Responsible Gaming
Sports betting should be a leisure activity and as such we've put together this guide to betting on sports responsibly.
As a provider of sportsbook and sports betting information, mytopsportsbooks.com (โWe/Us/Ourโ) is committed to encouraging all Our visitors to engage in responsible gaming and betting practices. We are committed to ensuring Our users keep gambling an exciting and fun pastime by gambling responsibly and avoiding the problems associated with excessive or compulsive gambling.
Gambling by Minors
Gambling by individuals under the age of 18 is prohibited. If you have an active account on a gaming website, and there are individuals under the age of 18 who live with you in the same household, you should take measures to ensure that they do not gain access to your account, including keeping your login information private and not saving your login information on any computers or devices that minors may have access to.
Gambling Responsibly
We encourage all of Our visitors to keep their gambling activities safe and enjoyable by ensuring they always gamble responsibly. In order to ensure your gambling is conducted in a safe and responsible manner we encourage you to consider the following:
- be aware that gambling is meant to be a leisure activity practiced in moderation, not a way to earn money, and the vast majority of gamblers lose in the long term;
- never risk more than you are prepared to lose and never gamble with money you need to cover your day-to-day expenses;
- set limits for your gambling, either by establishing a maximum amount of money you are prepared to risk or setting a maximum for the amount of time you intend to spend gambling;
- take advantage of the self-help tools aimed at controlling your gambling offered by many websites, including deposit limits or self-exclusion tools that lock you out of the websites for set periods of time;
- do not try to “chase” your losses;
- do not gamble when you are depressed or as a means of escaping from other problems in your life; and
- never gamble when under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Compulsive Gambling
While gambling in moderation can be an exciting and fun activity, gambling is potentially addictive and excessive gambling can have severe negative effects on your life. It is important to be aware of the signs that your gambling may become problematic in order to identify the problem and seek help before things get worse. If you are concerned about the effect gambling is having on your life, ask yourself the following questions:
- Have you ever lost time from work or school due to gambling?
- Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
- Has gambling affected your reputation?
- Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
- Have you ever gambled as a means to earn money to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?
- Has gambling caused a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
- After losing, do you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?
- After a win, do you have a strong urge to return and win more?
- Do you often gamble until your last dollar is gone?
- Do you ever borrow to finance your gambling?
- Have you ever sold anything to finance your gambling?
- Are you reluctant to use “gambling money” for normal expenditures?
- Has gambling made you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?
- Do you ever gamble longer than you planned to?
- Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble?
- Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?
- Does gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
- Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations give you an urge to gamble?
- Do you have the urge to celebrate any good fortune by gambling?
- Have you ever considered self-destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?
If you have answered “yes” to some of these questions, you may have a compulsive gambling problem and should consider seeking help as set out below.
Finding Help
If you feel that you may have a compulsive gambling problem, do not be afraid to seek help. There are countless organizations and programs designed to assist you with overcoming your gambling problems and regaining control over your life. Some resources and organizations that may be able to assist you include
- Gamblers Anonymous (US.)
- National Council on Problem Gambling (U.S.)
- GambleAware (U.K.)