Safe and responsible gaming

What is a gambling addiction?

A gambling addiction occurs when the person affected can no longer control their gambling behavior. Gambling becomes an all-consuming drive, the center of life. Your thoughts revolve around gambling: your focus is on the next opportunity to play, the next possible (big) win, raising money for the next game, concealing the losses suffered, etc.

A gambling addiction does not develop overnight. The addiction develops over time, similar to how an addition to psychoactive substances (alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs) develops. An addiction typically develops through the following phases:

1. The adventure or win phase

During this phase, players often win larger amounts. This experience can lead the player to believe that a win doesn't happen due to sheer luck, but because of their individual actions. When losses are inevitably incurred, players see this as the result of explainable external causes and they are usually glossed over. Gambling becomes a problem when players continuously spend a lot of money or even take out loans in order to continue. Any loans taken out serve the same purpose: to enable the player to keep playing.

2. The loss phase

During the next phase, players may only spend borrowed money. They conceal these loans as much as they can. This phase generally is the start of the gradual distancing from family and friends. The road to isolation is inevitable. However, players remain sure that they will be able to get their debt situation under control. «As soon as I’m out of debt, I’ll stop gambling» is a typical thing that players say at this point.

3. The desparation phase

Ultimately, gambling starts to take up all of your time and becomes the main focus of your life. This results in loss of relationships, work and approval. The line between problematic and addictive gambling is therefore blurred. However, not every phase necessarily needs to progress to the next one.

As a rule, there are early signs that may be signs of a future gambling addiction. Our self-assessment test is a tool that enables you to recognize any warning signs yourself.

How can you identify problematic gambling?

Trusted people of the person affected (e.g. family members, colleagues, managers) recognizing signs at an early stage offers the player the opportunity to seek appropriate help and support before it’s too late. Early signs of a problem typically include: The person affected

• playing more often and with higher stakes than in the past
• playing to compensate for previous losses
• borrowing money from family or friends to play
• increasingly losing control of their gambling (cannot adhere to betting limits, playing more and more frequently for longer periods of time)
• continuing to play despite problems with family, friends or at work.

The Grand Casino Baden (jackpots.ch) aims to provide you with a fun, varied and carefree gambling experience, and implementing the social policy is an important part of this.

Our social policy is based on legal regulations and our duty of care. It helps to protect you as a player from any potential negative consequences of gambling. We always strive for the right balance between freedom and responsibility. Our employees are educated and receive ongoing training to identify the first signs of problematic gambling.  

Early Recognition

In order to ensure that you don’t get into financial difficulties due to your gambling behavior, we have collaborated with the careplay specialist unit and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts to develop criteria that help us to identify potentially vulnerable players.

If you meet one or more of these criteria based on your gambling behavior, we will contact you and initiate an investigation accordingly.

Credit Checks

Based on Article 80 Bundesgesetz über Geldspiele (BGS, Swiss federal act on gambling), we as an online-casino are obliged to be able to verify beyond any reasonable doubt that there are no grounds for blocking your account due to your gambling behavior and/or your financial and personal situation. We therefore continuously carry out checks.

If you meet one or more of these criteria based on your gambling behavior, we will contact you and initiate an investigation accordingly.

As part of these checks, we may need to request the following information and evidence from you:

• Questionnaire about your financial and personal situation
• Proof of income
• Proof of assets
• Extract from the debt collection register
• Bank statements
• Tax documents

Using the documents and information you submit, we check, among other things, whether your gambling behavior is proportionate to your income and assets. If we are unsure whether this is the case, we will take appropriate action.

We are aware that these investigations represent an invasion of your privacy. In addition to legal requirements, however, the well-being of our players is very important to us and we are committed to protecting you and your loved ones from any potential negative effects of gambling.

Your data is safe with us. You can find all information about your data in our privacy policy.

Don’t just turn a blind eye. As a family member, colleague, partner or friend, you can do something to help the person affected.

You can contact the casino at any time by phone or in writing and bring our attention to a change in someone's behavior or financial situation in connection with gambling. We'll be happy to discuss the situation with you and find a solution together. We recommend contacting the casino where the person plays most often.

Alternatively, you can find the various points of contact that can help you with your query under Advice.

If you’re worried about your own gambling – or someone else’s – there is plenty of advice and support available to you.

Places to find help and support can be found below, including advice centers, websites, online chat services and hotlines. You will be offered advice to suit to your situation. This may include talking to someone about your gambling, help to stay in control or support to stop gambling altogether.

Sometimes it can be difficult to ask for help. We would therefore like to draw your attention to the free, confidential and unprejudiced advice offered by the following advice cemters.

