Here are a few tips that can be helpful if you want to make your gambling sessions safer and decrease the risk of experiencing any major negative side effects of gambling.

1. Only gamble with money you can afford to lose. Could you give away this money right now, and still have no problem handling your financial obligations?
2. Don’t see gambling as a way to make money. Gamble because it’s fun and exciting. Look at the money you lose as a “fee” you paid to the casino for this entertainment, just like you would pay for a movie ticket or a trip on the Ferris Wheel.
3. Set both a TIME limit and a MONEY limit. It is easy to get carried away when we gamble and lose track of what’s reasonable to spend in terms of time and money. Before each gambling session, decide in advance the upper limit for how much time and money to spend. Set an alarm to keep track of time, and separate your designated session-money from the rest of you money.When the time is up or your designated session-bankroll is empty – which ever happens first – just walk away.If you walk away with a win, that’s nice. If you walk away breaking even, you had fun for free. If you walk away after losing some or all the money, no worries, because you haven’t lost more than you decided beforehand that you were willing to spend on this.
4. Don’t gamble when you aren’t emotionally stable. A lot of people understand that it is bad to gamble when you are feeling very sad or anxiety-ridden, but fewer realize that gambling when you feel on-top-of-the-world can be dangerously risky as well.
5. Don’t gamble when you are stressed. Stress causes all kinds of changes in our body chemistry and impacts our decision making processes in various ways, so gambling while stressed is not a good idea. Also, if you gamble when you are stressed and suddenly feel less stressed, you risk turning gambling into your default coping strategy to handle stress and that is not good.
6. Make sure you have other sources of entertainment in your life. If the gambling table is the only place where you feel happy and is enjoying life, you have an increased risk of developing a gambling problem.
7. Make sure your social life doesn’t revolve solely around gambling. If you only meet your friends for sports betting night or chat with people in the casino, it will most likely be more difficult for you to decrease your gambling if needed. You will miss the social interaction and it can also be difficult for you to obtain support for your decision within your social network.
8. Take frequent breaks. Even if you have planned a long gambling session for tonight, break it up into many smaller sessions instead of being glued to the slot machine or card table. Take a walk, step out for some fresh air, chat with other guests, maybe order some food away from the gambling area, etc.
9. Be well rested. When we are tired, we make poor decisions.
10. Don’t impair yourself with alcohol, drugs or prescription medicine. Most of us can gamble safely even after a glass of wine, but it’s a slippery slope and you need to know your limits.