Here goes!

Hi Noswad,

Well done for taking the plunge & joining. I am a newbie here myself but not new to gambling.

Something I can immediately relate to is your comment about accas not being the main issue & the crack C*****e of gambling as it's called or FOBTS being your downfal. The thing is for me any betting can trigger my downward spiral of gambling online or FOBTS. Personally I think after 20 years of gambling you can't have even a dabble when your addicted the risks are too high.

I've tried many times to stop & always failed. I wish I was young again so I could talk to myself & explain the damage & waste of years of gambling.

I know it must feel impossible to discuss with a friend or family member but, I would strongly argue, you need the support of one of them I know it will be hard to dicuss but until you fully face up to your problem & discuss it will be harder to overcome. Support is essential so go & ask for it.

All the best Redham

Noswad, do you gamble on roulette after a loss on sports betting? What's the pattern like?

I got addicted to roulette last year and for me, it was like switching from a lower class drug (sports betting) to a much higher one (roulette). It was more addictive. The buzz was bigger but predictably so were the losses.

The only way to stop is to put some type of block in place. There's plenty of advice around here on that, but I'm sure you're familiar with all of the usual methods.

All the best and looking forward to seeing you post again.

Martin You're spot on about the high class and low class drug. Used to be okay with low stakes sports, then the stakes increased and then I started with the roulette and occasionally blackjack. For me though it used to be the other way around - I would deposit some money, usually with the idea that I would get lucky with a few spins on roulette, win, and put the profits into a football/tennis/horse bet. Almost every time however I'd always want more and more spins and end up putting nothing on the sports bets. So many times the sports bets would win when I had nothing on them and the s*** feeling would feel x10 worse. If I was ever successful with a sports bet, you can guess where usually the winnings would go? And always end up losing them? Cheers for the reply mate.

Hi Noswad,

A warm welcome to the forum, and thanks for sharing your story too.

Even though you’ve been gambling for 3years, it sounds like you’ve been battling for the last 18 month with gambling problem, and not sure how you are going to get the grip of your situation.

By posting your story here, you’ve actually taken the first step of your journey to recovery. Gamcare is ready to help and support you with advice on strategies to put in place to enable you to control, and eventually overcome your gambling problem. It’s also important that you follow the advice that we offer, so you’d hopefully be able to become a gamble free person.

In case that is not enough for you to stop, then you may probably consider further support like counselling. We can refer you to 12 sessions of free counselling to help you to explore various areas of your life; the underlying issues of your gambling problem (in case there’s one), to make sense of what is going on with you, look out for what your triggers are, and try and manage them effectively, and thus, find a way forward.

Maybe, you’d like to contact our free phone Helpline on: 0808 8020 133, and speak 1 to 1 with one of our advisers.

Our lines are open every day from 8.00am to midnight.

My best wishes to you, and please keep posting.

Kind regards,

Beatrice

Heya!

Welcome to the forum! I feel your pain and I guess you wonder why you may keep gravitating towards gambling? You know it's not cool and yet we still end up there.

My advice is be vigilant, let money lost go and move on to a positive chapter in your life! We all make mistakes and move on! But you have to want to quit, and you have to be prepared to put blocks in place. As for confiding in people close to you, it's your call but believe me the support you can receive makes you stronger in this! I did it alone for so long, but after telling not so new partner about my problem with gambling and seeing what is at stake I never looked back!! Break time, money, location triangle, give finances to loved one, kill lines of credit, put K9 and router blockers on your devices. Just slay it! Learn to hate the gambling industry. I even think I could gamble now but it would cost me hundreds or thousands to see if there is any payout! It just isn't worth it! But cutting lose losses is a major step! I lost £5k. All paid back now but to me it was money well spent against the thought of gambling again! It set me on the straight and narrow on a positive and gamble free way of life! 270 days or so where I don't gamble makes me a winner as I'm not lining the pockets of off shore gambling people! I'm not even trying a couple of quid in the local pub fruity! The benefits of not gambling kick in quickly, and seeing what you could lose as a result of this terrible addiction puts things in perspective! Stay smart, kick it into touch and move on! Never looking back, it's done, it's the past!

Take care and keep posting! The support here is amazing!

Hi Noswad.

Im glad youve joined the forum and I hope you read the threads and learn all about the addiction which affects many many people.

Now Roulette. Einstein himself said there was no system to feel comfortable with gambling on roulette. He was a living genius so what do you know about roulette thats going to make your fortune? You have been ignoring the odds just as with the football accumulators. It often happens that gamblers need a bigger and bigger fix. I dont agree with gambling but when a £1 bet becomes losing hundreds and thousands, its a serious and very dangerous addiction

Naturally we dont like losing but thats what gambling is. Way more often than not you will lose and keep losing. If that wasnt the case there would be no bookies or casinos. They are not there to buy you a house or provide a steady income. They are there to buy themselves houses cars and yachts with "punters" money

Im stating things that you really know but your mind is full of lucky clover, dopamine fixes and chasing losses. 37 to 1 or spread betting doesnt work. I will be blunt...how much money would you put on the spin at those odds. How much money would you put on the flip of a coin? Your life, your relationships, your home and your bank balance?

Sensible people dont really gamble. Its sounds as if you became a compulsive, addicted gambler and that is plain dangerous to your health and your financial future

The recovery process is that you must block and you really should tell someone close as they can help before it gets any worse for you

Best wishes from everyone on the forum