Can Casinos Ban Customers Who Might Get TOO “Lucky”?

Gambling addiction treatment

Overcoming a gambling problem is never easy and seeking professional treatment doesn’t mean that you’re weak in some way or can’t handle your problems. But it’s important to remember that every gambler is unique so you need a recovery program tailored specifically to your needs and situation. Talk to your doctor or mental health professional about different treatment options, including:

Inpatient or residential treatment and rehab programs. These are aimed at those with severe gambling addiction who are unable to avoid gambling without round-the-clock support.

Treatment for underlying conditions contributing to your compulsive gambling, including substance abuse or mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, OCD, or ADHD. This could include therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes. Problem gambling can sometimes be a symptom of bipolar disorder, so your doctor or therapist may need to rule this out before making a diagnosis.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy. CBT for gambling addiction focuses on changing unhealthy gambling behaviors and thoughts, such as rationalizations and false beliefs. It can also teach you how to fight gambling urges and solve financial, work, and relationship problems caused by problem gambling. Therapy can provide you with the tools for coping with your addiction that will last a lifetime.

Family therapy and marriage, career, and credit counseling. These can help you work through the specific issues that have been created by your problem gambling and lay the foundation for repairing your relationships and finances.

Mobile Experience

Those of you who enjoy playing casino games on the go should learn how to do it using an offshore casino’s mobile app. Mobile-friendly websites and casino apps can be accessed via your phone’s web browser on some platforms.

You should be able to play the same games on your mobile as you can on your computer. Using your fingertips to place bets and operate your profile, from gaming to depositing and withdrawing money, should be a breeze.

United Kingdom

Even novice gamblers have heard of such an organization as the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. Indeed, it is one of the largest gaming authorities in the world. In order to obtain a license in the UK, you are expected to submit a whole package of documents, which includes proof of no criminal conviction, a ready-made business plan, and proof of financial solvency. Unlike in other countries, the UK Gambling Commission charges tax of 15-50% of gross income. You will also have to pay for annual license renewal. Incidentally, the annual fee has increased by 55% since October 1 this year.

Article at a Glance:

• Approximately 10 million people in the U.S. have a gambling problem, so you are not alone
• It’s important to understand why you gamble and avoid gambling temptations and triggers.
• Joining a support group can help people learn how to stop gambling and save money.
• Try to find positive alternatives to gambling or postpone it while gambling cravings are very intense.
• Professional gambling addiction help is available to stop gambling and stay away from it for good.

Dealing with gambling cravings

Feeling the urge to gamble is normal, but as you build healthier choices and a strong support network, resisting cravings will become easier. When a gambling craving strikes:

Avoid isolation. Call a trusted family member, meet a friend for coffee, or go to a Gamblers Anonymous meeting.

Postpone gambling. Tell yourself that you’ll wait 5 minutes, fifteen minutes, or an hour. As you wait, the urge to gamble may pass or become weak enough to resist.

Visualize what will happen if you give in to the urge to gamble. Think about how you’ll feel after all your money is gone and you’ve disappointed yourself and your family again.

Distract yourself with another activity, such as going to the gym, watching a movie, or practicing a relaxation exercise for gambling cravings.

Why Do Online Casinos Offer Bonuses?

So, now that you know which casino sites you can trust, it’s also wise to at least understand how casino bonuses work and why they are offered in the first place.

Well, giving out bonuses is always a great way to market an online casino and bookie’s services. This is why many operators focus on sign-up and welcome bonuses. Their main goal is to always get new customers, so they usually give generous welcome offers.

But of course, a welcome bonus shouldn’t be the end of their marketing strategy. They also need to make sure that these new customers keep playing on their sites and make more deposits. That’s why you also see them offering different types of reloading and deposit bonuses.

Others would also have a loyalty program in place wherein players get to earn points for every casino game they play. An example is how Ignition Casino has something called Ignition Miles. These “Miles” or points are earned every time players place a bet. Eventually, they can then exchange these points for exclusive bonuses or even bonus credits that they can use to play at the casino.

Now, when people see online casinos offering match bonuses of 100% or even sometimes up to 400%, many will be quick to say that it’s too good to be true. Well, the offer is there so it’s true, but the question should be about whether a bonus is worth it or not.

Money Management

Managing your money wisely is the most important part of playing any casino game, and also the most difficult part of playing the slots. Even on quarter machines, the amount of money involved runs up quickly. A dedicated slot player on a machine that plays off credits can easily get in 600 pulls an hour. At two quarters at a time, that means wagering $300 per hour — the same amount a $5 blackjack player risks at an average table speed of 60 hands per hour.

Most of that money is recycled from smaller payouts — at a casino returning 93 percent on quarter slots, the expected average loss for $300 in play is $21. Still, you will come out ahead more often if you pocket some of those smaller payouts and don't continually put everything you get back into the machine.

One method for managing money is to divide your slot bankroll for the day into smaller-session bankrolls. If, for example, you've taken $100 on a two-and-a-half-hour riverboat cruise, allot $20 for each half-hour. Select a quarter machine — dollar machines could devastate a $100 bankroll in minutes — and play the $20 through once. If you've received more than $20 in payouts, pocket the excess and play with the original $20. At the end of one half-hour, pocket whatever is left and start a new session with the next $20.

If at any point the original $20 for that session is depleted, that session is over. Finish that half-hour with a walk, snack, or drink until it is time for a new session. Do not dip back into money you've already pocketed.

That may seem rigid, but players who do not use a money management technique all too frequently keep pumping money into the machine until they've lost their entire bankroll. The percentages guarantee that the casino will be the winner in the long run, but lock up a portion of the money as you go along, and you'll walk out of the casino with cash on hand more frequently.

