March Madness is one of the biggest sporting events on the calendar and this year’s predictions are that it will be the biggest ever in terms of legal sports bets placed.
Betting should be entertaining & fun & anyone can game responsibly by making a plan to curb how much is wagered on March Madness or at any time
The American Gaming Association (AGA) has revealed that it expects $3.1 billion in legal sports bets to be placed over the course of March Madness 2022. They go on to say this breaks down to around an estimated 45 million American adults — or 17%+ of the adult population — will be coming out to place legal sports bets on the biggest college basketball tournament of the year.
Legal online sports betting in Michigan has been available for a little over a year and is regulated by the Michigan Gaming & Control Board (MGCB), which oversees all online casinos, sportsbooks, and online poker rooms in the Mitten State. In anticipation of the increased amount of wagers that will be placed this month, the MGCB has issued a statement reminding players how to gamble responsibly.
“Betting should be entertaining and fun and anyone can game responsibly by making a plan to curb how much is wagered on March Madness or at any time,” Henry Williams, MGCB Executive Director said via press release. “A bettor can take control by setting limits on the gaming platform on deposits, wagers, and the time spent on every site authorized in Michigan.”
In order to offer legal sports betting in the state of Michigan, sportsbooks have to offer an array of responsible gambling tools to help players stay in control of how much time and money they spend on a site. An in-depth look at responsible gambling tools can be found in our Sports Shield Guide To RG Tools at US Sportsbooks.
Responsible Gambling Tools at Online Sportsbooks
The main responsible gaming tools you will find at US sportsbooks are:
- Deposit Limits
- Play Time Limits
- Time-Outs
- Self-Exclusion
Most of these can be found via the site’s responsible gambling page or icon once a player is logged onto the software. Here, we take a more in-depth look at what each tool offers. Players can use these individually or as part of a holistic approach to managing their time and money.
Setting Deposit Limits at Online Sportsbooks
Deposit limits allow you to pre-determine how much you can spend on a site and keep the temptation from taking hold. Players can set a maximum amount they are able to spend on a site, which is usually broken down by daily, weekly, or monthly limits. Once the dollar figure has been reached, the player will be stopped from depositing any more money until the selected amount of time has passed.
This is particularly good for players who tend to chase their losses. By using deposit limits, players can only deposit and wager what they can afford to lose.
Setting Play Time Limits at Online Sportsbooks
Play time limits are a great way to limit the amount of time spent on a site. We know how time can disappear and, all of a sudden, hours have passed in the blink of an eye. A play time limit will allow a player to set a maximum amount of time they are allowed to be logged into a site. Once this time is up, they will be enforced to log out of the site until the clock resets. This is a great way of managing time.
Setting Time-Outs at Online Sportsbooks
A time-out is a great way to set bursts of time where a player has opted out of all gameplay and cannot place wagers for a set period of time. This can be triggered after losing a certain amount of money. A time-out helps a player to step away from the action, get some breathing room, and regain control of their thoughts, rather than going on tilt where it can be easy to chase losses and bet more than they can afford.
How, Why, and When To Self-Exclude from Online Sports Betting
Self-exclusion is one of the most effective responsible gambling tools. This is because a player is opting to fully ban themselves from playing on a site. They are banned from logging in and will not be contacted by any sportsbooks trying to incentivize them to spend money. If you need help controlling your gambling, please take advantage of the various resources available, including counseling & treatment if it becomes or is a problem
Players can ban or self-exclude themselves for various lengths of time — commonly, this is anywhere between 6 months, to one year, to five years, or even a lifetime.
Players can sometimes self-exclude directly via the sportsbook, but this can also be done at the state level. Michigan State offers this service, which can be used to ban players from both online and brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, casinos, and poker rooms.
If a player is struggling with spending more than they can afford, chasing losses, and finding gambling all-consuming, self-exclusion is a good option to think about.
“If you need help controlling your gambling, please take advantage of the various available resources, including counseling and treatment if it becomes or is a problem,” Williams concluded.
Michigan has a problem gambling hotline, which players can call anytime to take the first steps to get professional, confidential, and non-judgmental help.
Here’s a handy list of all of the responsible gambling tools available at all US sportsbooks, including Michigan.
