Day 1

Woken up feeling really c**P about how much I gambled last night. Really angry with myself, need to remember this feeling when I next have the urge

Hi jess download a software block like k9 or Gamban, call your provider and get them to block gambling sites, self exclude. Willpower alone is sometimes not enough. Call gamcare and get some advice. Online slots are very addictive and made for you to lose over time. Get some support too, confiding in a close person helps and makes you accountable.

Hi Jess,Im similar to you in that I gamble online in spurts...and then nothing for a long time. And also like you I have been doing it since the start of this year much more frequently. Definately download gamban...on any device you have. It works brilliantly for me on the PC however the version did not work on my android phone so I found myslef doing the slots on my phone eventhough I didnt find the experience as pleasurable as gambling on the big screen on my PC!Its funny how paying for gamban, only 10 or 12 quid for the year was suxh a big deal for me...I didnt want to pay it...kept looking for free blocking sites. And yet I had just blown 4k in a few sessions at that point...what kind of crazy thought process is that!!! Its the gambler brain...wont spend 10 quid but will blow 4k! Seriously..do it right now...Its just such a shame that it wouldnt work on my phone cause I spent another 3k on my phone chasing the 4k! But maybe that had to happen for me to realise the serious dangers and methods that i will use to get on those slots.And if i hadnt lost that last 3k then I probably wouldnt have signed up here. As for the money you lost last night...I read here yesterday somewhere and it was a great line. Think of that money as the best investment you ever made...becuase it is..that money you lost last night is the last money you will ever lose to gambling. That was the best money you ever spent as its the money that made you stop this gambling addiction. I know that aweful feeling of loss...but that pain goes away soon enough which is good. The thing to be aware of is that because that pain lifts...we forget pretty quickly how aweful we felt after the big loss...and brainwash ourselves into thinking its ok to go online again now and it will be ok this time. Get those blocks in place today if you do nothing else.It does really help put a stop to us!.

I’ve tried K9 but I just end up deleting it, Everytime I gamble I then finish it with self excluding myself from that site and saying that’s enough, I’m stopping this, and then the next time I get bored again and search through all the sites to see which ones I’m not registered at. I think I’ve self excluded from more than 50 sites but I still keep managing to find new ones to register at and waste money on.

One thing to be aware of Jessl is although there are hundreds of sites...many of them are not regulated and even if you did win money, getting it back from them is a nightmare...many of them wont pay out. Have a google of online casino reviews and you will see that many of them fall into this bracket. As bad as gambling is it gets even worse if you are giving your money to an unreputable site of which there are loads....you will never see a penny. And many of them for this reason have there slots set so you win loads...but you wont get the money. I know coz I turned a 50euro bet into 1,100euro...was over the moon until i realised i was never getting the money. So gambled the 1,100 with ease as i was never getting the payout.

It’s coming to that time of night where I’ll be reaching for my phone ready to search for any site to play on. I’ve purposely got my gym gear on so that as soon as I put my son to bed I can keep occupied with a workout and hopefully avoid temptation

Hi Jessi I hope tonight goes well for you

By now I’m usually coming to the end of my gambling spree and feeling pretty c**P, but I’ve kept myself busy and not thought all to much about it. Day 1 is a success.

Very much fighting the urge tonight. I’m so exhausted I don’t have the energy to do anything to distract me this evening, hoping my will power sees me through

Hello, I joined the same day as you and I totally understand what your going through as I am too.

I just keep thinking it should be made illegal for the gambling companies to keep taking your money but I guess thats freedom of speech. But hows this for an idea which may or may not work.

There should be a collective website that all gambling companies have to check to see if you are regsitered on it. If you have self registered yourself on said website they should not allow you to set up an account. This would stop us even being able to gamble in the first place.

I always gamble on a night time, always after a certain time so I have done the following (since Saturday 10 March):-

• Gave all bank cards to the wife.
• Banned myself from as many websites as I can find. I sat for 3 hours registering myself and then self excluding myself. I have listed them all I have done it on so that every weekend I will then do a search for new ones and do exactly the same.
• I have asked the wife to change our bank account details (because the devious part of me remembers the card details and I am sure I have written them down somewhere.
• After a certain time at night I give her my phone. I dont ever gamble on the PC so if i dont have the tools I cannot do it can i. I never go in the bookies and I generally speaking have a glass of wine on a night time which stops me from driving.
• I am only ever going to use cash that she gives me.
• I have an elastic band on my wrist, when I think of gambling i snap that fu**er on my wrist and it bloody hurts.
• My screen saver on my phone is now a picture of my girls which says "Dad don't do it" They didnt know why I asked them to do it but f**k me does it stop me because I see their faces and it makes me sad for all the money I have lost.

Hope this helps a little. I am doing ok atm (third day) and I feel frustrated and agitated but its better than feeling suicidal after losing a grand or so!

Emptyp2 wrote:

Hi Jessi I hope tonight goes well for you

Please read my tips that I have setup and maybe these can be used by you? Giving the missus the phone at night time has been hard but its saved me about £1k over the weekend.

If there was someone with me I wouldn’t gamble, I’m fine if I’m busy or someone’s with me, I don’t even think about it. It’s just a habit out of boredom. I don’t have any hobbies to concentrate on, it’s just a way to pass the time until it’s time for bed. I haven’t thought about it much today which is good.

Jessl wrote:

If there was someone with me I wouldn’t gamble, I’m fine if I’m busy or someone’s with me, I don’t even think about it. It’s just a habit out of boredom. I don’t have any hobbies to concentrate on, it’s just a way to pass the time until it’s time for bed. I haven’t thought about it much today which is good.

can you go for a walk. Or go to the gym. Or call a friend. Or even just listen to music and close your eyes and think of times before you gambled.

I had a scare before I was going to put 50 quid at the bookies so decided to pop open a bottle of wine. Knowing I would never drink and drive I drank a glass straight. Decided it’s worth losing 5 quid to a cheap bottle. Not ideal I know but it stopped me. Half way through it I went to see my girls who where tucked up in bed and that just made me smile. I can spend 45 quid on them tomorrow and know I’m no worse off.

I have a small child so can’t leave the house at night, trying to save workouts for nighttime to keep my busy but hard after a busy day and you just want to sit on the sofa and play on your phone. I’m really impressed with your idea, it’s a good thing to do.