Live casino Ontario gaming is undeniably more engaging and fun than ordinary gaming. Players can interact with live dealers and other players in real time for a more engaging experience. Moreover, they can immerse themselves in virtual 3D casinos for a more immersive experience. Overall, it’s all so fun and engaging that enthusiastic Canadians tend to overdo it.
Fortunately, there are various live casino responsible gambling tools to help keep the experience safe. These tools can help prevent problem gambling or manage it. Conveniently, they are available at most live casinos. In fact, some of the strongest Ontario casino player protections ensure that local players benefit from strict safeguards designed to keep gambling safe and fair. Take a look at the most effective responsible gambling measures for live casino players in Canada.
Financial Limits
Overspending is one of the biggest setbacks of problem gambling. It is especially common in live gambling since all games are premium – you must bet to play. In response, many live casinos offer the following financial limits:
- Deposit Limits – Ordinarily, players can deposit as much and as frequently as they want. To prevent this, you can set limits on exactly how much money you can credit to your account per day, week, or month.
- Loss Limits – Chasing losses is the idea that you can make up for what you lost by placing a bigger wager. It is one of the fastest routes to overspending. Fortunately, you can set limits on how much you can lose. The trick is that your account automatically freezes when you hit your loss limit.
- Wager Limits – You can bet hundreds of dollars on a spin or round, no questions asked. However, that’s not sustainable in the long term. Fortunately, you can set limits on how much you can bet per round or spin.
These financial limits can save you a lot of money and spare you lots of regret. However, good financial management starts with proper bankroll management. The golden rule is to never bet more than you can afford to lose.
Reality Checks
Live dealer mechanics and games are slow-paced compared to ordinary casino games. You must wait for the dealer to do their thing: spinning the wheel; dealing cards; rolling the dice. Moreover, communication between players and dealers also takes up some time. It also goes without mentioning that live games feel more immersive, and it’s easy for players to lose track of the time. This is why live casinos offer reality checks.
Reality checks are pop-up reminders that show you how much time you’ve spent playing. You can set them to pop up every 30 minutes or whichever other duration you see fit. Alternatively, the casino can set up automated reality checks. Interestingly, reality checks are more frequent at live casinos because of the longer sessions.
Time-Outs & Self-Exclusion
Taking a break from live casino gambling once in a while is healthy. In fact, it’s advisable to only play occasionally. Unfortunately, reality checks aren’t enough to get enthusiastic players off their screens. Fortunately, there are other more compelling live casino responsible gambling solutions: time-outs and self-exclusion.
Time-outs are voluntary or mandatory breaks. Some live casinos force temporary cool-off periods when you spend too much time playing. They can last a few minutes or hours. Alternatively, you can set your own cool-off periods, ranging from a few hours or day to weeks or months.
Self-exclusion is like a prolonged version of a time-out or cool-off period. It lasts longer and is stricter than the latter. Self-excluding yourself essentially freezes your account for months or years, however long you choose. It can also be permanent. Notably, Ontario has a registry that enforces self-exclusion across all online casinos licensed in the province, enforcing a total blackout.
KYC Verification
Kids and teenagers are more impressionable than adults. To this end, they are easier to become addicted to gambling, especially the allure of live casinos. To prevent this, all live casinos in Canada are required to verify their customers’ identities and ages.
The legal age for gambling in Canada ranges from 18 to 19, depending on the province. Regulators require live casinos to check whether everyone that registers is at least that old. They do this by asking players to submit copies of ID documents like a passport or driving license. Interestingly, players cannot withdraw their winnings if they don’t comply with the verification process, a most-effective deterrent.
Problem Gambling Support
Unfortunately, the live casino responsible gambling tools recommended above aren’t always enough to get all players on the straight and narrow. Some players fall through the cracks and require deeper, more personalized help, like therapy. To this end, some live casinos collaborate with gambling addiction support agencies to help their players.
Almost every province has a public helpline for gambling addicts. People struggling with gambling can call at any time to talk to a therapist. Talking to someone helps a great deal, and it is convenient if you are concerned about your privacy. Interestingly, some live casinos also have professional gambling therapists on call via their customer support lines.
Alternatively, players can visit gambling self-help groups in person for one-on-one counselling. There are many such groups across Canada. Some provinces even sponsor direct counselling for gambling addicts. For example, Ontario residents can freely visit the Problem Gambling Institute for professional help. You should also consider a paid professional therapist if you can afford one.
Third-Party Blockers
The thing about site-based live casino responsible gambling tools is that you can always register and play at another casino. Sure, Ontario tries to cover all bases through its RFGO registry, but Canadians can still access offshore casinos.
This is where third-party blockers come into play. They are tools that you can use to ban access to all gambling platforms. The most effective ones include the following:
- Gamban
- BetBlocker
- Net Nanny
- Pluckeye
- Cold Turkey Blocker
Most of these tools are paid, but some are free; however, the paid ones are well worth the cost. Many of them work across all your devices for a universal ban, including your computer and phone. Some even go deeper to prevent access from the source: the router. What’s more, some go beyond casino sites to also block all gambling-related ads, which can be a trigger for gambling addicts.
Responsible Gambling Begins with You
The live casino responsible gambling solutions recommended here work only if you are committed. Obviously, you can bypass many of the measures if you want. For example, you can always register at an offshore casino. What’s more, there are plenty of physical casinos that you can walk into for an even more immersive experience.
This is why it is important to recognize that responsible gambling starts with you. Ideally, you should view gambling as a way to have fun rather than make money. Moreover, it shouldn’t be the only thing you do to have fun; try mixing it up with other productive activities.
Conclusion
Live casino gambling is fun, but it shouldn’t get to a point where it becomes problematic. Fortunately, there are many responsible gambling tools to help you pave yourself. Many live casinos offer these tools, and you can find many other resources for free online or in the real world. However, always remember that responsible gambling starts with you.