Local advice centers:

Mellingerstrasse 30
CH-5400 Baden
Phone: +41 (0)56 200 55 77
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: www.bzbplus.ch

Consultations
Züricherstrasse 126
CH-8953 Dietikon
Phone: +41 (0)44 741 56 56
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: www.sucht-beratung.ch

You can find more advisory services at www.careplay.ch

Other advice centers:

Berner Gesundheit (BeGes)

Eigerstrasse 80
CH-2000 Baden
Phone: +41 (0)800 070 070
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: www.bernergesundheit.ch

CP 1551
CH-6500 Bellinzona
Phone: +41 (0)800 040 080
Website: www.giocoresponsabile.com/

Online advice centers:

Careplay (www.careplay.ch)

(center of excellence for preventing gambling addiction) Safezone (www.safezone.ch) (online addiction advice)

RADIX (www.radix.ch) (center for gambling addiction and behavioral addiction)

Safer Gambling (www.safer-gambling.ch) (dealing with gambling behavior)

Win Back Control (www.winbackcontrol.ch) (online self-help course)

Suchtprävention Aargau (www.suchtpraevention-aargau.ch/gluecksspiel/) (Help with gambling addiction)

Telephone advice centers:

SOS Gambling Addiction (www.sos-spielsucht.ch/) (0800 040 080) (free, anonymous helpline available in many languages)

Die Dargebotene Hand, (143) www.143.ch) (provides anonymous advice 24/7 to anyone with a gambling problem)

Debt advice:

Schuldenberatung Schweiz: https://schulden.ch/

Do you enjoy gambling at the casino and want to keep it that way? Or have you noticed that you’re gambling more often and you want to find a way to enjoy it without any worries again?

At jackpots.ch, we're all about promoting positive and entertaining playing behavior. In your player account, we offer a range of tools to help you regulate your playing yourself. Think carefully and honestly about your limits and your relationship with gambling. If you need help with this, please contact us.

Set playing limits:

By setting one or more limits, you can put a cap on your maximum losses during a selected period of time. It’s no longer possible to play after the limit has been reached. If you lower an existing limit or add a new limit, the change will take place immediately. If you increase or remove a limit, the change will only take effect after 24 hours.

Please note that at least one net loss limit is required and cannot be deleted.

Loss limit

The loss limit determines how much money can be lost within the selected time frame. This takes into account all amounts you have won or lost during this period. For example, if you have set a monthly loss limit of CHF 300.- and have already played CHF 200.- and won CHF 100.-, your loss is currently CHF 100.

Deposit limit

The deposit limit determines how much money can be deposited within the selected time frame. For example, if you have set a weekly deposit limit of CHF 50.- and have already deposited CHF 30.- this week, you can only deposit a maximum of CHF 20.- until the end of the week.

Breaks

It's important to take regular breaks while playing so you can stay in control of yourself and your budget. You can also set gambling breaks for yourself under «Responsible gambling» in your player profile. There, you can define a gambling break for between 15 minutes and a maximum of 6 months, and also set whether it should apply to all options on jackpots.ch or only to selected game categories.

Game history

In your player account under your game history, you can access your previous deposits, payouts, bets, winnings, losses and net result for any period at any time. This allows you to keep an overview of your activities so far.

The gambling suspension applies throughout Switzerland to all licensed casino games in casinos and on the internet, as well as to land-based and/or online lotteries, sports betting, games of skill and to major games specified by the intercantonal authority.

The legal basis for gambling suspensions is set out in Arts. 80 to 82 Geldspielgesetz (Swiss gambling act) and Arts. 84 and 85 Geldspielverordnung (Swiss gambling regulation).

Voluntary gambling suspension

Do you gamble more than you can afford to? Do you neglect your social life or your job because of gambling? Or do you just want to take a longer break from playing? Self-requested gambling suspensions are an effective way to protect yourself from the negative effects of gambling. We also recommend talking to a specialist for support. You can find more about advice centers here.

You have the following options for requesting a gambling suspension with us:

• In your player profile:

  Under My limits in your player profile, you have the option of requesting a voluntary gambling suspension. Please note that this option is only possible if you have already verified your player profile using ID.

• By form:

  Send the completed application form together with a copy of a valid, official form of ID (passport, ID card, Swiss residence permit or Swiss driving license) to [email protected] or by post to:

  jackpots.ch

  Haselstrasse 2

  5400 Baden, Switzerland

• Via customer service:

  Our staff are happy to help

Compulsory gambling suspension

As a casino, we are obliged to issue a compulsory gambling suspension if we know or must assume that a guest:

• Is over-indebted or can no longer meet financial obligations
• Risks gambling stakes that are disproportionate to their income and assets
• Is a gambling addict
• Is unable to carry out a social policy evaluation due to not have submitted the necessary documents (more information on the evaluations can be found under Prevention).

Gambling suspension abroad

Gambling suspensions abroad must be requested from the relevant provider. You can find more information on the different suspension options on the careplay website.

It is also possible to block gambling websites automatically with technical support:

• K9 Web Protection (free): https://k9-web-protection.en.softonic.com
• Gamban: https://gamban.com/

Lifting a suspension

A request to lift a voluntary gambling suspension may be issued at the earliest after three months. A compulsory suspension can only be lifted if the reason for the suspension is no longer present. The request must be submitted to the casino or to the lottery company that issued the suspension.

To submit a request, send us the application form for lifting a gambling suspension. The lifting procedure must involve a specialist unit recognized by the canton.

More information about gambling suspensions can be found in this information sheet.

Do you have any questions about our social policy, your gambling behavior or do you want to regulate your activity on jackpots.ch and need support? We'll be happy to help you find the right measure.

Tanja Erskine is responsible for our social policy. You can contact her and her team at [email protected] or by requesting a callback via your customer profile. In urgent cases, we recommend that you contact the Dargebotene Hand (available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year) on the freephone number 143.