How to ensure healthy gambling habits while betting on basketball or football

If you’ve spent a lot of time on social media recently or spend time listening to sports podcasts you’ve most likely noticed the ad time for various betting companies has gone up significantly. More and more states are legalizing betting and nowadays it’s very easy to get started in betting. 

Betting can be a fun way of adding some extra excitement to a game, but it’s not without risk. If one doesn’t take the necessary steps to ensure healthy gambling. The summer can be the perfect time to learn more about gambling and responsible gambling habits, to ensure that you’re ready to start betting when the seasons start. By having these tips in the back of your mind while considering who to bet on in the opening round of college basketball or while reading that week’s NFL picks you can bet knowing that you’re doing so responsibly. 

Both football and basketball are very hard to bet on 

This is something that you always need to keep in mind. Both basketball and football, the two most popular sports to bet on in the US, are very difficult to predict. Betting is not a surefire way of making money and should never be seen as such. Instead, betting should always be viewed as entertainment.  

Betting should be viewed as entertainment, and it’s best if you consider money placed on a bet lost the second you lock in your bet. Instead of viewing betting as a way of making money one is better off looking at it in a similar way to a ticket to the cinema. You pay an entrance fee of a couple of dollars and for that money you then get entertained.   

Make a betting budget 

Making a budget of how much money you’re willing to spend on betting each month or season is a good way of making sure that you’re never overstepping your own financial means. 

For special occasions such as the playoffs or March Madness, this can become extra important. During March Madness for example, there are so many interesting games and there are many opportunities to bet. To ensure one does not get swept away from the excitement you need to make sure that you have a plan for how much you’re willing to bet. 

Never let your enjoyment of betting overshadow your love of the game 

As we have talked about previously, betting is a form of entertainment and a fun compliment to an already exciting game. It should never be the reason you tune in to a game however. This is a very easy way to let the excitement of two great teams duking it out on the field or on the court be overshadowed by the prospect of winning some money. Instead it’s better to use betting as a way of adding some extra spice to an already exciting game. Football and basketball can be very exciting on their own, without the prospect of a bet adding more excitement. 

Start small 

Betting is not for everyone and there are many hardcore sports fans who don’t enjoy it one bit. If you’re interested in trying it out it’s best to start out small and then gradually increase your frequency and betting size if you feel like it. Starting small serves two main purposes. First and foremost it enables you to see if betting is something for you without putting too much money on the line. Secondly it helps you to gain a better understanding of how betting works in practice and helps you familiarize yourself with odds and other things that are vital to understand.