At SPELET.LV we acknowledge that the best customers are responsible customers!
For many years we have provided you with games and betting opportunities for entertainment purposes. With concern, we also see that, for some, gambling can become an uncontrollable attempt to chase wins and losses. As you arrived on this page, no matter if facing gambling issues yourself or not, please take a moment to read through the information on how to spot these problems, change your habits, get into control and where to search for additional help.
How to spot?
Gambling addiction has no obvious physical signs or symptoms like there are in drug or alcohol addiction. Sometimes your friend, relative or even yourself might not be aware of what is happening. But, as with any other addiction, the hallmark sign of a gambling problem is that you feel you cannot stop. How can you spot the tendency in yourself or someone close to you?
Common signs of addiction include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Feeling the need to be secretive about your gambling. You might gamble in secret or lie about how much you gamble, you might feel that others fail to understand you, or that you will surprise them with a big win.
• Having trouble controlling your gambling. Once you start gambling, can you walk away? When you win – do you walk away or continue to play in hopes to win even more? If you loose, do you continue to play until the last coin, in hopes to win your losses back?
• Gambling when you cannot afford to. You may gamble until you’ve spent your last money, and then move on to funds you are not supposed to spend – to pay bills, credit cards, or budget for your children. You may feel compelled to borrow, sell, or even steal, to try your luck once more to win back your losses.
• Having family and friends worried about you. Denial keeps problem gambling going. If friends and family are worried, listen to them carefully. It’s not a sign of weakness to accept help. Many older gamblers are reluctant to reach out to their adult children if they’ve gambled away their inheritance, but it’s never too late to make changes for the better.
If you think you may have a gambling problem, ask yourself whether you would feel okay to stop gambling right now. If you feel rather anxious, or as if you shouldn’t stop yet, chances are you might be suffering from a gambling addiction.
Questions for self-check
There are many online tests nowadays to help you to assess yourself. We have gathered only 7 questions, and if one of them you answer “Yes” to, we strongly advise to dig further and search for help.
• Have you ever gambled longer than planned?
• Have you ever stolen time from work or school due to gambling?
• After losing, have you ever felt you must return as soon as possible to win back your losses, or – after a win, have you ever felt a strong urge to return to win even more?
• Have you ever bet more than you could afford to lose? Or have you often gambled until your last penny?
• Have you borrowed money or sold anything in order to be able to gamble?
• Have people criticised your betting habits or told you that you might have a gambling problem, whether or not you thought it was the case yourself?
• Have you ever lied to your relatives, friends or people around you about how often you gamble and/or how much you have spent?
Understanding the reasons and finding alternatives
There are always REASONS why people gamble. And this is the key to prevent and change the root cause of the habit.
In one way or another, those reasons trigger the itching feeling to go and gamble. Are there alternatives to what you can do? There are – and you can choose one based on the trigger which you or your relative might have:
• Solving money problems
Gambling companies are not there to make people rich and solve their financial problems. You must acknowledge this. The odds are always stacked against you, so it’s a far more effective way to seek financial aid in the form of loans from your local banks than illusively expect your next bet to land a big win and solve all the problems.
• Need for an excitement or rush of adrenaline
Go wild with a sport or a challenging hobby, such as mountain biking, rock climbing, or GoKart Racing.
• Lack of social life, because you are reserved or shy person
Spending time in online-gambling seems like fun, but instead create a hobby which will force you to go outdoors and engage in a group activity - join a social circle or a club, connect with family and friends, volunteer, find new friends.
• Avoiding or escaping thoughts about problems and/or painful feelings
Many people turn to addictions to escape or avoid their life problems. Divorce, for example, might make you willing to go and have a drink or play some slots just to forget about it. Instead, try therapy sessions, book an appointment with a psychologist or simply talk your problems through with close friends – let them help you.
• Boredom or loneliness
Find a hobby – something you’re passionate about, such as art, music, sports, or books. Nowadays there are plentiful means on social media to find individuals with similar interests. You do not have to be alone.
• Merely relaxing after a stressful day
From as little as 15 minutes of daily physical exercise relieves a lot of mental stress. Cycling or walking from work could be a good alternative if you cannot get yourself to the gym.
How to avoid, limit or control?
As with any other addiction, gambling addiction is all about not being able to stop when you need to. If you find yourself struggling to control the time and money you spend on gambling, we strongly advise to simply limit your possibilities by controlling your game and budget with technical means: set the turnover and bet limits, account block or even letting your family run your bank and money flow for you.
• Plan your budget
Talk to your bank, friends and relatives. If you are unable to control the spending, ask them to help you. Blocking the games completely, just like rapidly dropping smoking, might not work in the long run. Limiting your budget, on the other hand, is a better option. Setting aside a certain sum intended for gambling for a given time period would be a good start.
• Set limits in your account
You can choose several types of limits in your account section "Limits" -> "Add new limits".
- Max single bet - the maximum amount of one bet (a move to a Casino game, a round of a live casino game or a sports bet)
- Max bet total for 24h - the total amount of all bets made within 24 hours from the moment the limit was set.
If nothing helps – and you keep swinging between limits – you might well consider giving yourself a break, closing your account or even self-excluding yourself from gambling for a period of time, or permanently.
Please contact our Customer Support team and discuss the best options for you.
Mon-Sun from 08:00 till 24:00
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone:(+371) 60000069
Live chat
• Self-exclude yourself from gambling
If you find its getting hard to control or limit yourself – self-exclusion is the best way to withdraw yourself from gambling.
Latvian self-exclusion state registry allows you to exclude for minimum 12 months for both online and landbase betting by using one of the following options:
a) personally or in writing to Gambling inspection;
b) remotely over the internet: https://registrs.iaui.gov.lv/, using electronic authentication;
c) at one of the Bet Shops or landbase Casinos;
If you need any help, please feel free to contact our customer support team.
Where to search for help?
It can be difficult to get started on the path to recovery without the assistance of professionals who have helped people through this process before. Supportive friends and family are vital to a full recovery, but they might not know how best to help you.
There are many organizations which provide psychological help and form support groups not only for the players, but for their relatives and friends as well. These organisations are free to join and keep your information anonymous.
“Spēles brīvība”
Free psychological support phone for gambling addicts and their relatives
Phone: 29323202
(Mon-Sat 12.00-20.00)
The telephone line is operated by the “Skalbes” Crisis and Counseling Center, which offer support in all life important and critical situations to people for more than 19 years.
“Anonīmie spēlmaņi”
http://www.as.org.lv
e-pasts: [email protected]
Phone: 26 965 224
Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection of Latvia
Phone: 67 504 966
E-mail: [email protected]
Hospital “Ģintermuiža”: Minesota programm
http://www.Gintermuiza.lv
Reception phone number 63 022 483, 25 731 229, Specialist phone numbers 63 020 347 (it is recommended to call at work days 8:00 - 8:30 and 12:30 -13:00)
Narkologs ambulatori: reģistratūra 63 007 495; 63 022 770; 26 164 021 (darbdienās no 8.00-16.00)
Riga Psychiatry and Narcology Center: Minesota programm
E-mail: http://rpnc.lv
Phone: 67 080 210
Parental control
There exist several high technological solutions helping parents to monitor their children’s activity on the internet and restrict access to inappropriate websites:
The Net Nanny software protects children from websites with inappropriate content: www.netnanny.com.
The CYBERsitter software allows parents to input addresses of websites, which shall be blocked from being accessed: www.cybersitter.com.