I need to stop for the sake of my boy and girlfriend!

Hi Marcus

Rememer FOBTs are designed to get you addicted and your girlfriend needs you and your time with your baby, not some addict chasing a dream of a few extra pounds that if they really suck you in will take it all from you, you dont want to be a liar to your girlfriend as it will ruin your relationship. Stop and your son will see a great Dad, carry on and well just read the stories on here of what people would do to play those addictive machines. You can get through this.

Well done for posting on here Marcus, sounds like your have realised you have a rpoblem and want to deal with it. If you are serious about it you should come clean to your partner, she would be a big help in your recovery. A good way to start is to get to your local GA meeting, also give your partner financial control. I know this sounds extreme and some of us resist but it has 2 great benefits, one she can see all finacial transactions (also give her access to a credit report which are free on sites like Clearscore which show any loans or credit cards you have), and two it really helps rebuild the trust which the lies will have damaged as it shows your are really taking your problem seriously. Some people get wages etc paid into their partners account (having no money makes it very hard to gamble), in my case we have a joint account, my wages go in and we both have a debit card and access to accont via online banking. This way she can see every single transaction as if i need to get something I use my debit card, for the rare occassion I may need to use cash I keep a reciept to show her. It acts as a great deterrent when you get an urge as you know your relationship is on the line.

The next thing to do is start putting up barriers to stop yourself gambling, you said you go to the bookies during work breaks. First thing to do is to go around to every bookie near work and home, bring some passports and self exclude. This will help you a lot.

Keep us posted on how you get on. Best of luck with it.

Hi,

The FOBT was my choice of poison. Before work. Lunchbreak. After work and whenever possible at evenings and weekends.

When my gambling came to light I had to address the issue and that was via cash and cards.

In simple terms i carried no cards and v v little cash. Any cash i was given had to be detailed via a receipt to my wife. I had no interest in any other type of gambling other than the FOBT.

This lasted for 9 months. No cash = no FOBT. In the period i undertook counselling to look at why.

All worth considering.

Best wishes