Gaming

How to Stop Gambling Addiction

Published

1 year ago

July 21, 2023

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Gambling is entertaining and can make you feel like you’re on top of the world. However, if you’re not careful in keeping everything under tight control, things can get out of hand before you know it.

Unfortunately, gambling addiction is also rising worldwide with the popularization of online games. The risk is real whether you are playing online poker, enjoying casino games, or betting on your favorite sports. Dealing with this serious issue can be challenging, but with enough effort and the right mindset, you can get back on the right track and enjoy gambling again without feeling bound down by it.

To help you out in this process, we will share the most critical things to focus on to stop gambling addiction.

Recognize and Accept Your Problem

The first and hardest step is admitting you have a gambling addiction. When you recognize you have symptoms of gambling addiction, you can start taking the proper steps to fix it. The biggest signs of gambling addiction include:

Making increasingly bigger and riskier bets over time
Using gambling to escape your daily life
Overly focusing on any past wins you had
Feeling depressed or guilty after gambling
Experiencing social issues with your friends or family

Being honest with yourself is the key to recognizing you might have a problem. Denying any of the symptoms mentioned above can be detrimental to your well-being, and you shouldn’t delay acting on them.

Tell your friends and loved ones you have a problem, or better yet, reach out to a professional who can provide you with a clearer understanding and more constructive help. There’s no shame in admitting you might have a gambling problem, as it’s an unskippable step of the process.

Don’t Let The Urge Takeover Again

As with any other addiction, cravings, and burgers to go back will inevitably come at some point in the process. When they hit, they can be intense and hard to push through. Fortunately, all cravings have an end. You just have to endure it. Keep in mind why you’re doing it, and just focus on postponing the urge.

You first need to ensure that you only play at regulated online casinos. These sites have many tools that can help you limit your sessions and deposits and even exclude yourself from accessing your account, and they actually will take your safety seriously.

Another good way to go about it is to list all of the reasons why you decided you should take back control of your gambling habits. This could be because you want to salvage your relationship with your loved ones or get more free time to spend with them.

It can also be for financial reasons if your gambling addiction has put you under strain and made you rack up a big debt. Whatever your motivations are, make sure to keep them in the back of your head and always focus on them when that horrible urge pops up in your head.

Understand and Beware of the Consequences

If positive reinforcement doesn’t work for you, you can try it from an alternative perspective. As much as recognizing the good things in life can give you the strength to fix your gambling addiction, so can focusing on the bad ones. So, instead of running towards the good life, you can devote your efforts to running away from bad.

Understand all of the risks and bad things gambling can bring into your life. Excessive gambling is a gateway to depression, aggression, increased stress, and even an enhanced suicide risk. Pathological gambling can hinder the way you think and destroy your life and the lives of those around you. The lies, hardships, and pain you put everyone around you through are enough to motivate you to stop your bad habits.

Find Alternatives That Keep You Occupied

Urges stemming from addiction can be tough to control and keep at bay. If you have a lot of free time, the cravings will seem more significant and more challenging to deal with. To ensure you don’t slip back into bad gambling patterns, you must find alternatives to keep you equally engaged and entertained.

You have endless options for replacing gambling with positive hobbies. The best way to throw your mind off gambling is to keep your body engaged physically. Try walking, swimming, lifting weights, or any other exercise that suits you. Explore hobbies you always wanted to try, travel, or dedicate your time to those who need help.

Understandably, none of these activities will be as enjoyable as gambling at first. This is because your brain will try to trick you into slipping back into old habits. But, if you stick with a new hobby through the tough times, you’ll slowly shift your focus towards a healthy mindset.

Reach Out for Professional Help

Unfortunately, sometimes your efforts aren’t enough to break away from the control gambling has over you. If you have severe gambling problems you fear you can’t overcome, reach out to someone who will know how to deal with such an issue. Professional treatment can be very effective in stopping gambling addiction and improving your life.

Luckily, counselors and therapists are widely available nowadays, and you can easily find a reliable and skilled professional who will guide you through every step of the recovery process. Even better, you can seek professional help while participating in a gambling addiction support group.

Support groups are often maintained by people who have gone through what you’re currently experiencing and can relate to what’s troubling you. This could make the difference between a lifetime of financial struggle and gambling addiction and a healthy and stable life. Don’t hesitate to connect with a group or a trusted professional.

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Gaming

THE BATTLE OF POLYTOPIA RELEASES NEW AQUARION SPECIAL SKIN IN LATEST UPDATE

Published

16 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Midjiwan, the award-winning independent studio behind The Battle of Polytopia has today released a new Aquarion Special Skin, additional language options and balance updates to the recently reworked Aquarion tribe. Players will dive deep into the Ritiki Marshlands encountering a lost Aquarion outpost with the new skin known as “The Forgotten”.

Long ago, when the Aquarion Empire vanished beneath the waves. One remote outpost in the swampy atolls lost all contact, leading its inhabitants to believe they were the last of their kind. This forgotten tribe evolved in isolation, adapting to the marshy landscapes with squid-like appendages and unique abilities to command the swamp and its creatures.

Using the unique abilities of “The Forgotten”, players can build on water, summon giant squids, create speed enhancing bubbles, ride crocodiles, tame toads, and traverse their marshy terrains with ease.

In addition, the latest update to the game now offers expanded language options: Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Polish, Thai, Turkish & Vietnamese.

Christian Lövstedt, CEO of The Battle of Polytopia, commented: “I feel that this skin is one of the best we’ve created and has quickly become my personal favourite. Additionally, we have added Bubble Tech to the Aquarion Waterways, making that tribe even greater. With expanded language options and new gameplay mechanics, we’re inviting players to dive into the rich lore and strategy that make the Battle of Polytopia truly special.”

