Practical "Self-Exclusion" from Bitcoin Gambling Websites

[peter0425]

The locking of gambling addicts Bitcoin is a good idea too.

what?who are you to lock the bitcoin just because he is addicted?that is against the rightsof everyone ,i assume that you are not a gambler because if yes?for sure you will never say this kind of post

But I think the owner of the locked Bitcoin may sell fiat to buy another Bitcoin when the addiction kicks in. But if he ends up locking all his funds, he probably won't have any money to pay bills, money for food, fare, etc

it is not because he cannot buy anything but because he is the owner so no one has the right to take it from him.

[Krislaw]

This isn't  bad idea to stop your addiction from gambling and there is also a method you could try out. The best possible way to stay out of it is to shut down the gambling account, get some of this apps that help in blacklisting some url. That way,  your mind would draw back from the addiction.

[Get-Paid.com]

what?who are you to lock the bitcoin just because he is addicted?that is against the rightsof everyone ,i assume that you are not a gambler because if yes?for sure you will never say this kind of post

Why do you have a problem with someone wanting to lock his funds for the sake of not gambling with them?
And how could it be against any possible "rights"? Do you have the right to tell someone else what to do with his funds? If not - then save your opinion for yourself. (I just hope you won't have a problem understanding what I'm telling you here because the way you expressed yourself wasn't really impressive).

[Mometaskers]

It would have been a great feature if most wallets/exchanges have it. I skimmed through the last thread linked and I found it quite complicated, especially for me who is more "casual". If I ever got to this point I'd probably come clean to my family so they know I have a severe problem, then we'd figure out what to do with it.   

Just to drop one example of self-exclusion from gambling site, site is regulated and players can exclude themselves for max 30 days:



After ticking option number 3) 30 days and hitting "exclude me" button", I got message that I have been self-excluded for 30 days and that I can't "gamble":



Of course, there is "cancel" button, so after I self-excluded myself, I pushed that button and I got following message:



Translated "would you like to cancel "self exclusion"? You will be able to play right away"

I never expected this. I was about to write that it would be more an exchange rather than casino option as the latter would prefer people to keep spending. You mentioned regulated, are casinos in your country legally required to allow locking up to 30 days or the duration varies according to casinos?

The locking of gambling addicts Bitcoin is a good idea too. But I think the owner of the locked Bitcoin may sell fiat to buy another Bitcoin when the addiction kicks in. But if he ends up locking all his funds, he probably won't have any money to pay bills, money for food, fare, etc

+1 to this. It's a compulsion, the addict will find ways to get his rush. If he leaves one wallet accessible he could still get tempted to use that. And once those funds unlock, he'll have to go through the entire self-exclude again (which I think is a waste since that money could be use for something else). There's only so much an individual can do on his own to fight this disease.

[ralle14]

I could see locking your own funds as a good way to stop ones urge to gamble i've tried it once but in another way where i'd cash out my funds right away because putting it back in through my local exchange takes days for me since my options are limited. This isn't for everyone since there are other ways for them to get back in but if its effective it can be an additional layer for the other solutions they have.

I dont see for any sites that do have this kind of arrangement but you can actually ask them to do but its not really ethical to block out some users account
with funds in it just not to let him proceed or to play?

In addition to the two gambling sites mentioned with self exclusion there's also sportsbet and nitrogensports for sports betting.

The locking of gambling addicts Bitcoin is a good idea too.

what?who are you to lock the bitcoin just because he is addicted?that is against the rightsof everyone ,i assume that you are not a gambler because if yes?for sure you will never say this kind of post

I think you misunderstood his post he's agreeing to the self exclusion because no one simply locks others' gambling funds. If anything the gamblers usually request their account to be locked or they do it on their own as few sites have different kinds of self exclusion.

[Get-Paid.com]

I could see locking your own funds as a good way to stop ones urge to gamble i've tried it once but in another way where i'd cash out my funds right away because putting it back in through my local exchange takes days for me since my options are limited. This isn't for everyone since there are other ways for them to get back in but if its effective it can be an additional layer for the other solutions they have.

Finally it's good to see a sensible comment in this thread.
You're right that any layer, additional or main one - to stop gambling - is a vital layer.

Merited +1 by me.

[Get-Paid.com]

It's a compulsion, the addict will find ways to get his rush. If he leaves one wallet accessible he could still get tempted to use that. And once those funds unlock, he'll have to go through the entire self-exclude again (which I think is a waste since that money could be use for something else). There's only so much an individual can do on his own to fight this disease.

If the addict doesn't want to get help - then yes, he would find ways to gamble.

However,

If the addict wants to stop - then in this environment where self-exclusion is not something that is feasible to achieve so easily with Crypto Gambling sites - then suggestions like the ones in this thread could help the addict to prevent himself from going back to gamble.

There is no dispute that self-exclusion works, it simply does - and the goal of this thread is to manifest that concept.

So your conclusion is wrong, however you want to look at it.

[DarkDays]

Even a 96-hour lockup isn't going to exclude anybody from gambling, let's be realistic. It's trivially simple to just convert more fiat into BTC or another cryptocurrency.

People often even take out loans just for the purpose of gambling, so locking up the funds simply isn't going to cut it.

Personally, I think the only way to stop yourself from gambling is to seek professional help, or let your friends and family know about your issues so they can help you.

Beyond that, it's all willpower. Everything in moderation guys.

[leowonderful]

Even a 96-hour lockup isn't going to exclude anybody from gambling, let's be realistic. It's trivially simple to just convert more fiat into BTC or another cryptocurrency.

