Many bettors suffering from sports betting addiction feel alone. They have that feeling that no one actually understands what it feels like to be them. However, that is not the case. As a sports betting addict, you’re not alone and everyone knows exactly how you feel. In this guide, we would be discussing the signs that you’re a sports betting addict and ways to fix sports betting addiction. Sports betting addiction is very common in our society, mental health experts have categorized it under “gambling disorders”. Gambling addiction is rampant in America and studies show that about 3.5% of the American population have this disorder.
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Sports Betting Addiction Signs
People have different perspectives of what sports betting addiction entails. Some people think only faint-hearted bettors become addicts whereas, sports betting addiction could happen to anyone. To find out if you’re an addict or not, check out if these sports betting addiction signs are applicable to you.
❖ Sports betting becomes your whole world
Having a wager frequently doesn’t really mean you’re addicted especially when it’s just once a week or thrice a month. Sports betting is when you’re being compelled to place bets even in situations whereby it’s so obvious that you can’t recover your losses. Some addicts even go as far as losing their bets on purpose because they believe in this situation, the urge to bet tends to be stronger than the urge to win. The sports betting addict would want to bet every day even if he doesn’t have capital. Life becomes sourcing for capital from friends, family, random people just to place bets. Most addicts run into debt as a result of this.
❖ Chasing the high
No one thinks of becoming a sports betting addict. Becoming a sports betting addict is a gradual and involuntary thing. Some people can place bets conveniently without becoming an addict while some can’t help but get addicted because not getting addicted is difficult. “Chasing the high” isn’t a nice sensation. Most times it’s seen as a release of tensions. Smokers for example are always paranoid and frustrated when they don’t get a cigarette. This attitude right here defines the word “tense”. When they are in this mood, the only way to calm them down is by giving them a smoke. This is what happens to sports betting addicts too, they would want to stake so bad when they are in this mood.
❖ Money for nothing
This is a tragic sign of sports betting addiction. It basically deals with how the addict gets cash to place bets. It’s at this stage that everyone connected to the bettor gets affected. Health specialists say that people suffering from this addiction will steal, lie, and any other thing just to get cash to bet. If you are that kind of bettor that has borrowed cash from family and friends to stake, then you’re an addict. If you’re not eating regularly because you stake with your feeding allowances, you are also an addict. Just like a puppeteer moves a puppet, so does a sports betting addiction control addict.
How Bettors Can Avoid Sports Betting Addiction
You have to be extremely careful while betting, so it doesn’t become an addiction. Addiction happens quickly most especially when you lose games consecutively and want to recover your loss. To avoid these losses that can cause addiction, you should bet sensibly from the start. Betting sensibly basically means not too high stakes. A professional bettor wouldn’t place a bet of £100 on any game because if the £100 goes into the pants, you would be very frustrated and easily get into the vortex that was discussed earlier.
Another way you can avoid losing bets is by reducing the number of selections you combine because there can always be a selection that would spoil the bet. Sports betting is full of surprises even the safest game can sometimes be the worst game, which is why you should abide by the saying “small castles also make crap”. Look for games you’re familiar with, games you can easily look up their statistics.
Going through game statistics helps a lot because some teams might have sold their key players or some of their major players have sustained injuries, you wouldn’t know this if you don’t go through the team’s statistics. Checking the statistics of games before placing bets on them reduces the probability of you losing the game. You should also look for sensible odds and not just huge odds. Games odds to an extent, depict the outcome of games. High odds most times mean low winning probability while low odds most times mean high winning probability.
Another way to avoid addiction due to losses is by choosing a good bookmaker. How do you identify a good bookmarker? A good bookmaker has a good selection of bets with amazing odds. A good bookmaker wants you to earn from your accurate predictions and not just there to take your money. A good bookmaker would provide you with tips for sites that could help you in placing bets.
Conclusion
There are so many sports betting websites that make sports betting look very easy. If after going through this article you discover that you’re exhibiting any of these signs, you should talk to a betting professional or a psychologist. The bad news is that sports betting addiction is a very serious situation that could take control of your life. Betting is fun but shouldn’t be an addiction.