To celebrate the launch of the new update, Midjiwan hosted an exclusive livestream event, offering fans a unique look behind the scenes, live gameplay, and discussions with the development team – the livestream is available to watch now: The Forgotten livestrea m by Midjiwan.

Conferences in Europe

Gamecity Hamburg connects Decision Makers from International Studios with new “Portside Game Assembly” Conference Format

Published

16 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Gamecity Hamburg announces the premiere of the “Portside Game Assembly” (PSGA) for June 27, 2025. The new B2B conference format focuses on networking and the exchange of learnings between leading international indie game studios. Portside Game Assembly enables studio heads and decision-makers to exchange knowledge in a confidential setting in extraordinary locations of Hamburg, around the harbor – and on the water.

“The idea for Portside Game Assembly was born out of conversations with studio heads and managers from Hamburg and around Europe. Anyone navigating an indie studio through the games market benefits greatly from exchanging learnings with other decision-makers facing similar challenges. With a curated guest list and a focus on impulse talks and roundtables, PSGA will offer studio leads contacts and discussions which are highly relevant to their work and current developments in the industry,” explains Margarete Schneider, Project Manager at Gamecity Hamburg.

“The heart of PSGA is the conference, which will be held on a ship sailing through the Hamburg harbor and to which we welcome attendees from all over Europe and beyond. The conference will be complemented by a networking brunch and two evening events, which invite PSGA participants to meet the vibrant and diverse Hamburg games scene,” adds Dennis Schoubye, Head of Gamecity Hamburg.

The conference program for decision-makers at game studios

On June 27, 2025, the first Portside Game Assembly will kick off with a networking brunch.

Afterwards, the studio managers and decision makers will enter the conference ship, which offers three decks for keynote speeches, roundtables and networking, including a cruise through the famous Hamburg harbor.

Studio managers and decision-makers from the following studios are already attending:

bippinbits (Dome Keeper, PVKK: Planetenverteidigungskanonenkommandant) / Germany
Ghost Ship Publishing (Deep Rock Galactic) / Denmark
Indoor Astronaut (Unrailed 1 & 2) / Switzerland
Landfall Games (Content Warning, Totally Accurate Battle Simulator) / Sweden
mooneye studios (Lost Ember) / Germany
Maschinen-Mensch (Curious Expedition 1 & 2, Mother Machine, Codecks) / Germany
Overhype Studios (Battle Brothers, Menace) / Germany
Rockfish Games (Everspace 1 & 2) / Germany
Torpor Games (Suzerain) / Germany

Leads and executives from established indie game studios can register to take part in the Portside Game Assembly via our registration form.

Networking events as part of the Portside Game Assembly

The evening closing event “Games Industry Party” brings conference guests and other members of the games industry together for networking with cool drinks and snacks. Tickets for the Indie Networking Brunch and the Games Industry Party are available separately for non-conference attendees and will go on sale at a later time.

On the evening before, June 26, 2025, there will be an “Opening Mixer” with a panoramic view over Hamburg’s famous St. Pauli district in the Astra Tower, at Bytro Labs office. Portside Game Assembly participants and contacts from the games industry in Hamburg will be invited.

Registration for studios and participants

The conference itself is aimed exclusively at studio managers and decision-makers from internationally successful indie game studios. To enable a curated selection of participants, there will be no direct ticket sales, but studios can register for participation here: registration form.

The conference ticket includes the Opening Mixer event the evening before, access to the Networking Brunch, the main Conference and the Games Industry Party for a total of 189 euros.

Asia

Nazara integrates with ONDC Network to Launch “gCommerce” in India, Unlocking a new era of In-Game Monetization

Published

2 days ago

November 13, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Nazara Technologies Limited, a leading diversified gaming and sports media platform, and Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) are proud to announce their integration to launch “gCommerce” – an innovative in-game monetization platform that seamlessly integrates e-commerce within games.

The integration aims to address a persistent challenge for Indian game developers: low in-app purchase (IAP) conversion rates and poor yields from advertising. Through gCommerce, Nazara and ONDC Network are reimagining game monetization by leveraging India’s thriving e-commerce landscape and providing developers with new, scalable revenue streams.

This strategic integration will allow game developers to monetize through an affiliate revenue-sharing model, earning a commission on every successful transaction initiated by players through the gCommerce platform.

Creating Value for Developers and Gamers

ONDC Network’s expertise in creating an open, interoperable network for digital commerce will enable Nazara’s gCommerce platform to connect with a wide range of sellers across more than 10 categories, ensuring a rich diversity of product offering for gamers. This integration enhances the user experience by allowing them to make informed purchases while they continue their gaming journey.

“We are excited to announce the upcoming launch of gCommerce by Nazara via integration with the ONDC Network, as it represents a significant step forward in our mission to empower game developers with effective and innovative monetization solutions,” said Nitish Mittersain, CEO of Nazara Technologies. “We are not only creating new revenue opportunities for developers but also enriching the overall experience for our gamers.”

T Koshy, CEO of ONDC, added, “Nazara coming on ONDC Network to launch gCommerce is a testament to the versatility of the Network in supporting various industries and use cases. By bringing e-commerce into the gaming ecosystem, we are paving the way for a seamless blend of entertainment and shopping that adds value for players, developers, and the broader digital commerce network.”

The gCommerce platform is currently in soft launch and will be rolled out to game developers starting Q1, FY26.