Online casino and slots urges: the next 20 minutes

Slots and online casino games are built to run faster than a sports bet. There is no game to wait for, so there is no gap, and a spin takes seconds. That is why the urge can feel like it arrives already decided. It is not decided. It is a spike, and spikes pass.

Put steps between you and the deposit

The deposit is the moment that matters, so make it slow.

1. Remove the stored card. Delete saved cards from the casino account, your phone wallet and your browser. Typing sixteen digits is a speed bump.
2. Close the tab, not the account. You are not deciding forever. You are deciding for twenty minutes.
3. Stand up and change rooms. Leave the phone where it is. The urge lives where the screen is.
4. Text one person. One line: "I am about to gamble, can you talk." You do not have to explain.
5. Set a timer for twenty minutes. Wait it out before you decide anything else.

Then do the longer fix

Once the night is over, lock the accounts: self exclude from every sportsbook in one night, and put a wall on the phone so a casino site does not open: iPhone or Android.

If you already deposited

Do not chase. A loss you have made is a loss you have made. What to do in the next hour after you gambled again.