Katie Midwinter: Embrace Safer Gambling Week and use the tools available to you

• Betfair tipster Katie Midwinter on the importance of gambling responsibly

• It's Safer Gambling Week - explore all the tools available to Betfair customers here

Off the back of the November Meeting at Cheltenham and ahead of a busy period of top-class racing and sport in the coming weeks and months, it's possible to become overwhelmed with the sheer quantity of events on offer.

In such times it's crucial to follow some of the best practices of safer gambling. For me those are to always remember to bet within your means, to never chase losses, and to take a patient approach with gambling to ensure it remains a fun past-time and, hopefully, a profitable one too.

Whilst gambling can be enjoyable, it can also be frustrating at times, especially when things aren't going your way. This is the time to take a break and a step back.

Showing discipline is key in becoming a good punter and making sure you are always in control of your gambling habits.

Safer Gambling Week is a necessary reminder on how to gamble responsibly and is the perfect opportunity to highlight the range of tools that are available to each Betfair user, to offer help and support.

Keep Betfair's Safer Gambling tools front of mind

Using a deposit limit can be a useful way to ensure you stay consistent and you never gamble beyond your means. Betfair users can set the maximum amount they are happy to deposit within a certain time frame, a figure that is comfortable to them.

The loss limit allows users to set a cap on potential losses - which can be another useful tool, especially on a luckless day.

Time out makes sure you take a break from gambling - something that is certainly encouraged from time to time.

Using these tools can help you adopt safer habits when gambling. Making users aware of these tools is incredibly important as it's essential to gambling responsibly and safely.

Safer Gambling should be at the forefront of our minds all year long and not just for one week.

All the above tools are there to protect people from harm, and I urge everyone to look at them on the Safer Gambling area of Betfair's website, whether they consider themselves "at risk" or not.

Now Read: More on Betfair's Safer Gambling Tools