Hi, I'm 24 and have gambled from August 2013 to last week December 2016.
I am in around £3500 debt, the debt isn't really that serious though, I don't get hounded by creditors as it is generally on credit cards that I pay monthly and a bank overdraft. I used to have payday loan debts which were bad but I set up a Debt Management Plan for them and am nearly finished with that.
I gambled on most sports especially football, I am trying to avoid watching live football as it is very difficult for me to not think about gambling when watching live sport.
It was not all about the money, the way gambling sites are designed really got a hold of my mind, those little soccer ball symbols, etc, that would pop up when a goal was scored gave me a serious amount of pleasure, it is hard to explain.
Also, if I had a bet on a football game and the bet came in early on in the game I would actually be irritated as I would have rathered for me to get really stressed during the game and for the bet to win near the end to give me a major surge of pleasure.
I don't know if quitting gambling will get easier as time goes on, I am hoping it is like when you go on a diet, you get less urge for sweet food as time goes on.
It is ridiculous how I still want to gamble as even if I won a £6000 bet today I wouldn't have really won anything, I would just be getting back what I lost over the 3 years. I also have lost around £3000 worth of wages from work.
I remember back in 2013 I was thinking I could gamble enough to be able to go on a holiday somewhere, the truth is if I hadn't started gambling I could have went on several holidays to the other side of the world.
Welcome Mark.
I think we all started out with the idea it would top up our wages.
The further we go the bigger the fantasy and dream grows.
Like you although mine was slots
I remember the time's walking in and landing the jackpot in minutes. And thinking that wasn't no fun. The good old fashion chase is what I craved. And I seems you did also.
I think the biggest question you have to ask yourself is what's the point if we only hand it back?
Hopefully you can get yourself back on track and this forum is a good place to start. It's full of information that will help.
All the best for now
Deano
Hi mark
Very similar to me, I watch a lot of live sport and have been in a pattern of betting on a whole range of things over the past couple of years.
I haven't placed a bet tonight and there is football on so I'm hoping my commitment to not betting anymore is off to a solid start.
You are totally right though, I used to think I might top up my income to do cool things with, the reality is I'm £200 a month down just paying off the gambling debts, not to mention the hundreds of pounds I have lost in between which I paid for without being in debt.
It's definately a good thing to share stories, best of luck to you.
Drw
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