Online Bingo Addiction

What to Do If Addicted to Online Bingo

National Council on Problem Gambling Hotline 1-800-522-4700

Gambler’s Anonymous For Bingo Players / Gamblers

www.gamblersanonymous.org

Unfortunately, as long as there has been bingo, there have been people that become addicted to it. Addiction to online bingo and bingo slots is a form of compulsive gambling that can be just as serious as addiction to other gambling such as sports, poker and blackjack. If you do not feel like you are in control of your gambling or if you bet more than you can afford to lose, it is likely that you are suffering from an addiction to online bingo. Provided in this article are tips on how to spot a bingo addiction and steps that you can take to help recover from such a financially and emotionally damaging illness.

How to Spot Bingo Addiction

Some bingo addictions are easy to spot. Any of the following circumstances point directly to a serious (or soon to become serious) bingo addiction:

Loss of sleep because of extended bingo sessions. Reach of credit card limit primarily to fund your bingo habit. Disinterest in other activities that you used to like. Feeling the need to play bingo while at work or when working on an assignment. Skipping work or school to play bingo. (Calling in sick, taking vacation)

In other cases, bingo addiction may be difficult to spot because you have made the play of bingo such an integral part of your life that you begin to separate it from your consciousness. In these cases other people may begin to notice your addiction. You may be addicted to online bingo if:

You feel the need to or actively hide your participation in bingo sessions from other people like friends or family. Your friends or family notice and comment on your extended bingo sessions. Most or all of your free time is spent playing online bingo (especially common in the form of multiple short sessions).

How to Prevent Bingo Addiction

Many online bingo websites take steps to prevent bingo and bingo slots addiction. These systems estimate the amount of both time and money that you will spend on the website each month. They will send you warning messages or reminders when you exceed your monthly estimate. Of course, you may ultimately choose to ignore these messages. However, this system is a sign that your bingo website cares about its customers health as much as they care about their profits. Implementation of this bingo addiction prevention system is usually a sign of a very fair and caring website. Other steps you may take to prevent bingo addiction are:

Realize that bingo is completely a game of chance. It is tempting to play as many cards as possible to increase your odds. However, this is usually a poor strategy that barely pays off as much as you spend.

Never bet more than you can afford to lose. Think of how much an hour of entertainment is worth to you. If you decide that an hour is worth $10, only spend $10 for an hour.

Do not gamble with money that you do not have. It is tempting to place money in your bingo account using a credit card. This is one of the most foolish things that you can do. Play bingo when you have the money. Enjoy other aspects of life when you do not.