, and most importantly, know when to stop.

This information was derived from Gambling: Choices and Guidelines (© 1993, 1998 2^nd edition, 2002 3rd edition; Minnesota Institute of Public Health) by Roger Svendsen and Tom Griffin.  Material has been reproduced with permission.  For more information on responsible gambling, please contact the Gambling Problems Resource Center in Minnesota at 1-800-782-1878, or write to: Gambling Problems Resource Center, 2720 Highway 10 NE, Mounds View, MN 55223-4092, or visit www.miph.org/gambling.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-522-4700 for confidential assistance, or visit www.ncpgambling.org for resources in your state.