Just signed up... Having slot problems

Hi Quick, your story is very similar to mine, online slots were my demon where I was very controlled with sports gambling. A fiver on the football Saturday and Sunday was my limit. I have now not played a slot in 6 months and the only thing that worked for me was a combination of gam stop and gamban. People will argue with my point but I still go to a physical bookies at the weekend and do my fiver bet, but I'm in and out within 5 mins. Again this won't work for everyone but for myself my mental health and finances have never been better since I blocked all the online routes.

Hi im around your age but a woman, ive been addicted to slots for i would say probably 10 years maybe more. I did ban myself for 3 years but then an advert led me back to them. It started where I’d play £10 a month when the hubby was out with his mates for something to do and quickly escalated. I’m now in 40,000£ worth of debt at 38, barely anything left for the month which constantly takes me into my overdraft. For yours and your family’s sake I would get out while you can now, in that whole time I’ve had two wins that I can say are substantial but then I put the money back in again and more. Don’t just move to another form of gambling because that quickly becomes a new obsession. People say slots are the worst form as they rarely pay out and when they do you just keep spending it. It already sounds like it’s consuming you with your thoughts and emotions and honestly it’s not worth it. Everyone will have different stories but this is the lowest point of my life after having said I will change twice previously I let myself down and my family and friends x

@zrn51gx8y0 

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. 

I've blocked slots or casino's from all the bookies I use to put on sports bets. The problem I'm finding is that there's always more online slots websites and they're so easy to sign up to. No one even wants verification anymore!

I looked at gamstop, but it seems to just ban everything completely and horse racing is a hobby of mine. The breeding, trainers, jockeys etc. I find it pretty fascinating. 

How did you manage to cut out the slots, if you don't mind me asking? Any tips to stop the urge or just sheer willpower?

@linzw1987 

Thanks for the reply, it means a lot when people are willing to spend a little time talking with me about it. Every time I talk about it, it makes me feel stronger to resist the urge. 

This is day one for me, the urges are really strong, but I feel pretty steeled towards cutting this out of my life. 

I'm sorry to hear about your problems, it's scary to think that it could escalate to the point of a substantial debt. I've always thought to myself that I'd never let it get there, but when I run out of money at the end of the month, I'm always looking for ways to get more money. The "I just need a win and then I can stop" playing through my mind. 

I'm going to keep pushing and have a chat with my wife this morning (her lay in day 😂) and just keep up.the narrative. It's true what they say, talking helps, at least it is for me.

Have you taken up a hobby or anything like that, to fill your time? I'm trying to read more and focus on the kids (my boy is autistic and a handful), but I've also been thinking about ways to earn some money on the side and make my spare time more productive. I think for me, gambling was always a way of getting enough money that I don't have to do it anymore and I can just be comfortable. 

@9aogj7pxt8 unfortunately gam stop amd most importantly gam ban is the only way to avoid online slots all together, will power in my case was never enough and like you said you will always find another site.

In terms of the horses I'm similar with football it's a massive passion. Gam stop does not restrict you walking into a bookies and placing a bet. But if you're like myself the thought of getting out the house and driving there isn't as appealing and that's why I only go once a week now. I also find bookmakers very depressing places and that's why I'm always out in less than 10 mins. 

Good luck in whatever you choose but in my opinion whilst you have easy access on your phone etc you're never going to beat the slot addiction. 

@linzw1987 Hi I am a woman too, I am 35 and I spend around same amount as you, with no money left for rent, debts and embarrassment from people from which I borrowed money and didn't been able to pay back. I banned myself from online gambling on Gamstop in 2023, but then I found a non UK casino that is not on gamstop and even if I blocked my bank accounts to keep me away from gambling, I played over 25k on that site, and banks did nothing as transactions are appearing us different stuff but no gambling. I am in a desperate situation .

@z69lvo57y1 I spent £25,000 at first like you got my hubby to take out a loan to cover it so that I pay him back. This time I’m having to ask him to take out another one as I’m now up to 40,000 which means I’ll be paying back about £900 a month for the next 5 years which makes me feel so depressed but I’ve looked at alternatives options and I don’t want to touch the house equity as that’s not just my house and I’ve got no other assets to sell (other than my body haha and I don’t think anyone would want that) so I think I’m just going to have to get by and see how I get on. It’s not just gambling with me, it’s compulsive buying so I’m having to change my habits completley im Only on day 3 and having to take myself to bed early to take my mind off it. I need something to do this is the problem! X

Slots have a built in Return to player percentage which hovers between as low as 88 percent to as high as 96 percent.

