Generally, debt is understood to mean liabilities that are associated with repayment obligations to creditors. This means, for example, that person A borrows money from bank B and then pays back the amount in a monthly installment, including interest. This example makes it easy to see that debt is not necessarily "bad". After all, almost everyone has debts. Debts only become dangerous when there is a threat of over-indebtedness. This is when the debtor's current income and assets are no longer sufficient to service the liabilities due. In 2018, just under seven million people in Germany were considered overindebted - and the trend is rising.
One of the most important principles of responsible gambling is to only gamble with existing money that the Player does not need more urgently for other purposes. Conversely, this of course also means that under no circumstances should debts be incurred in order to continue gambling in the Casino, arcade or online casino.
Many pathological gamblers have accumulated large debts at the end of their "gambling career." Eight percent of gambling addicts who receive outpatient counseling or treatment for their problem gambling behavior have a mountain of debt of over 50,000 euros each. For 11% of problem gamblers, the debts are in the range between 25,000 and 50,000 euros. About 17% of gambling addicts have debts totaling between 10,000 and 25,000 euros each, according to the DHS Yearbook Addiction 2020. The remaining proportion of gambling addicts have no debts.
In the event of impending over-indebtedness, those affected should seek external help as early as possible. The German Caritas Association, for example, offers professional debt counseling. Interested parties can either opt for a non-binding online consultation or make an appointment on site.