Safer gambling

We write about hotels and have no interest in encouraging anyone to gamble. Every resort on our list is worth visiting without ever setting foot on its casino floor. If you do choose to bet, the habits below keep the habit from taking over the holiday.

• Learn the legal gambling age of the country you are visiting; casinos verify ID at the door and the rule varies.
• Decide on a spending ceiling before the first bet and lock your bank cards away upstairs.
• Set an alarm for a fixed finishing time, and take a walk outside every hour or so.
• A losing streak is a cue to leave, not to raise stakes, and borrowed money should never be on the table.
• Fatigue, a bad mood or a few cocktails are all reasons to skip the casino that night.

Losing track of time or money, keeping bets secret from a partner, or growing tense on days without gambling are signals worth taking seriously. Plenty of resorts run voluntary exclusion schemes for their casino, and the front desk can point you to the right person.

• Your local helpline: ask a pharmacist, doctor or clinic for the free national number where you live; almost every country runs one.
• Gambling Therapy: multilingual online counselling and chat for anyone, anywhere, at gamblingtherapy.org
• Gamblers Anonymous: local self-help groups in dozens of countries, listed at gamblersanonymous.org
• Gam-Anon: support for the relatives and friends of people who gamble, at gam-anon.org