Hi I have just joined as gambling has finally found it way to fully destroy me without me even realising, I am 26 years old I have been gambling since I was 17 it was just an on and off thing before every football match with mates then we would win some and go about our day but then I found my self going on my own later on that day and winning only small amount at that time but it was a good feeling which I kept chasing unknowing to me it was just the start of what was to come, so within 2 years of gambling I racked up 8k debt my partner and mum found out so I stopped it and paid the debt off then once the debt was paid off after 12month I found my self doing it again that led to 18k debt so then I got found out again so I stopped it as at this point me and my partner needed to move out so we started to save for a house whilst I was paying off my debt and there was no gambling in between so fast forward a hard 18moth I paid off the debt got a house deposite and we bought our current home which is our first and forever home then a couple of months of being in the new home she fell pregnant which we was exited for but for some reason I had started gambling again and hiding it which led to me been 30k in debt within a 2 month period which was not nice and I felt sick to my stomach knowing I had a child on the way and I have still done this horrible thing so yet again I got caught out so I banned my self from everything I possible could bookies,casinos,gamstop but then the bookies ban only last 12months so when I new that’s was up I started to gamble again which I kicked my self for then being up to now I have my 18month old daughter but I currently now have 80k debts risking losing my home as I can’t keep up with debt repayments I think I’m going to loose our home as I’ve always made sure I could pay my debts but it’s at the point now where it’s just too much and there is no way out of it this time so this is my first step at trying to get real help as I have never really done it and accepted that I am a compulsive gambler and need help or I am going to lose everything I could ever dream of all over again stupid game I will never beat but somewhere it just makes me feel good just that few moments gambling and then reality hits when there is no money left but when I have no money I can’t gamble and that’s dosnt affect me at all because I know I physically can’t it’s the fact that when I have money the temptation comes straight back even stronger every single time and enough is enough for me now it has ruined mine and a lot of my family’s years trying to sort me out and it’s just not fair so I’m here to get help and this time look back at gambling , thanks to anyone what has read this i know it’s long winded but this is my storyÂ
Help is out there, give up your finances to your partner live frugle and get help with your debt repayments from places like step change. Put every single block you can in place and just like someone who doesn't like something, Learn to hate gambling and see it for what it is an evil addiction that will drain your finances, friends, personality and future. It took me a while to stop and each day is an achievement, I had deeper issues that needed resolved by CBT for trauma and I realised that gambling was just a coping mechanism for how i felt along with the other behavioural addictions I had like drinking. Right now I've had no urges to gamble and its been 39 days I only drink when I choose to and not use it to escape. Good luck help is out there make a plan and stick to it.
If you had 80k of gambling debts, I assume they are either credit cards or loans? Meaning you would be having to pay between £1500-£2000 a month in repayments……how are you doing that and paying for a house whilst keeping it a secret from your partner?
I am honestly not surprised it doesnt matter if it £10 or 10 million pounds all can be lost if u have gambling addiction as an addict simply doesent know when to stop their is a way but in not as simple as going from A to B am on day 777 days bet free after previously managing 3 years and had few relapses in between my relapses happened for various reasons from stress to trying to win some money to even getting raffle tickets which lead to a relapse after many attempts at quiting trying Ga and now gamcare i have come to a conclusion my safest way to have a normal life is reminding myself a relapse will always end up in the same mannor the addiction doesnt go away with time its always their even though at this point i have no urgues to gamble if u read stories on here many people relapse after few years of not gambling i now see why i relapaced as i became complacent which i now understand would always end up in the same mannor regardless of time this forum has chatrooms running daily and u can always come on and read the forum it like a daily reminder i am still an addict regardless if i feed this addiction or not i also understand this time i actually feel alot prouder has i am actually doing something about it and if i ever need that extra support i can count on gamcare as i really dont want to experience it again so far i am happyÂ
Hi,
I'm in about 40k of debt and it literally leaves next to nothing after paying mortgage and bills etc. I am hoping to clear it within 3 years but every day I wake up depressed I cannot afford things I need or would like. I am not materialistic at all but would like to be able to go on holiday and put for days without panicking. I feel like I have wasted 10+ years of my life just to repeatedly press a button. The sad thing is around a month ago I won quite a bit and it would have cleared my debts but due to only being able to withdraw small amounts every 36 hours I ended up playing (and losing) it all. Finally signed up to Gamban which luckily also blocks the foreign sites. I'm not missing it it's weird like out of sight out of mind, but the debt is a constant reminder of how stupid I've been!
HayleyÂ
@3wtshakq4c exactly the same problem I used to have. These foreign sites take so long to withdraw your money and then you can still cancel the withdrawal requests. I’ve lost so much money that way after a good win.
Gambling debts are the worst im seeing nee trends on tik tok debt journey where people have over spent and getting their debt down unfortunately with gambling their nothing to sell even if u bought stuff which caused the debt u can always sell stuff and recoupe some of the losses its one of the main triggers causing relapsesÂ
@3wtshakq4c exactly the same problem I used to have. These foreign sites take so long to withdraw your money and then you can still cancel the withdrawal requests. I’ve lost so much money that way after a good win.
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It's irrelevant though because you (like all of us) would have just gambled away the winnings anyway. Wins are always the worst thing to happen to gambling addicts, we only ever quit after losing. There's no such thing as a "good win"
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I know your pain, I'm 3 days without gambling and have £35k of debt. It's tough to swallow but we can do this. You have air in your lungs and a reason to recover. Stay strong.
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