Hi everyone , thought I'd give this a go
ive been gambling from pretty much the age of 10 on fruit machines in my local seaside resort I lived in, used to beg borrow and steal to play fruit machines, then turning 16 and looking well over 18 found myself in casinos with friends teaching me how to play roulette, first time I played roulette I started with 20 and walked with 700, and so it began , was then introduced to FOBTs and its all pretty much gone down hill from there, I've got a bloody good job a decent house and a nice car yet I always seem to have no money , I have banned myself from many online sites and am in the process of banning myself from the only one I have left, pay day is always a struggle as I think I'm a millionaire . I pay my bills on time and never have missed mortgage payments ect, I just find my self slipping into betting shops and having an excuse to drive into town to have a bet, I do enjoy sports betting but even when I try and limit myself I find it very hard as I'm always chasing that big win. There was a time when I was only spending 10 pound a week on a £5 football bet and £5 in the machine. It worked well, this was mainly due to the fact I was in the bookies with my girlfriend who is really against gambling, I'm not in a major amount of debt, I have a 1500 pound overdraft but am nearly always maxing it out every month, I want to totally stop gambling especially on FOBTs. I really enjoy watching the scores come in at the weekend, do I stop everything or do I just limit myself only to fall back into bad habits. I'd really like to better my life and money situation. And the only thing that's stopping me is gambling, I don't spend my money on clothes or anything like that. It all goes in the machines. I'd ideally like to knock it all on the head . Any advice would be amazing, anything I could do to take my mind of gambling , this is the start for me wish me luck 🙂
Hi jp, welcome to the forum, you have come to the right place for excellent help and support. I can only tell you my personal circumstances and I have ruled out all forms of gambling. My issue was online casinos which left me in about 12k of debt. That is after being bailed out of 10k debt by my partner some years previous.
As a CG we cannot control the amounts we spend because we don't know when to stop. No matter how much you win it will never be enough and you will just be in a vicious cycle of deposit to win and never withdraw because it's not enough.
You may find that others can control some forms of gambling it depends on each individual and their what their problem is.
You need to get blocks in place such as blocking software, self excluding from bookies and online sites.
Good luck on your recovery.
Hi mate, I like you have a mortgage, no debt but still manage to wax a hell of a lot of money , I'm 37 days clean and have recently taken up kickboxing which gives me a massive buzz and I've met some great people, I now look forward to going kickboxing rather than the casino to play poker. Good luck in your journey.
Hi Jp. Reading your story really does feel like exactly what I'm currently going through. I feel it's best to knock it on the head and not place a bet again otherwise it will spiral out of control one day. I will def be blocking myself from these sites. Hope you get the advice you need as I'll be doing the same as you I reckon. Good luck
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