Most people enjoy gambling, despite its negative connotations. Nevertheless, the first thing that springs up in the minds of people upon hearing the word “gambling”, is gambling addiction. While gambling addicts often lose a great deal of money, they find themselves back in the world of gambling due to the excitement and thrill of the game. Curbing compulsive gambling with the aid of GamStop and video games can be effective in mitigating the ill effects of gambling.
Video games might be referred to as electronic games played with the help of an input medium (like a joystick, keyboard, etc.), a visual display unit (like a monitor or TV set), along with an audio system. Excessive gambling habit poses a problem to the gambler when the gambler overindulges in gambling and overspends money, leading to bankruptcy. This is neither a pleasant situation for a gambler nor for the family of the gambler.
GamStop: A Self-Exclusion Platform
GamStop is a scheme where the players enrol themselves in a self-exclusion process for a certain period of time and refrain themselves from gambling. A player is needed to provide information like name, address, email address, contact number, etc. for the initiation of the process of self-exclusion. Once these details are put in, an email is then sent to the GamStop user and the self-exclusion period is activated. The player will then be barred from the online gambling portals for the selected time period, which can be 6 months, a year, or 5 years. GamStop users are immediately restricted from entering the gambling websites, once the self-exclusion period is activated.
Video Games and Gambling: Similarities
Gambling is exciting exactly like playing a video game. Skill, planning, intelligence, and chance are required both in video gaming and gambling. As well as games can benefit GamStop members, they can also be addictive, almost similar to online gambling, when a player can spend most of the day playing games, subsequently reducing their productivity.
But one major difference between these two is that in gambling the players get the chance to win money, but in video games, players do not win any money, instead, they might earn some self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment by levelling up in a game.
How Can Video Games Substitute For Gambling?
As a result of addiction, individuals may face financial hardship, emotional difficulties and reduced working performance. Certain neurotransmitters are released in the brain when an activity provides a sense of joy to a person. This is as if the brain is rewarded. During gambling, the brain is rewarded and gives a sense of achievement to the player. This can reduce the willingness to play at CasinoGap platforms that do not use GamStop and therefore are available for British gamblers. Now the player can get the exact same feeling during video gaming minus the risk of financial loss. The player can take the following measures to refrain from gambling and to win by playing video games:
First and foremost the player is to be cautious about spending money on video gaming. It is not a very wise idea to spend real money to obtain mere fun and thrill from gaming. This can be avoided by the player by engaging themselves in playing video games without the option of loot boxes.
Secondly, players who have left the gambling scenario are often submerged in boredom. Hence these players need to plan beforehand for managing their daily schedules so that they don’t get trapped in the vicious cycle of gambling again.
Punters should take up some hobbies, not only manage their gambling addiction but also enhance their productivity and make use of the time in a planned way. This will uplift the mood of the player and will keep them mentally healthy.
Ex-gamblers can involve themselves in various physical activities like walking, running, jogging, etc. The stress level can be reduced by meditation and Yoga. Opening up and talking to a friend can also help in minimizing the stress level and keep the player physically fit.
A sense of discipline is needed to be instilled inside the minds of the ex-gamblers. If there is no sense of discipline, it is very easy to give in to the temptation of returning back to gambling, even during GamStop self-exclusion period simply by visiting sites not registered on GamStop or by visiting offshore casinos.
Conclusion
Registration on the GamStop portal is a sign of a responsible gambler. But that doesn’t end there. The players need to be cautious while playing video games, by not entering sites where wagering is necessary. The players need to be disciplined and need to plan their daily schedules for managing the tasks at hand. If the players take up a hobby and keep themselves physically active, they will be able to control the urge of returning back to the casinos and manage their excessive gambling habits quite effectively.
