Another year, another go at kicking this gambling into touch!
Last time I was here it was the casino and FoBT's emptying my wallet to the tune of £400-£600 a week. Following some help on here I filed a load of exclusion forms and no longer even try to get through the door **(that's in my home town and two surrounding towns - it's difficult if I go into Manchester city centre as there are literally hundreds of gambling options available - over Christmas we went out and I had a football bet, luckily I was out with "none gamblers" including another lad in my position trying to get over his own addiction to gambling, so we didn't get carried away).
I'm not in any debt (apart from a small home improvement loan, nothing to do with gambling I'm pleased to say) but once again the lure of the flashing lights in the pub are costing me money. I have always (and will always) enjoyed the quiz machines. Yes it's gambling, I'm not sure what "category" they are but 50p for a game of general knowledge has always struck me as fun rather than feeding an addiction, but that's another argument altogether. The problem is, they seem to be disappearing from the pubs. Where you used to see a quiz game and a couple of bandits, they now seem to squeeze 4 fruit machines in and bin the quizzes altogether. I understand the logic; bandits make them a fortune, quiz machines make them a bit of change, but with those missing I am finding more and more that I'm playing the fruities again.
Options;
Stop going to the pub.
Stop taking "spare" money with me.
Find another way to pass time (newspaper crossword, game of pool/darts etc).
Not going is a none starter, it's the only time I see any of my mates I'm afraid to say and they are not the sort of lads who would go for a coffee instead, we drink beer, it's the way it is. 🙂
This week I've started to leave my bank card at home and just keep £20 or so in my wallet. Not ideal, but I think that's going to be the key to it - less disposable money.
If anyone else has suggestions I'd be glad to listen.
I'm committed, when I was playing online I canned ALL online gambling with a K9 install (done by my wife at my request) on my laptop, work computer AND phone - none of this "I want to quit so I blocked myself from the casino I play at..." (two days later) "I joined another new casino and lost my wages". In my eyes if you WANT to do something, you follow through with it. Cutting off at the source was the only way for me and it's saved me tens of thousands of pounds.
Likewise when I was in the casino and bookies the only way I saw was a self exclusion (permanent and irreversable).
Thanks for listening anyway. I'm not in as bad shape as some of the members here but I promise you I'VE BEEN THERE. Right to rock bottom and then digging a bit deeper too. All the highs and most definitely all the wretched lows.
Cheers all. Kev.
Hi Kev,
You sound like a man after my own heart, despite being 4 months gamble-free, I wouldn't clasify quiz games as gambling, 50p for a bit of entertainment (personally I like Pub Quiz and Whack a Wabbit!)
Anyway, I, like you, have a bit of an issue with the fruit machines, particularly the newer type which are basically lower-jackpot FOBTs. Here's what I did (which, four months in is working) although part of it relies on the fact that I normally drink in the same pub.
- Stop taking cash to the pub altogether. My local lets me setup a tab (it's a Greene King) as if I was eating and then pay it by card, I don't know if they all do that but it's worth asking. The only minor drawback is it's easy to get over-generous when you have a tab and start getting rounds in but, hey, a few beers for your mates has to be better than losing the money to the machines.
- Tell your mates about your problem. Even if you don't want to go the full 'I'm an addict' route then tell them that you're spending too much on the machines and you're giving yourself some times off. Some will be genuinely supportive but most will just want to see you fail and so they can rib you for it "See? Told you he can't keep off 'em!" "It's a mugs game!" etc. To be fair, the idea of being seen as a 'weak addict' in the eyes of my mates/drinking buddies was more motivation than anything.
- Tell the pub landlord. This only works if you have a local where you spend most of your drinking time. But, if you have a landlord you are on speaking terms with, let them know about what you're doing. You'll probably get "No worries, if I see you on them then you're barred" (this is what I got). Of course they are unlikely to actually bar you but it's a good deterrant.
- Think a bit wider. If there is a bookies near the pub then go and self-exclude from there. Even if you've never played a FOBT in your life, gambling addiction works in mysterious ways and it will look for an outlet in unexpected places/
- Post here and start a diary. Tracking your progress will help you to keep focussed.
I hope this is of some help.
All the best
Phil
Hey kev
I've been flicking back through my diary...
You were the first to post to me . .over 2 years ago...
I'm sorry to see you're being bothered by those pub machines.. .
You know deep down you'll never get the better of them. ...that they'll only get the better of you..
Stay strong...x
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