Since Ontario legalised online gambling in 2022, many players have been enjoying playing slots at online casinos in Ontario like Spin Genie. One of the most important aspects of online gaming is playing responsibly - since you are betting with real money, it’s important to stay within your budget.
This means never spending more than you can afford to lose, and playing games for fun and entertainment - not because you see it as a way of earning money.
In this article we’ll provide all the information you need to help you set - and stick to - a gambling budget that enables you to have fun while minimising financial risk.
Why Do You Need a Gambling Budget?
Whether you’re new to online gambling or you’ve been playing for a while, a gambling budget is vital to help you manage your spending. Let’s take a closer look at how a budget can help you to protect your financial health and allow you to get more enjoyment from online gaming.
Financial Wellbeing
Financial wellbeing means feeling secure and in control of your finances. In relation to online gambling, it means protecting your personal finances and preventing overspending. For example, you should never spend money at online casinos that should go towards expenses like bills, rent, your mortgage, or groceries.
It’s also important to remember that a chance to win on an online slot also means a chance to lose. It’s possible that you could lose all the money you bet on a game, so bet wisely and never spend more than you can afford to lose.
Enhanced Gaming Experience
Sticking to a budget that suits your finances can even lead to a more fun and stress-free gaming experience. If you know that you can afford any losses, it removes stress from your gaming session and allows you to really enjoy the game.
Assessing Your Finances
In order to set a gambling budget, you’ll need to review your finances to see how much money you can safely allocate to online gambling. Here’s some more information on how to calculate your disposable income and set boundaries.
Calculate Disposable Income
Your disposable income is the money that is left after you’ve set aside funds for rent or mortgage payments, bills, groceries, and any other costs that are necessary for you to live comfortably.
To determine your disposable income, deduce the above expenses from your monthly wage. You should then put some more money aside as savings, or in a fund for emergencies.
What’s left over is your disposable income, which you can choose to spend how you like. You can allocate a portion of this for online gambling, but make sure you leave some money for other things, too, such as going out for a meal or buying a new pair of shoes.
Set Clear Financial Limits
Once you have decided on your overall gambling budget, think about how it will be used throughout the month. If you like you can divide a monthly budget into four smaller weekly budgets. You could even decide how many times you will play per week, and create a budget for each gaming session.
When you hit your budget limit per gaming session, week or month, make sure you don’t go over it. It can be helpful to have a separate prepaid card or digital wallet to keep your gambling funds separate from money that you need for other things.
How to Set a Gambling Budget
There are a few different things to think about when setting a gambling budget. Take a look at the points below to see what you should consider:
Define Your Gambling Goals
First you should think about why you are gambling, and what you hope to gain from the experience. For example, are you playing purely for entertainment, or is it because you want to make some money? If it’s the latter, remember that all outcomes in online slots and casino games are down to chance, and there are no guaranteed wins.
Think about how much you are realistically likely to win or lose by gambling in a typical month, and set your budget accordingly. Remember to take into account the odds of the game when you do this.
Allocate Funds Appropriately
We already touched on this, but it’s a good idea to determine a monthly budget and then break it down into smaller sections. For example, you could decide to divide a $400 monthly budget into four weekly budgets of $100. You could break down the weekly budget further into individual gaming sessions, or even decide how much you will bet on specific games.
Utilize Budgeting Tools
There are plenty of budgeting apps and tools that you can use to help you manage your gambling budget. They don’t need to be gambling-specific - a simple search for ‘budgeting apps’ or ‘money management’ apps will show you lots of apps you can use to track your spending and help you stay in control.
Implementing Bankroll Management Strategies
‘Bankroll’ is another word for your online gambling budget. Here are some more tips on how to manage it effectively:
Set Win and Loss Limits
We recommend setting both win and loss limits to help you control your spending. A win limit is a specific amount of money that you’re happy to win. If you reach it, you will stop playing, withdraw the funds and enjoy your winnings.
A loss limit is the maximum amount of money you are willing to lose within a specific time period (usually a gaming session). This limit can often be set within the game or casino settings, and once you reach it you will be unable to place further bets during that session.
However, remember that the most important thing is to know when to stop playing, regardless of the outcome.
Avoid Chasing Losses
‘Chasing losses’ means betting more money after consecutive losses, because of the false belief that you must be due a win. Outcomes in online games are completely down to chance, and a series of losses does not mean that there must be a win coming.
Always stick to your budget, and don’t bet more money just because you believe you’ll be able to recoup your losses.
Regularly Review and Adjust Your Budget
Remember that your budget amount isn’t set in stone, and should be flexible to account for financial changes in your life. For example, if you have a large bill to pay in a particular month, you should reduce your gambling budget so that you can comfortably afford it.
Using Responsible Gambling Tools
Online casinos in Ontario like Spin Genie offer a range of tools to help you gamble responsibly. Here are a few examples:
Self-Exclusion Options
If you want to take a break from gambling but need some help sticking to it, you can use our Self-Exclusion tools. Choose a Freeze/Cooling-Off period of between 24 hours and six weeks, or use our Self-Exclusion option to deactivate your account indefinitely.
During the Cooling-Off or Self-Exclusion period you won’t be able to gamble or deposit, and you won’t receive any marketing material.
Deposit and Wager Limits
When you create a Spin Genie account you will be given the option to restrict your daily, weekly or monthly deposit amount to any amount you want.
You can set or change your deposit limits in the My Account section.
Spin Genie's Commitment to Responsible Gambling
Here at Spin Genie we want all of our players to have fun while gambling safely and responsibly. Here are some of the ways we do this:
Player Protection Measures
Player protection measures such as self-exclusion and deposit and wager limits help our players to stay in control of their gambling.
We also provide tools such as Time Tracking (which is a timer that appears on each game, so you can see how long you’ve been playing for) and SafeMate, which allows you to track your gambling habits on our site.
Support Resources
On our website we provide a list of organizations to contact if you’re concerned that your gambling is becoming an issue.
Gamble Responsibly at Spin Genie
Setting a gambling budget and sticking to it is one of the most important parts of responsible gambling, and it can help you to have a safer and more enjoyable gaming experience. At Spin Genie, we’re dedicated to creating a safe and supportive environment where our players can gamble responsibly and have fun.
