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Links between Sports Betting and Gambling Addiction
It’s an absolute certainty that most of us would like to define our sports betting activities as a fun activity.
But, is defining sports betting as an entirely secure hobby correct in any way? You may also ask yourself: can you outsmart the bookies and get the edge? Can you stop your losses by betting one more time? This, however, isn’t a sign of responsible wagering. Remember that gambling addiction is a problem you must be aware of. To avoid it, you should know the way in which you can change your general sports betting activity and turn it into a responsible act.
In this article, we’ll be looking at this issue in more detail. We’ll also discuss the various aspects of theoretically using sports wagering as a type of responsible gambling.
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When Can We Consider Wagering to Our Own Responsibility?
The very first thing we’ll be looking at is when we can consider sports betting as our own responsibility.
To do this appropriately, we must first define the word “responsible”. In one way, we mean that it is up to you to be responsible for your own actions. Never bet more than you can afford. Put some self limits to your wagers. You can easily do so by setting daily or weekly deposit limits at the bookmakers’ sites. You can only count on yourself. The responsibility for thinking in advance and overcoming any potential problems is yours alone.
Secondly, we can consider wagering as a fun activity. However, you cannot look at it lightly. The sobriety of mind and level-headedness is a must when wagering online.
Betting on a random team just because the bookmaker gives them good odds is roughly equivalent to spending a fortune on a fishing boat investment in Finland because a friend of yours said it would give you good returns. It’s our opinion that, for a wager to be considered responsible, it must be thoroughly researched. It should also be based on facts, not emotions. Last but not least, the wager should be made at a reputable sportsbook or operator.
What Kind of Activity Is Wagering, and Why?
If we went flat out and declared wagering a hobby, what kind of a recreational activity would a sports bet be? This is a very detailed question with several factors to consider before answering. Much as with traditional hobbies, the type of betting contributes a lot towards the resolution of this question.
How much experience the punter has affects the answer as well. Not only that but which kind of wagering strategies are being used and whether or not a strategy is being used at all also has an effect. An inexperienced punter who isn’t using any kind of strategy would likely be best compared to the type known as speculation. Then wagering isn’t a hobby, but something else.
Why? Speculation takes the basic knowledge that’s provided and tries to use that to their advantage. More often than not, speculation is mostly guesswork – hence the name. Bettors are speculating on what could happen and hoping to be successful in the process. However, an experienced punter who is using a proven strategy, such as arbitrage betting, could be compared to something like commodities.
Investing in commodities has its risks, but an experienced punter will always be responsible and level-headed when betting. Perhaps you have an amateur bettor, who’s new to the game but he’s using a proven strategy, such as matched betting or 1.01 betting.
It might be a slow process, but if you’ve done your research well and know what you’re doing, then you’re likely to risk less and be as responsible as you can be. The bottom line: Never think of betting as merely a hobby.
Would Wagering Be Considered a Long or Short Term Activity?
We’ve looked at some of the potential contrasts between types of wagering. Let’s now look at some of the differences between terms and wagering.
So, if you consider wagering on the high-rated bookmaker sites from now on, would it be a long-term activity? Again, the answer to this question depends mainly on which kind of strategy you’re using, and what kind of wagers you’re making.
How Strategies Affect Wagers
If you’re using a strategy like 1.01 betting, then it can be considered a long-term activity. Why? Because returns on this approach are often regular, but they’re also close to minute, so you can only be getting minimal amounts regularly.
If you’re using a strategy, like matched betting, then you’ll see returns in a much shorter time. However, this could be considered a mid-term wager.
You may be able to see results in a short time, but you’re dependent on the operators and sportsbooks for the promotions they provide. Hence, this method yields immediate short-term results, but long periods between opportunities.
If you’re looking for shorter-term wagers, then you may want to consider something like arbitrage betting. Arbitrage betting has a very long build-up.
It relies on probability, statistics, and data for a relatively long period of time. However, it’s possible to find spreadsheets that have all of the necessary formulas, and it’s relatively simple to find data for past sporting events.
With a little bit of time and effort, arbitrage betting can give you reasonably good results in a short-term situation.
How Wager Types Affect our Terms
Another thing that affects the length of the term is what kind of wager you’re making.
If you make an accumulator bet at the beginning of the football season, then you’ll have to wait a considerably longer time before you know if your bet returns dividends. This is because you have to wait for all of the games you’ve wagered on to take place.
Yet, if you make a straight bet on the results of one football match, then you’ll be facing a considerably shorter waiting period.
If you make an in-play wager during a match, then you’ll likely see results faster than someone who made a pre-match wager.
However, there’s something more that affects the rate at which your bets payout; the operator’s terms and conditions. Not every operator has the same requirements regarding how quickly they pay out on successful wagers.
You must ensure that you’re using an operator who has a reputation for paying out promptly.
What Other Type of Investment Could Wagering Be?
Up to this point, we’ve compared sports betting to speculation, to commodities and standard investments at a financial institution. In which other ways could sports wagering be like an investment? Which kind of investment would it most closely resemble?
We believe that sports wagering is almost like investing in the foreign exchange market. If you get to know it well enough, and maybe specialise in a specific sport, you can learn to read the system and make basic predictions. However, the foreign exchange market can also be volatile. In some cases, unexpected changes may happen within minutes. The same is true for any sports game, match, or athletic sport that you might wager on.
The thrill of sports is that anything can happen at any time. However, that also makes it unpredictable in financial terms and hence must turn punters into responsible players. If you educate yourself well, you may just be that person who risks less of the gambling world.
Is Wagering Secure and Reliable?
There’s one last question that you have to ask yourself before calling sport betting a risk-less strategy. Is wagering on sports a secure and reliable activity? Thus far, several of the questions that we’ve answered haven’t had yes or no as an answer. Instead, we’ve had to answer these questions with “it depends”. This is another of those questions. Wagering can be secure and can be reliable.
The power is quite literally in your hands. Are you going to take the time and put in the necessary effort to research operators before you choose a specific sportsbook? Plus if you consider claiming betting bonuses then are you going to take the time to read the terms and conditions in detail?
Are you planning on using a betting strategy? If you’re planning on using a betting strategy, are you planning on using it well? Will you put in the effort to use the betting strategy to the best of your abilities by researching it well, and getting to know the details?
If you intend on reading one or two articles, and performing a mishmash version of betting strategies, you may as well be throwing caution to the wind. You’re the one who’s responsible for turning your wages into safe and secure activity. There’s no banker to do it for you; no chairperson is going to tell you that you’re making a mess of things. It’s all up to you.
Can wagering be a safe and secure activity? Yes, it can – if you are a responsible player!Is wagering a safe and secure activity? You’ll find out later on. It all depends on your efforts. Be responsible!
Javia Alex is an expert-level Copywriter/Editor with a wealth of experience in the iGaming scene. A self-described player advocate, Javia’s player-first mindset, “tell it like it is”, has earned her an oft-cited voice across gambling circles. She frequently works late nights and long hours, fact-checking reviews and pages for accuracy.