Barstool Sportsbook — the mobile sports betting app and offshoot from the much revered Barstool Sports blog — offers players in Pennsylvania and Michigan the chance to wager on sports bets via its app and web platform.
With the popularity of sports betting in the US — a multi-million dollar industry — Barstool Sportsbook is also taking the opportunity to remind customers of ways to gamble responsibly by setting up a bespoke Twitter account just for responsible gaming (RG) tweets.
Barstool Sports has rolled out its founder Dave Portnoy to front a series of ads that remind players to play within their means and not to “bet more than you can lose.”
The operator created the @BarstoolRG in November 2020 and, at the time of writing, has 1,029 followers. Compared to its primary account, which has 466.2K followers, the RG account’s following is undoubtedly much less, but it is refreshing to see efforts made to normalize responsible gambling behavior.
Kayce Smith, a Barstool Sports presenter, is also the face of the RG ads, reminding players that setting deposit limits can be a “big part of gambling responsibly.”
The advice may be simplistic at best, but there have been calls to normalize using responsible gaming tools so that there is no stigma attached to settling time and money limits at the tables.
Responsible Gaming Tools at Online Sportsbooks
For now, the main responsible gambling tools you will find at US sportsbooks are:
- Deposit Limits
- Play Time Limits
- Time-Outs
- Self-Exclusion
Once players log onto the sportsbook, they can find most of these tools via the site’s responsible gaming page.
Here, we take a more in-depth look at what each tool offers. It is worth reminding players that they can use these tools individually or as part of a holistic approach to managing their time and money.
What is a Deposit Limit at Online US Sportsbooks?
Deposit Limits allow a player to predetermine how much money can be spent on a sportsbook by day, week, or month. 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.
What is a Play Time Limits at US Online Sportsbooks?
Play Time Limits are a great way to limit the time spent on a site by determining how long the player can stay logged on. Once the predetermined time is up, the player will be forced to log out of the app or website until the clock resets.
What is a Time-Out at US Online Sportsbooks?
A Time-Out is a way for players to take enforced time away from the tables. During the time out, the player will be prevented from spending more money on the site.
How, Why, and When To Self-Exclude from US Online Sports Betting
Self-Exclusion is a highly effective responsible gambling tool as it prevents a player from being able to log on to the site from 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.
