Hi everyone. I am new to this website so here is my introduction. I have been an addicted gambler for around 15 years. I have had spells of time where I have quit for almost a year but have always fallen back into the trap. Inevitably I always go the same way. I start off low and sensible and usually make a good profit. But then the thrill and greed consumes me and I find myself losing and chasing. The latest episode has happened over the last 3 days. I have lost about 2000 pounds. I am already in huge debt and have a wife and kids to support. I have last night admitted to my wife what I have done and obviously she is extremely upset. I was expecting to be immediately kicked out however that has not happened and somehow I may have a chance to save my marriage. I am now in a realistic state where I see life for what it is. I have everything I could want in the world but somehow it is not enough. The gambling turns me into horrible person. I can go days without sleep. I am short with everyone but my worst feature by far is I become a pathological liar. I lie to myself, my friends and my family. They are the most ridiculous lies to cover my tracks and I cannot do this any Longer. I am sure I am not the only one who is like this and hope that speaking to people with the same issues will help. One big thing about my last episode is I did not lie. I just confessed and told the truth. This may be the reason I have not already had divorce papers sent my way. At the minute I feel like I will never gamble again. However I have felt like this before and need a long term plan to ensure I stay clear of this horrible industry.
Thanks everyone for reading.
Scott
Hi Scott,
Well done for telling your wife, i know its a horrible thing to have to do but it is better than continuing to live a lie.
You must be serious about wanting to stop by the act of doing that so its a good start.
You now need to get blocks in place. Get self exclusions in place (either online or bookies depending on where you gamble). If you gamble online then look at getting blocking software for your devices (eg Gamban). Try to show your wife that you are serious about stopping and give over financal control. Hand over cards and sort out a budget for yourself. You, like me cannot be trusted with access to money and you need this gambling tool to be removed.
Give the guys here a call and talk about getting some counselling. They will be able to help advise you through anything from debt management to dealing with your reasons for gambling. If you can get to the root and begin to understand what drives you to gamble in the first place you will give yourself the best chance of stopping this and getting back control.
You need some time out of this cycle and doing the above will give you some sense of freedom at least for the short-term to work out what you need to do to further address this issue.
Keep active here and please DO ask and use the help that is avaliable to you. There is hope and there is help.
All the best.
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