Long time viewer.....Just joined

Hi long time viewer 🙂

Welcome to the forums,

Thank you for sharing your experience(stronger words I could use like horror) with gambling.

I too only gambled online and used mainly one site only, but that's all we had to do for the addiction to kick in.

Well done on being over 6 months gamble free, you are on a positive road to recovery.

Best wishes to you on your continuing recovery.

Suzanne x

Thank you for your kind words Suzanne.....Just to clear up any confusion, I have been reading posts on here for about 6 months, but have only been gamble free for one week since I self excluded for 5 years from S** V***s last Monday ........I have no doubt in my mind though that I will reach 6 months and far beyond that. I hope this doesn't sound arrogant, There's just something inside me that has finally clicked and taken me away from the world of gambling forever.

Hi long time viewer

Are storys and age are simular accept i had a probem in my late teens but beat it

I went the whole hog lost my family house the lot

My advice for what it is worth if you find your self gambling again, and i hope you dont but this illness is very unpredictable

protect your home put it in trust i dont care about my savings and other losses but my family and home that i will never recover from. good luck

Hi,

The maximum time for self excluding is permanently, not five years. Don't be tricked into thinking otherwise.

Compulsive gambling is permanent, it can be well managed but not cured. So to avoid future problems, I recommend asking someone to get you the postal address, write in and say that you want the self ex to be permanent and that they shouldn't contact you again.

BW,

CW

​hi I'm also a long term viewer who's just taken thr plunge to join properly. How you getting on?

Hi Dessie......I'm doing ok thanks...Just working every hour to get my debts down as quick as possible...Aiming for two years to three years all going well....I have absolutley no desire to gamble and cannot believe I was so stupid!....Still, onwards and upwards as the saying goes.

I hope you are doing ok and wish you well for the future.

No gambling for just over a month now 🙂 It's amazing how much better I feel just in that short space of time and it's nice to see my bank account growing (slowly addmittaly, but at least it's going the right way) My time and money belongs to me again...not to S** V***s!......Best wishes to everyone.

Such are large amount of money but I am pleased you are gambling free, you started gambling so late in life and lost so much in such a short space of time what were you gambling on.

I am trying to stop but keep returning back only losing small amount amounts which i can notafford to lose

Hi smk1.......My poison was online roulette at S** V***s .....It's the only place I ever played and yes it was a lot of money, but it's not only the money you lose, it's the time spent at a screen when I could of been more productive and its the stress and depression that go with this filthy habit......But....I am free, I am paying back my loans and saving a little too so I take pride in that. If you want some friendly advice, please try and stop now as small amounts turn into large amounts very quickly when gambling gets hold of you. I started out on £0.02p spins, went to £0.10p spins then £0.50p spins then a pound and within a year I was sometimes betting around £1200.00 a spin!!......Crazy!!.....You are better than gambling, as we all are on here!

Hi I Win thanks for your sound advice yes small amounts turn to large amounts when I was 30years old I lost about 10k online roulette and lost a lot in casinos and bookies and fruit machines, I stopped for a bit but still lose money each year however it has got less as I have got older but losing money really get me down like 50 quid tonight which is nothing in grand scheme of things it just I keep on saying I could have spent this on my kids,I stopped myself to get the credit card otherwise I could have lost 350 pounds tonight. I need to stay away be the urge keeps on coming I think it is bordum

Hiya,

Congratulations on 6 months +! Nice job. I send all my best and wish you strength for the future.

Stay strong.

Godspeed, otterlady.

Been a while (about 9 months or so) since I wrote here, although I do visit the site regularly and read other folks stories. Anyway, I'm pleased to say that I'm still gamble free and have cleared around £19000,00 of debt of while managing to slowly build some savings back up.my credit score has also improved significantly, so it's all good. I don't dwell on the money lost at all now as money can always be replaced eventually, where as the time spent on a virtual roulette wheel cannot. I'll tell you one thing though, the terrible experience of my gambling binge and subsequent losses has had one positive effect, it has turned me into a far better person than I was. I'm no longer obsessed with material things in life and have more time for people, and I appreciate the things I do have a lot more than before.

Anyway I'll sign off for now

Best wishes to everyone on these forums, to those who have been able to overcome their addictions and have been gamble free for a while, I wish you continued success and congratulate you, and to those struggling and to those who are scared I understand, I have walked in your shoes and I say please try and believe in yourself because you do have the power in you to improve your situation and your life, it won't happen overnight, but that's ok, everyday that passes without gambling is a major win and another step forward... Take that step and then another and then another as each one takes you a little bit further away from gambling... You'll get there, if I can do it so can you!

Hi , long time viewer

I am a long time gambling addict that has been in a recovery period for years .From thousands a year I am now in much more control and although I have the odd slip up I seem to manage . These slip ups usually occur every six months or so and I bet the minimum stake but I am determined to free myself for good as I have come so far. I think it's great that you have self excluded for five years . I am still trying to work out the reasons for my addiction and am currently seeing a psychologist to help me understand myself a bit more. Gambling addiction is not just about gambling , there can be many underlying reasons why we do it just like any other addiction, Alcohol,drugs etc.... I know you are completely convinced that it's over for you and some people can just completely stop things and never do them again. I too have been in a situation were I knew I would never do it again because ( I just know). It's such a huge amount of money in such a short period of time . Please just keep talking about it because as you said you have no mortgage and a business and these are the most important assets you have . Blocking one site is a good step but if you are totally convinced you won't do it again block them all with some software as a total safety net. Never get complacent, you have joined this forum for a reason just like me and everyone else. I'm glad to hear you have stopped. It angers me that an online casino will allow such massive losses in such a short space of time. There is something very wrong with gambling legislation. Keep in touch.