Instant Win Competition Sites

Hi Stu

Have you installed gamban recently as it should be full proof. If you can still uninstall it then you can speak to their technical team by email and they can tell you how to stop completely. Creating multi layers of friction between you and betting is important. Are you able to build in some accountability by handing over your money to someone else or allowing someone to see your banking app ? Have you tried any GA meetings in person or online ? Gamfam do some excellent zooms daily which can also add accountability. Also the chatrooms on here are excellent. 

I'm 141 days GF after 44 years of gambling so I've had to throw myself into recovery and retrain my brain so I now have no thoughts of gambling, no urges to ruin my life from the one I have now. I guess if you want it, it's out there for you 

Hope to speak more 

Stuart 

Hi Stuart,

Many thanks for the reply. I have tried GamBan recently and it is effective. I will contact their technical team though for some assistance with this.

I think the GA meetings and chatrooms might be the next step for me now. I think speaking with people going through similar issues and understanding their journeys will be of great help!

Fantastic to see how well you have done. 141 days is quite an achievement and long may it continue!

Many thanks,

Stu

I agree with what Stuart says about the friction. At first I thought Gamban was a cop out as I thought it wasn't dealing with the actual problem. That may be true, but it certainly puts a layer of friction in place which has massively benefitted me whilst I do the work in the background to fight the disease. Accountability is what i seek from attending the chats every night, it really helps.

Hi Both

This actually came up with my 12 steps sponsor yesterday. It might seem like a cop out but it also works to set the start of recovery. He said to me that if I was ill, which I am mentally with addiction i would have to make an appointment with the GP, drive there and get meds which would take time to work. To have the friction simply helps while I work on understanding why I gambled and being a better person without it 

Hi Stu,

I think you raise a really important and interesting topic.

These sites are not technically classed as gambling so aren't bound by the same regulation as for example a bookmaker or sports betting site would be, or covered by programs like Gamstop. I think they get around it by asking questions if you enter the daily draws so it then becomes a "competition", but for some reason this doesn't extend to the instant win games which are no different to a slot machine in how they work so I see no reason why this shouldn't be covered as well.

I too have fallen pray to these websites and while I do accept my share of the responsibility as a grown man who knows he's had such problems with gambling in the past that I've had to self exclude for the maximum period through Gamstop, I do think the regulator needs to step in and act before this gets out of hand like other betting products have done.

Judging by the winners lists that are updated regularly and the same names cropping up day after day, they certainly give the strong impression they are attracting a significant number of problem gamblers, but as it stands they aren't compelled to do anything about this.

Yet due to tightening of the rules elsewhere, traditional operators are now quite rightly asked to challenge and ask for proof of income etc once losses hit a certain threshold. Why that same duty of care does not extend to this newer form of gambling - backdoor if you will - that is just as capable of leading to the same compulsive and destructive behaviours that can in the worst of cases have devastating consequences, is one that perplexes me a great deal.

Again, not pointing fingers at the operators in question, they have a business to run and aren't breaking any rules if they aren't currently bound by them, but there is definitely a growing ethical problem here if nothing else and I'm somewhat surprised nothing is being done about it.

Hi Longroadahead

They should still be blocked by Gamban ?