Hir rock bottom

Hi Jen best of luck getting back on your gambling-free journey. I agree it's pretty messed up how easy and accessible it is to partake in gambling in modern society. But ultimately you have to take responsibility for your actions and can't go around blaming anything else. 

Sorry to hear this jen bookies/arcades fobts are all the same those machines can take thousands and not give u nothing back they are programmed in such a way they can get away with this when i self excluded i remember one of the staff casually saying someone lost £4000 in one session that just sums it up even at £2 a spin they are no different to when it was £100 a spin since my last relapse i have realised those machines are money pits and legally they can play like this and it within the law what kept me in this cycle i would lose £200-£300 each time which soon added up as i would be going everyday untill i had no funds left i believe what changed me was lossing £1000 in one session i honestly didnt believe those machines were capable of doing this yet it happened i only wish it had happened sooner as i believe this was what was needed for me to get serious about my recovery

Hi Jen

I feel your pain and have hit that same rock bottom so many times.  One of those 24h arcades has just opened up in my town centre.  Just a few days after losing £1000 in one session at bingo hall and thinking ‘never again’, I was in the new place and lost £800.  Started my day 1 again and now on day 18.  Keep going. 

Hi Taz, Jean of the north & Fyodor

Thankyou so much for your messages, yes I call it legal theft, there is no limits and it's getting worse as machines become more clever n enticing with new games and also clever how they hook you, as they dish out early wins and lost £450 in the last hour b4 I said that's it I need to actually stop right now, it's too much pain. The new 24 hour casinos are popping up all over the place in this country, I think once Yr in there we're doomed, like you said Taz there's no limits, it's heartbreaking really if you think of the thousands vulnerable people lose who won't stop n go everyday and sometimes losing a large amount can be the final straw. What I meant Fyodor is that these robbing rip off places are allowed to exist and are there for the vulnerable, the chance of a quick easy win which I know doesn't exist, whereas you wouldn't blow 500 or several grand in Sainsburys or the cinema or bowling, gym, swimming etc. I watched a guy play max £2 autoolay spins on 3 machines so hate to think what he lost. The addiction is a battle in anyone's mind whos an addictive gambler and the only thing we can do is put all the self exclusions each time these new places pop up and putting safety measures in place to make sure we don't get sucked in. The triangle of Time, money n access I need to constantly reinforce in my head so that I don't keep making the same mistakes. I was on day 22, 3 weeks but now starting again and more motivated more than ever to cut this cancer out for good. Thank you again for all your kind words and support. ❤️ See you all soon in chatroom x

Hi Jen.

Those machines are pure evill!!

My friend who works in a betting shop told me that the machines  basically pay for staff wages .so we'll never see the end of them .  And Taz is right , £2 max spin causes the same damage as you can lose 20 pounds in a matter of seconds. 

Sorry to hear about your recent loss .  I too have been sucked in with those machines.   Easily losing 1000s over a month whilst caught in the fog.

Keeping fighting the fight xx

@tazman that's right. I do this thing with fobt where I think I need to take £500 with me each time.

My reasoning doesn't make sense as with everything around these things so I won't go into it.

I'm recovering after a hideous 2 week binge .

It's so easy to pour thousands into them things.

Crazy because I stopped for nearly 2 years.

3 weeks in which is nothing I know and the urges are chronic but on I go

Good luck

Hi Jen

I'm so sorry to hear this. At least you are back on here. Not sure what to suggest as I think you have all the barriers in place. It was another practice run and this one is for goof

Hi Stuart, Mrmac & Rpc2011

Thankyou for your kind replies, it's an ongoing battle with this terrible addiction, and painful lessons to be learnt, I feel like Tom hanks in castaway, trying to get over that first major hurdle of waves to escape the danger zone where Im hankering and thinking about it, and getting to a better place in my head, I never knew how far I could travel just to have a flutter as everywhere local I have safety nets put into place but as an addictive gambler u find ways to gamble so I know that it's absolutely down to me to stop but stay stopped. I seem to falter n crave at 3 to 4 weeks mark but if I can get to 3 months I'll be over the worst craving. I've learnt so many things on my journey that I can't stop now I must get this right I must keep going, There are no winners in gambling except for the establishment and fir those 24 hours places the odds are most likely even less for a gambler to pay for the staff and rental costs. They will take everything you have but have taken xtra steps to minimise the time opportunity money n access to try n stop this once n for all. My first goal is to get to 1 month GF and I'm gonna do my best to get there. I'm sick n tired of feeding these greedy companys n machines hundreds of pounds n making the government and these gambling institutions rich. Catch up with you all on chatroom soon

Jen x