8 Ways for Setting Limits and Staying Within Your Casino Budget

Playing responsibly and staying within your budget are crucial when you gamble for real money. Luckily, most casinos offer some sort of limits and other tools to make it easier for you to play sustainably and healthily. In this Australian Gambling Online guide, we’ll look into eight ways to limit your gambling so you can ensure that you don’t play more than what you’re comfortable with.

1: Limit Your Deposits With Daily, Weekly, or Monthly Limits

The most commonly used limit at online casinos is the deposit limit. By activating this, you limit how much money you can deposit into your casino account. Once the limit is reached, it won’t be possible to complete a new deposit before the limit has reset.

You can choose how much the limit should be, and for which period. Select a daily, weekly, or monthly limit, according to your wishes. Then, set the amount you’re comfortable with. Perhaps a daily $30 limit would suit you, or maybe a $500 monthly budget is better for you.

2: Decide How Much You Can Wager at the Casino

A wagering limit is available at most casinos, but you should keep in mind that this can be a tricky one. Many players mistake this limit for a deposit or loss limit and set it too low. It’s important to know that this limit has nothing to do with winnings or losses, as it counts accumulated wagers. So even if you’ve won during your gambling session, the wagering limit will still prevent you from continuing.

A wagering limit is perhaps one you shouldn’t set. Most players will be much better off by setting a deposit, loss or session limit. But if you decide to limit your wagers, make sure that you set it high enough that you’re able to play more than just a couple of spins on a pokie or hands at the blackjack table. Remember, even if you play 50 $1 spins on a pokie and win $200, you have still wagered $50.

3: Enable a Loss Limit on Your Account

A loss limit is a useful tool, and you can decide if the limit should apply on a daily, weekly, or monthly timeframe. This limit might seem similar to a deposit limit, but it has a bit of a different use case. Sometimes, you might already have a balance on your account, if you haven’t withdrawn all your winnings from previous game sessions. In that case, a deposit limit won’t help you.

If you have a loss limit, it will prevent you from losing all your winnings, or it will make the loss limit kick in if you lose your winnings and then proceed to deposit more funds. We recommend that you set this limit to the same as your deposit limit.

4: Set a Bet Size Limit

You might find a bet size limit at some online casinos. This will be applied in all games so you can’t wager too much per game round. This is particularly useful if you know that you often increase your bets after a big win, and then rapidly lose your winnings. With a bet size limit, you can be sure that you can’t give into temptation and bet higher than you want.

If your weakness is that you play for increasingly larger bets when you win big or have had a long losing streak, then a bet size limit is the appropriate one to choose. But, before you set a limit like this, consider if it should really apply to all games, For example, a bet size limit of $1 might be a good limit for playing online pokies, but it might be too restrictive for playing table games.

5: Activate a Game Wagering Limit

You can apply a game wagering limit at some casinos. This will prevent you from overspending in one game. Limiting how much you can bet in one game can be a good alternative to limiting the bet amount in all games. For example, you might have no trouble controlling your spending in most games, then there’s this one game where you tend to get too caught up in the moment.

If you over and over continue playing well past your comfort limit in one particular game, you can restrict how much you can wager in it. This can be a good limit to set if you for example have a weakness for blackjack, but have no problem playing pokies. In this case, set a wagering limit for blackjack games.

6: Use a Session Limit To Manage Your Time

A useful limit is the session limit. This is a limit you can set on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. It will restrict how much time you can spend being logged in at the casino. Once you’ve reached your limit, you’ll be logged out or restricted from placing any further bets.

It’s a well-known fact that in the heat of the moment, especially if you’re winning, time can get away from you. Before you know it, you’ve been playing for hours on end. To avoid spending too much time gambling, set a session limit, perhaps for a couple of hours per day. This will ensure that you have enough time left in the day for other enjoyable activities.

7: Pause Your Account With a Cooling-off Period

If you feel like you’ve been playing a bit too much lately, or if you simply want to take a break, you can pause your account. This is done by applying a cooling-off period, where you won’t be able to access any games or make deposits. Typically, you can choose a cooling-off period from 24 hours to 6 months.

You might wonder what the purpose of a cooling-off period is, compared to just not accessing your account to play. The answer is that during a cooling-off period, the casino won’t send you promotions and offers, which can entice you to play even if you hadn’t planned on it. The second reason is that you can’t impulsively decide to start playing again.

8: Self-Exclude to Close Your Account

If a cooling-off period isn’t enough, you can choose to self-exclude. This is something you can do from 6 months and up to several years. Many casinos won’t close the account for any longer than 2 years unless you state the self-exclusion reason as having a gambling problem. If you simply want to take a break or don’t like that particular casino anymore, then there will be a time limit on your account closure. When the time is up, you can always extend it by self-excluding again.

You should note that self-excluding from the casino doesn’t mean that the account is deleted, as the casino is obligated to keep your data for at least 5 years. You also can’t open a new account, as that would be a breach of the casino’s terms. However, you can reactivate your account again, after a short cooling-off period. The only time you can never reactivate your account, or be allowed to open a new one, is if you have closed your account due to a gambling problem.

Conclusion

There are many ways for you to limit your spending or activity at a real money casino. Most reputable and trustworthy casinos offer several limits you can choose between. But, note that some casinos won’t let you set limits on your own, and in that case, you’ll have to contact their customer support department for assistance. The support representatives can also help you guide you to the best limit for your needs.

Even if you feel like you’re in control of your gambling, it’s always wise to set a limit. Hopefully, you’ll never reach your limit, so it won’t be a problem. But, it can be a good indicator if you sometime down the line do reach your limit. It will tell you that your gambling habits have changed, and maybe it’s time to look into if you’re still comfortable with how much you play.

You should also be aware that setting a limit won’t restrict you forever. You can decrease your limits at any time, and the change will take effect immediately. If you wish to increase the limits you’ve set, then this change will typically be applied after a 7-day cooling-off period.