Hi, This is hopefully the first day of the rest of my life. Over the last 12 months I have become a complusive gambler using online slot machines and I'm now over 120K in debt! I'm so worried that I'm going to lose my home and have finally admitted to myself that I need help. I have contacted someone online to find out if I will be accepted for an IVA to try and pay off my debts as I don't want to have to declare myself bankrupt as not only would I lose my home but I work in a job where I would have to declare bancrupcy and may lose my job.
Hopefully I will be able to gain control of my debts through an IVA but I also realise that I need to address the reason behind the debts ... gambling! I'm too ashamed to discuss it with my family or friends so I'm hoping to find support online. I live alone and find I often gamble through boredom as my family don't live locally to me. I don't even enjoy it anymore but continued to chase my losses in the hope I could pay of my debt .... always searching for that one big win and I have now realised that the amount I have spent is higher than most of the jackpots I have been trying so desperatley to win!
I have tonight self excluded from all websites I have accounts with and am planning on buying some software to stop myself from being able to access the sites again.
Any help and advice you can give me will be appriciated! 🙂
Hi, gambling - it's a bad addication one for it's unseen, smoking drinking drug use addication at a high level is noticeable, gambling isn't until the for sale sign goes up on your house. I am a compulsive gambler, when I start I can't stop until I break even or I am up a little, even then I have been up thousands and still never stopped. A couple of things I have never done is debt of stealing or borrowing, I won't due that. The reason I am posting on your thread is that in my opinion when the debt spiral's you have/need to stop, that big win is not coming. A very good contributor (JamesP) once posted to me on here if you won £K500, a compulsive gambler will never stop, his words are very true. It's a life style change to stop, I have found it very difficult to stop for any length of time, I have a massive problem where money is concerned. The factors that have caused you to gamble, many of us on here can resonate with, boredom, low income, etc etc. No-one here has a magic wand, stopping gambling can only come from the gambler, there is great support out there, but when push comes to shove, it has to come from within,from you. Read on here a lot, go to the chat forums, see a counsellor, ring the samirantes (I did 5 times one day). The bottom line is that we/I made bad choices regarding money. We thought a bit of gambling - easy money, well it's not, it takes everthing; good-luck, keep posting and reading, my thoughts are with you.
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