There is a lot more to slot machines than meets the eye. But if you learn the ins and outs of playing them, you can use some strategies that just might help you hit the jackpot.

Slot Machines of the Future

Interest in and revenue from iGaming, or online gaming, has been growing rapidly. Online slots are attracting more players as mobile gaming technology advances and law changes. And it doesn't hurt that they also have huge payouts — like the 18.9 million euro ($22.4 million) Mega Moolah payout in 2018.

Advertisement

Originally Published: May 23, 2006

With all that considered, are casino bonuses worth getting?

The answer depends on the wagering requirements and how much time and money you’ll spend playing at the casino.

Generally, wagering requirements below 35x are quite good. It’s easy to achieve, especially if you’re mainly playing slots.

Anything above 35x is something you need to think about as it’s not ideal for casual players. High wagering requirements are good for people who’ll deposit larger amounts in their accounts and are planning to spend a lot of time at the casino.

TIGHTER REGULATION

1/2

A woman rest next to the decoration inside the Wynn Palace casino resort in Macau, China December 20, 2019, on the 20th anniversary of the former Portuguese colony's return to China. REUTERS/Jason Lee

At a news briefing on Tuesday, Lei detailed nine areas for the consultation, such as the number of licenses, better regulation and employee welfare, as well as having government representatives to supervise daily casino operations. read more

The government also plans to increase voting shares in gaming concessionaires for permanent residents of Macau, as well as more rules on transfer and distribution of profits to shareholders.

Discussions over the future of Macau's casino licences come amid rocky U.S.-China relations, leaving some investors fearing an edge for domestic players over U.S.-based casino operators.

The government has not singled out any U.S. players, but companies have moved to beef up the presence of Chinese or local executives as they position themselves more as Macau operators than foreign one.

Before licence expiry, operators have tried to strengthen corporate responsibility and diversify into non-gaming offerings to placate Beijing, which fears over-reliance on gambling.

Macau has boosted scrutiny of casinos in recent years, clamping down on illicit capital flows from mainland China and targeting underground lending and illegal cash transfers.

Beijing has also stepped up a war on cross-border flows of funds for gambling, hitting the funding of Macau's junket operators and their VIP customers.

In June, Macau more than doubled the number of gaming inspectors and restructured departments to boost supervision. read more

George Choi, a Citigroup analyst in Hong Kong, said while the public consultation document gave few details, the suggested changes benefit long-term sustainable growth, with "positive implications on the six casino operators".

However, he cautioned, "We will not be surprised if the market focuses only on the potentially negative implications, given the weak investor sentiment."

The consultation comes as Macau has struggled with a dearth of travellers because of coronavirus curbs since the start of 2020. While gambling revenues have picked up in recent months, they remain less than half of 2019 monthly figures.

($1=7.7785 Hong Kong dollars)

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Additional reporting by Donny Kwok, Shreyasee Raj, Kannaki Deka and Shreyashi Sanyal; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, Clarence Fernandez and Arun Koyyur

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

I. Nelson Rose

By I. Nelson Rose, J.D. Harvard 1979, Professor of Law at Whittier Law School. The author would like to thank his research assistants, Ranjit Indran, James B. Lewis, Kimberly Phillips, and Michael Shelton-Frates for their help with this project.

View in own window

NOTE: A question mark without a number means that form of gambling is legal in that state, but the minimum age requirements, if any, are not known. A number with a question mark means there is a state limit, but it is unclear whether it applies. This is usually the case with Indian gaming, for which tribes are often free to set their own limits.

Four of 15 tribes have not yet agreed to raise the minimum age to 21.

How casinos change the rules to discourage advantage players

Sal Cordova: They’ve changed the rules, the payouts in the game. So it used to be, if you got a blackjack, it would pay three to two. You’d basically get 50%. So if you had a $10 bet, if you won, you’d normally get $10. But if you happen to have a blackjack, they’ll give you $15.

Robert J. Marks: I see. Okay.

Sal Cordova: The first thing they did is change the payouts in some games to six–five. You can’t beat that game with ordinary card-counting techniques. The other thing is tthese continuous shuffle machines where, after the dealer deals out the hands, they’ll put it right back in the shuffler.

Robert J. Marks: Oh, so the cards are returned and there’s an automatic shuffle and it’s just like a fresh deck all the time. And you can’t card count that.

Robert J. Marks

Sal Cordova: Unless you have a full table where you might get a little bit of an advantage because you’ve seen some of the cards, you don’t have a very large advantage… The only time that I’ve known that the continuous shuffle machines were beaten is, again, because the casino made a marketing mistake. Like the loss rebates… The coupons were too generous. And somehow the advantage players got hold of all these coupons and they cleaned the casinos out for millions in Macau.

Robert J. Marks: That’s fascinating. They also use multiple decks now. They used to not use multiple decks, is that right?

Sal Cordova: You can count down multiple decks, I’ve done it.

Robert J. Marks: So how many decks can you count down?

Sal Cordova: I’ve counted down eight.

Robert J. Marks: Oh my gosh. And they also do surveillance. How does that work? They watch how you play and…?

Sal Cordova: They can watch how you play or they have a videotape of how you play and then they’ll put it through a computer and say, “Okay, these are the cards that were dealt out. This is how the player is betting and the way he’s playing his hand,” and the computer will do an evaluation. They’ll watch you play like through three shuffles, three shoes or three decks. And then they’ll say, “Okay, the odds of him doing this randomly are like that.” Otherwise…

Robert J. Marks: And they do this in real time, is that right?

Sal Cordova: No, no. Sometimes they’ll just do it just through video surveillance tape. That’s what they did to me when the tribal elders had… They reviewed the tapes and said, “This guy’s too good.”

Robert J. Marks: Tell us about the interesting players.