I started gambling in January. Won £490 off of £10 then kept on going, before I knew it I was up at 1am when my wages went in and spending the full ammount trying to win. Long story short I was already working 40 hours a week and spent every penny I earned gambling. I’ve had to take on a second job and I work 20 hours a week there. I barely get to be at home and see my dog and my boyfriend and have to make excuses about where all my money is going. I did manage to stop gambling in July and I am now paying out £400 a month to debts purely from gambling, apart from payday loans at £50 a month total (these are being paid off over 4 years) I will have all the rest of my gambling debt off by the 1st of August 2019, I’m killing myself working so much but I can not wait until the day comes that most of this is paid off. I am living off of barely anything and having to pretend that everything is fine. I was supposed to have a great yet and had a lot of plans to go to weddings and things and this has ended up being the worst year of my life. I had a slight relapse last month because even though I have blocked myself from online gambling there is now raffle pages on Facebook at £20 a number to win £100, I wasted £200 on this and then said STOP. I was getting bombarded with messages from gambling sites and debt companies and pay day loan companies so I went and got a new phone and new number so that apart from the £400 a month coming out of my bank for debt I can try and move on. I’m a 26 year old girl and I am very concerned about the effect these Facebook pages are causing for girls like me - some have never gambled before and are spending £300 a day and having nothing left and I don’t think they realise that they could head in the same direction as me...
Hey,
We’re same age and in a similar position. We’re still young compared to a lot of people who realise they have a problem at a much later age which has to be a good thing.
Have you signed up to Gamstop? It’s really helped me recently with online gambling.
Yeah I guess you’re right at lest we are still young. I just hate myself for ever starting this. Yeah I signed up in July so haven’t done any online gambling since then apart from the Facebook ones that I’ve now removed myself from and reported them as they are illegal x
Ive come to realise gambling problems can happen to anyone. It isn’t a personal flaw and it’s obvious to me anyway that you’re serious about stopping so you’re on the right track 🙂 x
It’s strange because before this happened I would have to sit and think for days about things like taking finance out on for things like pet insurance because of the excess that comes with it being a waste of money yet now I’ve wasted probably £7000 on nothing, it makes me feel sick
I stupidly (or maybe it wasn’t) decided to look at my losses for the year on one site and I couldn’t believe how much I’d wasted. That gave me a reality check. £10 or £20 at a time doesn’t seem a lot but it all adds up
Oh god I agree sometimes you just think 1 more £10 and I could get it all back but you know deep down it’s not likely to happen. I’m feeling pretty confident now that I won’t ever go back to it because I am exhausted from working to pay the debt off and can’t wait to be able to leave my second job and have my weekends back to myself and just relax and be able to buy a take away and go for w nice drive somewhere, things that were taken for granted before this horrible addiction took over, I’m really concerned about my credit score because although I’m on monthly payment plans for all the pay day loans they are still marked as defaulted and the law firm I work in could potentially get rid of me if they found out as we have credit checks done on staff every couple of years but I’m trying not to stress about this too much at the minute
I think as long as you’re making the payments on time and at least the minimum amount your score should be OK. Im not 100% though
I turned 27 last month, been gambling for 5 years now. I was off work and saw an advert on tv so thought why not, next thing I knew I gamble 4K in two days! The start of my downfall, 5 years later I’m over 20k in debt, trying to figure out why I still gamble. Most I won was 6k and LOST IT ALL! Been with my BFF for 4 years we moved in together but I had to move back home who was I kidding I can’t even afford to pay my own bills let alone rent. I know I will be paying £800 a month on debt until I’m 30 🙁
Leah, at 27, You’re still young enough to turn this whole experience round and make something of your life. Even at 30, that’s still young. Is there anyone around who you can have look after your finances? What measures do you have in place to try and stop the gambling?
Hi i just turned 35 and am also female. I have lost thousands and thousands due to gambling. i have been having a problem for over a year. All my savings (which i was so proud of) all gone. i was saving up for a deposit for a property but that will never happen now. Not until im like 40 (that is if i stop gambling). hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel for us all.
Reading all these breaks me :/ none of us should be in these positions.. I can't stand being in debt but I couldn't imagine working 60 hours a week or paying hundreds a month to loans either.. you're all strong than I am.
Hi everyone. I am new to this but saw your post and have a similar experience. I gambled when I was at uni just small amounts to help pay for things and when I moved in with my boyfriend. I think sometimes the pressures of the world just get to us and it is so easy for it to get out of control. I started gambling again about 3 years ago and was engaged and my fiancГ© found out. He told me this was the last straw. I stopped and didn’t gamble for 11months before/after the wedding but then I was panicking about how I was going to afford to go on holiday and pay for Christmas and pay my husband back for the holiday so relapsed and for the last 2 years have been gambling on sites, taking out loans and payday loans to pay for it all and to keep it a secret. For the first time ever I gambled away my rent money. I knew I had a problem but didn’t feel I could talk to anyone. I am 27 and have a total of about £37k in debt. So I plucked up the courage on Monday to confess to my husband what I had done...the guilt I felt was enormous as he had just paid off his debts and was working hard as we were meant to be saving for a house next year. I was so scared he was going to leave me but instead he has been incredibly supportive. I have self excluded from all the sites I used and registered with GameStop. He has taken out a loan and paid off my credit cards and pay day loans. We have a plan in action to pay off my other loans quickly as possible making extra payments. He is going to look after my finances and money and give me a small allowance each month for expenses and together we are going to get through this. He told my sister as he needed some support but last night I went and told my mum and she was very supportive. Today I am off to have a talk with the in laws. They know as my husband has told them but today will be the first time I am seeing them after they found out and I am so nervous. I want to get better and feel so much better now I don’t have to lie any more. Good luck to everyone else going through this horrible compulsion. I am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you if you have read to the end.
Wow you're lucky your husband and family are so supportive
Hi Leah, that is really difficult to hear you will be paying out so much for so long. I haven’t been back on any websites but wasted £170 on raffles on Facebook gambling pages yesterday so I’m really upset with myself as it’s put me a whole month behind paying off debt.
I’m paying £400 a month until March then £300 until July then I’ve got about £50 a month to pay on payday loans that the interest is so high on I’m not entirely sure when they will be finished. I’ve removed myself from the raffle pages and blocked all the admins on it so they can’t add me back into it xx
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