How to pause before a bet on a prediction market app

The screen shows a question, a Yes price, a No price, and a button. It is built to be quick. Quick is the problem, so the plan is to add a gap between wanting it and tapping it.

Why it is easy to skip the pause

Prediction market apps use finance wording, such as trading, positions and contracts. A national problem gambling group warns that this wording can lead people to underestimate the risk, and says these products function like gambling whatever the legal label. The screen looks like a market. The urge feels like a bet. Go with how it feels.

The minute before you place it

1. Put the phone down for 30 seconds. Face down, out of reach. Breathe out slowly.
2. Say what the bet is for. Out loud or in your notes: "I want this because ___." If the answer is the rush, or winning back a loss, wait.
3. Look at the real number. Add up what you have put in this month. Your own number tells you more than a price on a screen. See chasing losses.
4. Name the event. An election, a game, a headline. The event is not going anywhere. The price will move, and another market will open.
5. Message one person. "About to place one. Talk me through the next ten minutes?"
6. Set a longer wait. If you still want it, wait until tomorrow. Write it down and decide then.

Make the apps harder to reach

• Log out of the app so a password stands between you and the button.
• Turn off alerts for price moves and new markets.
• Remove saved payment details. Take cards and linked accounts out of those apps.
• Check inside your finance apps. Some have a prediction tab. Remove it from your first screen if you can.
• Use the app's own limit or break tools if it has them, and ask someone you trust to hold the passcode. More on that in stop betting on your phone.

If you already placed one

Stop there. Do not add a second bet to fix the first. Tell your person, and read what to do after a slip.

Pause before the next bet

Hold The Bet is free with no account. It shows your own number and reason and holds a 30 second pause before you bet. It does not stop an app from working. It puts a pause in front of the button.