Hello,
I'm Adam, from Yorkshire. I first got sucked into gambling after seeing a no-deposit bonus advert on Facebook from Sky Bingo. I was lucky to win £1000 and from then on I haven't stopped. And I've done terrible things, I've used all our money leaving me and my gf with £30 to get a weeks worth of shopping. I have lied to both parents. I blame myself for this. But I don't blame myself for wanting to spin my way out of a better life. Slots suck me in, the jackpot amount in front of my eyes and I cannot help myself.
But I blame gambling too. I blame the software providers for rigging their slots. They know exactly what they are doing to ensure that their license owners don't lose money. The slots are purposelly tight and callously calculated. They prey on people like me who just want a better life, out of poverty. Not for greed. I can stop and I will be doing, but it sickens me to see how drained of life the locals look at my local B*****d. It saddens me that betting operators run on pure and utter greed. It's vile that they are allowed to confiscate winnings, make it harder for you to withdraw and police you just for winning.
Casino's are a sham. I don't care if you agree. You will win at the start, this is how they reel you in. But ***, *** and *** providers share your information, they know when to limit you. It's easy for me to stop when self excluding myself was like an interrogation and w**********l trying to shame me into somehow being classed as a scummy loser with a gambling problem.
No, I like many others just wanted to better my life. In a world that is dominated by money, I wanted to provide my girlfriend with the best life possible. And the betting/casino companies want me to feel bad for it. They want me to feel like it was all my fault, that they had no blame. That their BS marketing that lures people in is not to blame. But now I'm ready. Never again will I step inside a scam slot machine with fixed odds. They even proudly call their terminals fixed odds. It is fixed and I will no longer donate.
Hi Adam,
Keep that anger but do move on, they are thieving a*******s they don't care how you feel what you do aslong as they get your hard earned money. I blocked myself from so many sites and there's still more being added daily.
Abstain don't give another penny start living your life and become you again. They love people like us but stop now and get yourself back.
Be strong. Keep posting
No more losing
X
Hello Thesphynx,
Welcome to the forum and well done for joining.
It is great that you have decided to improve your life by stopping gambling. You have acknowledged that your gambling created financial difficulty, and that you found yourself lacking honesty with your parents, and you are now committed to abstaining from gambling.
Sounds like you’ve already taken some practical steps by self-excluding. The self-exclusion process does involve identifying for yourself that you have a gambling problem. Recognising that you have a problem with the way you gamble is vital for your recovery, otherwise denial and self-deception can contribute to you deciding to continue gambling. For example, seeing clearly for yourself that you have a tendency to chase while gambling which can result in you overspending, helps you to be mindful that this is a pattern in your behaviour that could occur in various types of gambling, rather than assuming the issue might be limited to one particular game or machine.
In addition to self-excluding, you might want to protect yourself further by installing blocking software on the devices you use to go online.
http://www.gamcare.org.uk/get-advice/what-can-you-do/blocking-software#.VVyiJvlViko
Do feel welcome to start a Recovery Diary and to share support with your peers here. If you’d like information about free support in your area, or if you want to talk 1-2-1 about how you’ve been affected or the challenges you face in your recovery, please call us on our Freephone 0808 8020 133 or the Netline.
Take care,
Adam (Forum Admin).
Thesphynx - preach it brother!
I agree 100%. Don't be fooled by "Gamcare Forum Admin" - Gamcare is funded by the gambling industry and only exists so they can prove to parliament Select Committies that they're taking the issue of problem gambling amongst the poor seriously.
I'm not saying that Gamcare don't care, but it's kinda like turkey's voting for Christmas, etc.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that all online gambling is rigged. It's all fixed. You have a choice now you realise this - you can get angry and keep wasting all your money when hypnotized by adverts on TV. Or you can ignore it and see it for what it is and feel mighty superior by choosing to never waste another penny on those bastads.
If you can't stop yourself because you have been given a get-outta-jail-free "Victim Card" - which means nothing is ever your fault, no personal responsibility/self awareness needed, etc, then I'd suggest going to your GP who will give you anti-depressants and then nothing is your fault ever again 😉
M
Hi Thesphynx,
Molehole's got a good point with the suggestion on speaking to your GP. It could be beneficial to discuss with them about how you are feeling at present. Anti-depressants have helped me and I've also had counselling with regard to some of the nasty things that were going on in my life. In my case recognising what triggered my latest bout of gambling a good while back has helped me stay clean. I don't ever intend to gamble again. Abstinence is not an easy road to travel but it is possible with the right measures in place.
2015 Challenge on here has been great for me.
Take Care Now.
Hello Thesphynx,
You are correct, you are not the only one to blame. The casinos, gambling industry, and even government all conspire to relieve you of all the money you have. They are not only the best liars, they are immoral as a whole.
So now you know.
Now that you know that, the focus has to be on how to resolve your issues. What is it you need to do to rid yourself from these crooked people?
We may have been lured into gambling and robbed of our money, but the goal now is how do we recover?
Fight the urges and the rush to gamble. Over time you will recover.
I am hoping for your success.
Regards,
AM
...........
I am new here and new to stopping gambling so you may have to forgive my inexperienced reply.
I do not blame gambling companies for our own faults.... I do not blame alcohol companies for turning people into alcoholics. ...
For me it is a personal fault and no1elses. Services are here and they have been here for years. Everyone knows the risks, having an minimum age of 18 gives people the ability to make informed choice, whether giving bookies your money, spending all your time getting drunk.
Neither are seen as a bad thing when you have control over yourself and your life.
Everyone has that choice every day.
When I was 18 I loved having my first legal pint and bet. I hated the pub I was in and the bookies I used was a right dive but I loved it.
Blaming someone that lets you do something that is unhealthy is just passing the buck..... is it macdonalds fault that people enjoy a big mac ? no... that is the whole idea.... is it macdonalds fault people eat so much they become very unhealthy and in extreme circumstances eat themselves to death?... no!
There is a reason behind why a person in question lets their life spiral out of control. whether it is boredom, depression or just being ignorant.
Gambling has been around since chimpanzees developed intelligence (quite ironic).
Problematic gambling and behaviour in general comes from a chimp response to a situation instead of a rational response!
.....
Very fair point. I didnt mean it to sound harsh and I am sorry that it did.... reading it back, yes it was a little harsh and maybe sounds quite naive.
I think the main point I was trying to get across is that we are all grown adults and should not blame others for our own actions.
The people trying to make money from us don't care about us but we should care what we do with our lives. The problem is most of us at some point just don't care and give in to temptation!
...........
Yes the shame and embarrassment is vicious. Vicious in the way it makes you feel and vicious that you want to prove that you are not a loser and it was just a lapse... so you try and win again!
I hope you can stay on the right road too... take care
We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. You can also contact us for free on 0808 80 20 133. If you would like to find out more about the service before you start, including information on confidentiality, please click below. Call recordings and chat transcripts are saved for 28 days for quality assurance.
