It’s easy to spend money when you’re gambling, but are there any ways to save money while still enjoying your favorite hobby? We share a number of tips for bankroll management and other advice on how to reduce or keep your spending in check when playing gambling games such as online slots, roulette and more.

What’s a bankroll and understanding other gambling money terms

Before we get to tips on how to save money, it’s important that you have a proper understanding of the different terms that relate to gambling and money. Some of the most important terms are:

• Bankroll: Your budget for gambling.
• Bankroll management: Managing the money that you spend on gambling so that you don’t spend more than you planned to.
• Casino bonuses: Promotional offers from a casino that reward you for performing a certain action, such as signing up, making a deposit or playing a specific game. These rewards often come with very specific terms and conditions so be sure to read those closely. 
• House edge: The advantage the casino has over a player in any particular game. The lower the house edge, the lower the advantage the casino has to win.
• Odds: The likelihood of a particular outcome when gambling. In some gambling activities, such as online sports betting, the odds will affect what you receive from a payout should you win.
• Payout/payoff: The money that a player receives from a successful bet or wager.
• RTP: RTP, or return to player, is what the player can expect to earn back in the long run for every dollar they spend.
• Tapped out: When a gambler runs out of money.
• Tilt: When a player loses emotional control and starts to make increasingly poor decisions.

Now that you have a better understanding of some of the lingo that gamblers use in relation to money and actions that affect your bankroll, let’s take a look at the advice that we have to offer.

Tips on how to save money when gambling

Ultimately, saving money when gambling is about correctly managing your bankroll. Here are some tips that will help you achieve that:

1. Set a budget

Gambling can be a very fun hobby, but that’s only if you are able to manage your money properly. This is why the first and most important step to saving money when you gamble is to set a gambling budget. The total money that you spend will vary depending on how much you earn, but your budget should be a value that you are comfortable with spending (and potentially losing) over a specific amount of time.

Another important part of budgeting is that you stick to it. If you struggle to control your spending, many online casinos allow you to set a limit on the amount that you deposit over a particular period, whether that’s a day, a week or a month. This is a great way to avoid moments when you might want to dip into other parts of your budget in order to keep on playing.

We’ve already mentioned how you should set a gambling budget, but there is an important factor to keep in mind when setting the value of this budget: never gamble money that you can’t afford to lose. This applies to how you set your budget as well. For example, don’t set a gambling budget thinking you’ll make a profit and use that to pay for other things such as groceries, rent and other important day-to-day expenses.

2. Learn how to avoid tilt and stay in control of your actions

Learning to manage your emotions is key to saving money when you gamble. 

Or let us phrase this in a slightly different way: learning to manage your emotions when gambling is a key way to not spend money you didn’t plan to.

For example, when you gamble, you may have a bad run. Or an opponent may get under your skin. Whatever the reason, you decide to keep on playing. Unfortunately, you’re tapped out of your official gambling budget. This means that you’re going to have to dip into other parts of your finances to keep on playing, but you’re upset, so you do it. Little do you know that your chances of winning have reduced because you’re tilted, or simply not in a state of mind to make good choices. 

In a situation like this, it’s better to call it a day and come back when you’ve calmed down. Even if you haven’t spent your entire gambling budget, if you can tell you’re getting upset, it’s important to step away and only come back when you are feeling level-headed. If that means taking a break that lasts a few minutes, a few hours, a few days or even a few weeks, then take all the time you need until you’re in a better space, mentally and emotionally.

3. Take advantage of bonuses and promotions

Another way to save money is to take advantage of casino bonuses and promotions. There are many different types of bonuses that casinos offer, such as deposit bonuses, reward multipliers and free games. It’s important to check your favorite online casino regularly for any offers they may have so that you don’t miss out.

It’s also important to remember that these offers may have very strict terms and conditions. These will vary, but may include criteria such as depositing a certain amount of money, or spending a certain amount of money when making bets.

4. Play games with a high RTP or low house edge

The final tip on our list is to play games with a high RTP or low house edge. Essentially what this means is that you should choose games or specific types of bets where your chances of losing are as low as possible. 

For example, if a slot machine has an RTP of 94% percent, that means for every dollar that you spend, you stand a chance of winning 94 cents back. And that important thing to remember is that you have a “chance” of winning that money back. In theory, you’d have to play hundreds if not thousands of games to guarantee that you earned that 94% that you spent back. Sure, you might get lucky and take home a jackpot and win back all the money you spent and more, but the chances of that occurring are very low.

On the other hand, games such as blackjack give the casino an incredibly low advantage. The house edge in blackjack can be as low as 0.5%. That means in any given game, the casino only has a 0.5% chance of winning over you. 

So, to ensure you don’t unnecessarily waste money when you gamble, be sure to pick games that minimize the advantage the casino has over you.

Gamble responsibly at Borgata Online

If you’re looking for a great online casino to gamble responsibly, you can’t go wrong with Borgata Online. Our online casino offers a variety of tools to protect the player so that you can have a great time when you play all the thrilling games we have on offer, such as online poker, blackjack, and virtual sports.

Register at Borgata Online to have fun and gamble safely!