People often even take out loans just for the purpose of gambling, so locking up the funds simply isn't going to cut it.

Personally, I think the only way to stop yourself from gambling is to seek professional help, or let your friends and family know about your issues so they can help you.

Beyond that, it's all willpower. Everything in moderation guys.

I absolutely agree with this. I was going to suggest simply keeping your coins in a medium that's harder to access such as a paper wallet or a hardware wallet so you'll need to take more steps to get to where your funds are, but if you've got a somewhat serious problem, you'll probably find the inconvenience of using either of these forms of coin storage to be small compared to the enjoyment you get from gambling. I also don't like keeping funds on third-party platforms no matter how secure they might be, so using your willpower or strengthening it to the point that you can begin to rely on it is the ideal solution.

Talking to others is very underrated today. You can only keep things pent up for so long before they come out one way or another, and friends and family can often provide great advice or even just support through any problems you might have. People especially close to you absolutely do care at least to some degree about what's happening to you personally, so find some way to do so.

[Get-Paid.com]

Even a 96-hour lockup isn't going to exclude anybody from gambling, let's be realistic. It's trivially simple to just convert more fiat into BTC or another cryptocurrency.

If you use the Coinb.in option then you are not limited to only 96 hours.
Now converting more fiat into BTC as far as I'm as aware by any means is not instant for most people, so as long as you don't have instant access to deposit Bitcoin to a Bitcoin site, then you are in some way protected because you would be deterred by any means to do so in a way that takes a long time, since it's not instant - so you kill the urge at the very moment it's showing upm and basically then you are already making a progress.

People especially close to you absolutely do care at least to some degree about what's happening to you personally, so find some way to do so.

The issue with gambling is isolation, many addicts don't tell others - breaking the isolation is definitely one of the best steps towards stopping, however those who are not in this stage would find self-exclusion (or what this thread suggests) to be more useful for them.

I'm personally very happy I've found Coinb.in - I have some BTC in my wallet, I use it only when I need it, but I need to use it only 2 weeks from now, so by locking my BTC for 2 weeks - I won't be buying more BTC from my fiat (not worth the fees, the hassles, the sports odds of 1.95 would be worth 1.70 this way which is demotivating to bet like this) .... I won't be looking to gamble now, on the contrary, I feel in some way much better knowing my BTC cannot be spent and it's not lost.

You guys once again underestimate the power of self-exclusion, self-exclusion means you cannot gamble, whether you like it or not ... of course if I would insist I can find was to place bets but deep inside I feel like I don't want to and I am not having urges to do so ... I just know when my BTC is released I will spend it on what I need to spend it, and nothing else, period.

[Get-Paid.com]

The best possible way to stay out of it is to shut down the gambling account

What if you are dealing with a website like Stake.com, BetBit.com and others who let you simply sign up for a new account in a matter of seconds? You won't restrict yourself that way.

I've just locked 0.03 BTC using Coinb.in until the 20th of December (2 weeks from now), I need to use them only then ... it's a great feeling that in some way I've now "self-excluded" myself from Crypto Gambling sites because I won't be able to bet now with other Crypto funds, I'm only feeling more deterred from placing bets, and every day that goes by without placing a bet is bringing me more freedom, sanity and a different aspect at life.

Like or not - this method works, at least for me, at least I'm a single individual who can testify that this is a great method that works for me and prevents me from placing bets!

[Mometaskers]

It's a compulsion, the addict will find ways to get his rush. If he leaves one wallet accessible he could still get tempted to use that. And once those funds unlock, he'll have to go through the entire self-exclude again (which I think is a waste since that money could be use for something else). There's only so much an individual can do on his own to fight this disease.

There is no dispute that self-exclusion works, it simply does - and the goal of this thread is to manifest that concept.

So your conclusion is wrong, however you want to look at it.

It works yes in that one can't gamble without money. But like I and many said, there are ways around it and once the funds unlock, another boost of willpower would be needed to lock it again and if that's the case why not just withdraw it than make it useless?

Self-exclusion works as an immediate way to stop the act from happening but to be truly effective it'll have to be part of an intervention. For example during the 1 month lock-down he/she can go into counseling, and then when the fund unlocks move the money into an account family members can monitor so they can find if he/she's in a danger of relapse.

Anyway, it have its use, I never disputed that and I commend you mentioning this option and making a thread about it that members who may feel they are losing control can read and learn from.

[Get-Paid.com]

It works yes in that one can't gamble without money. But like I and many said, there are ways around it and once the funds unlock, another boost of willpower would be needed to lock it again and if that's the case why not just withdraw it than make it useless?

Self-exclusion works as an immediate way to stop the act from happening but to be truly effective it'll have to be part of an intervention. For example during the 1 month lock-down he/she can go into counseling, and then when the fund unlocks move the money into an account family members can monitor so they can find if he/she's in a danger of relapse.

Anyway, it have its use, I never disputed that and I commend you mentioning this option and making a thread about it that members who may feel they are losing control can read and learn from.

Thank you, we are finally in accord.
I totally agree that self-exclusion by itself, or locking your funds away is insufficient to stop (or somehow control) your gambling addiction, by all means this is not enough, you definitely have to supplement the exclusion with ideas such as reading books or online books, participating in forums or physical groups such as GA (I personally don't like GA though), you should also edcuate yourself about why gambling is bad for you or why it's a bad "investment", whatever works for you - I don't think locking your funds away or self-excluding by any means is enough to stop gambling for good.