Randomness

Randomness refers to events happening by chance, without any purposeful plan. In gambling, an assortment of mechanisms ensures a game is unpredictable. Unpredictability is how gambling works. Each game uses randomness by design to make the results both unpredictable and independent from previous or future plays. This randomness ensures the house has an advantage.

Here are some examples of how randomness is built into gambling:

• In sports betting: Even the sharpest sports bettors experience bad beats. Weather, injuries, blown calls, and poor player performances can all contribute to the Unpredictability of sporting event outcomes.

• In slot games: Random number generators provide thousands of numbers per second, determining whether you win or lose. Each spin is independent, random and unrelated to previous or future spins, making it impossible to predict what will happen on each play.

• In blackjack: Approximately six decks of cards are used, and carefully shuffled, making it virtually impossible to know what cards are coming next.

• In craps: When you throw two dice onto the table, it's impossible to control the outcome. That's why they call it "throwing the dice."

No control over outcomes

A series of wins can happen from time to time, and that's all part of the fun. However, past success is not an indicator of future outcomes. You may be "on a roll," but this streak of luck is not guaranteed to continue.

House Advantage

It’s important to remember that the house (us) has the advantage. While winning is fun and exciting, keep in mind that, over time, the vast majority of people will lose more than they will win. Gambling is a perfectly fine activity, as long as you’re enjoying yourself and not experiencing any ill effects.

House advantage is usually presented as a percentage of a game’s wagers that a gambling service provider expects to keep from players over time. It doesn’t always have to be a large percentage for the house to earn a lot of money, since we’re talking about taking a small amount from many players over time.

For example, the house advantage for someone playing blackjack with basic strategy — which means they understand how to place strategic bets to maximize their likelihood of winning — is approximately 0.5 percent. However, very few gamblers know the ideal moves to make in every situation, so the true house advantage is much higher.

All forms of gambling — slots, poker, blackjack — all favor the house. There’s no trick to it. If you keep playing, you are more likely to walk away with less money than when you started. Even the lottery has a house advantage.

Responsible Gambling Tools

Responsible gambling tools help keep you in the action at a safe and enjoyable level. Think of them as the safety features in your car, or as the coach on the sideline guiding you down the field. We highly encourage you to learn how these tools work and use them to enhance your gambling experience. If you have any questions, please reach out to Customer Service or the GameSense® Advisor team.

• Timeout - if you need a longer break, consider taking a timeout. Request a timeout for any duration from 72 hours to a full year. While on timeout, you will not be able to deposit or wager. You may still log in, withdraw funds, and view your play history. Click here to use the timeout tool.

• Time management - On a daily basis, you can set a specific amount of time you want to spend gambling. Time is measured hourly from the moment you log in, to the moment you log out. Click here to use the time management tool.

• Deposit limits - You may set a limit on the amount you can deposit on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Once you have hit this limit, you will need to wait until the time period expires before you can deposit additional funds. Click here to use the deposit limit tool.

• Spending/Loss limits - You may set a limit on the amount you can spend/lose on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Once you have hit this spending/loss limit, you will no longer be able to wager until the time period has expired. Click here to use the spending limit tool. Remember, spending/loss limits only apply to the funds you deposit. These limits do not include the money you win (house money). Please plan accordingly.

Responsible gambling limits can be decreased at any time. You will receive a text notification once a limit has been decreased. Any increase to these limits will become effective only after the time period of the previous limit has expired.

Communication Preferences - Should you wish to take a break from or no longer wish to receive communications on offers, promotions, and other marketing, you can alter these communication settings at any time here.