Sports betting can be just as addictive as casino gambling, particularly because betting is a game of skill and the player chooses the markets he’s betting on himself, which gives him a certain control over the ratio of risk and reward. Many people therefore honestly believe they can beat the bookmaker. If you’re betting at bookmakers like 1xBet you’ll be spoiled for choice with all the markets and odds, which can lead to you thinking you can actually win.
Chasing losses
The most obvious sign that you should take a break because you may be developing an addiction to sports betting is if you’re chasing losses and are increasing the stakes in order to get back what you’ve lost. This is a bad way to bet as your judgement is clouded and you’re thinking about the money as opposed to thinking clearly about the bet itself and the outcome that makes sense to place a bet on. Also, you may be overestimating the chances of winning, as well as overbetting an outcome that doesn’t deserve a bet of that size.
The best way to handle this is to recognize this behavior and realize that betting is a long-term game that will consist of wins and losses, and it’s up to you to win more than you lose in the long run. If you lost a lot on a certain outcome, you were probably overbetting, so it doesn’t make sense to overbet even more. Take a step back, decide what yourstake per bet should realistically be, and don’t overbet. Betting more money on an outcome doesn’t make it more likely to happen.
Lying about betting
If you’re hiding your habit, you are most likely ashamed of it as you know somewhere deep inside that what you’re doing is detrimental to your life and to your bank balance. If you are unable to honestly tell your family and friends that you’ve lost money or that you’re even involved in sports betting, that’s a red flag and the best sign that can tell you you should take a different approach.
Betting is supposed to be done as a long-term strategy where you recognize there will be wins and losses. You don’t control the outcome of a sports event, you can simply just bet on the outcome you think is most likely to bring you a financial profit. If you’re choosing bets that are more likely than what the odds suggest,in theory you should be making a profit in the long run.
Spending more money on betting than you should
All addicts tend to finance their addiction by taking money from other areas of their life. For example, an alcoholic will tend to spend less money on food in order to have more money for alcohol. So, if you’reconsciously saving money on other parts of your life in order to have more money you can put into a bet, you’re almost certainly addicted to betting.
Betting is a high-risk activity and it should only be financed by disposable income. That’s the money you don’t really need for anything else. There’s no way around this – if you’re betting with money you need for bills or food, you’re doing it wrong and will only dig a deeper hole and create hell for yourself when you lose.
Recognize these signs, and if you think you may be addicted tosports betting, look for help immediately. There are very few people who can consistently make a profit on sports betting, and if you’re not making a profit, maybe it’s better for you, for your sanity, for your bank balance and for your personal growth in life to just leave it alone.