This means that theoretically I should see a return of 88p to 96p for every pound I spend.

However RTP is based on maths models and simulations which when tested take billions of spins to even out the variance.

So in the short term you will see and experience bouts of low variance, medium variance and high variance. Many slots that promise 10000x or more jackpots payouts are extremely high variance and when you play these you will experience incredible long streaks of losses with occasional small wins and very rarely someone will scoop the jackpot. 

In effect you could spin a 1000x or more with these type of slots and lose a similar amount of bets without even hitting a bonus round!

These high variance slots and there are more and more of them are the crack C*****e of gambling.

I had the misfortune to hit a 5000x multiplier on one of these slots, a very rare occurrence. What did I do after? Lost it all back again and more on other slots trying to repeat the experience.

These slots cleverly provide dopamine hits and being addicts, we regularly play them to get that high. And then we just play them to win money so we can play them more with the money we have won.

We gamble not only to win but to gamble the next day as well because our drug of choice calls out to us for our next dopamine hit.

Slots are designed with this exact process in mind. They have good graphics , have cool sounds and reward us with flashing lights and jackpot sounds when we win, albeit even when we are winning less than what we are putting in!

They are built to be addictive with one thing in mind only- to suck your balance dry. Yes they will provide the occasional wins but being addicts, we are also greedy and want more. Hence we will lose everything back and more.

A few people will win jackpots and most will lose everything back. There are no winners in this game and accept the greedy casinos and software providers.

They know how addictive these games are yet sugarcoat the dangers about them. The whole industry is based on lies and gambling addicts are their greatest form of income. Most sports books all have casino games and that is where their real bread and butter comes from, not from sports bets but from casino games and slots.

Ask yourself, do you want to continue losing your hard earned money to a crack dealer? Because that is what they essentially are..

@oldnews74 everyrhing u have said has hit the nail in the coffin this is the purpose and objective of these gambling firms rather then how they are marketed without compulsive gambliers their wouldnt be a market for these companies very few people are satified by the entertainment they provide even if your not an addict your not getting value for time spent 848 days since my last bet and i am still learning my gambling took place in venues where i was offered tea and coffee snacks sadwhiches to keep punters to keep gambling learning about the online industry its mind boogling seeing people lossing large sums of money and getting nothing in return and the uk government not done much to safe gaurd compulsive gambliers i see it legalised theft they obviously know how much each person spending not only this these companies dont follow ethical practices which makes me extremely angry they know your social status if these companies wanted to they could offer support and cut you off at a certain limit because it highly profitable business they simply dont care if u have family kids to provide watching the Paul Merson documentry was a real eye opener how these companies target people with free bets and match betting to keep them gambling anyone who works for such industry how could you have a concious knowing the people you are targeting are vulnerable yet very few of these companies have been filed for lawsuits

@linzw1987 hey girl I’m in your boat 

Iv just turned 41 and in the past www Iv gambled every penny I have and any of my savings until I’m now completely broke 😭 

last night was the final straw!! Iv signed up to GameStop as I just can’t afford to lose any more money! 
I used to be brilliant at saving but now I’m in the minus and in the past 2 days Iv borrowed over £2000 and lost it all now I really hate myself as I’m struggling to make ends meet as it is with out owning out £2000

 ADHD and those slots are are dangerously addictive when I’m on a dopamine hunt 😔 

 I’m so embarrassed and upset with myself for wasting money Iv been saying since I was 11 😔

@oldnews74 everything you said is so true. I feel like printing it off and putting in on the wall the read everyday what a waste of time it is. Only this morning I lost my last £80. Had £10 left and tonight won £80 back wow relieved (ha ha nothing in the grand scheme of the thousands I’ve lost) but anyway I’d won my £80 back. But what did I do? You guested it, carried on spinning thinking I could make that £80 in to more but as you know I went on to lose it all. MUG!!