Does anyone have any good advice on avoiding these godforsaken things? I constantly tell myself after throwing another £200 away that it's the last time. In my job I am up and down the motorways all the time and I kid myself that I will just stop for a smoke and nothing else.....the inevitable happens however and I do what I've done for the last 25 years, throw money into an inanimate object with very little return. I've tried stopping smoking but the urge is so strong I end up starting smoking again just so I can play on the bandits. I'm not stupid, I just can't fathom this little switch in my head which blocks out all reality when I'm driving down a motorway towards the services. I have to stop.
Do you have to carry such a large amount of money? Only you can stop going near these machines. The thing is you stop so you can smoke then must go inside somewhere without smoking. Maybe you find your job so repetative, have you anything else in your life? Speak to someone off here.
You really dont need to hear the obvious so I wont give it to you. I live In Dublin and am a sales rep and I can only say It will get worse. I am only good since febuary this year and if you want to give me a call Please do. It might cost you 10 quid to ring me but in the scheme of things that is 5 minutes gambling to you I have never put my number online before but I will do now. I think perhaps I can help you because It worked for me. Pull in and dial 00353894492654. Regards Mark
This is a perfect of example of how we are surrounded by gambling.
Can anyone really say they thought about service station fruities as the main focal point for someone's gambling problem? I certainly didn't.
These are really difficult times to be a compulsive gambler, it is impossible to avoid it. It's online, it's in the street and it's in service stations! I would imagine there are cash machines there, so there's your source of funds.
I wish you the best of luck. Start a diary in the relevant section and keep posting.
Hi Weak39,
From the way you write, it comes across as if you play these things out of boredom; I imagine it can feel that way after a long drive and it's understandable that you feel the need to have that burst of adrenaline.
Not quite the same situation but it was something I craved for a while so I started carrying a PSP computer game - it really helped me a great deal and gave me that excitement (albeit not quite on the same level) right when I needed. Gamblers are not patient people - we require instant exhiliration so these are very handy things to carry round.
Fruit machines have changed a great deal, from what i've seen, they take hundreds of pounds now without batting an
electronic eyelid. There is no way back after a significant amount of money has been spent - they are depressing, demoralising, insulting to the intelligence and nothing like they used to be many years ago. The fun has gone, the relative innocence has gone - you don't need to be caught up in that weak39, you are better than that my friend.
JamesP
Thanks James,
Yes you're right it probably is boredom. I need to have an active mind and driving for 3-4 hours at a time doesn't create one. I like the idea of a PSP, it got me thinking of other ways to occupy my mind whilst driving so I am going to learn a new language from a CD, hopefully this will occupy me enough to not want to go near those wretched services.
Thanks Mark117,
I'll keep your number with me if that's OK and use it if I near the edge of the wagon. I'll try occupying my mind in other ways first as in my last post.
I think something really needs to be done about these services. These £500 machines used to be only found in casinos and amusement arcards, both of which will allow you to self exclude. You can't seem to do that at the services, and they position them normally right on the way to the toilets, and turn the sound up so everyone can hear. I was addicted to them and as I lived close to a Services, and could actually go into one through a back entrance from a local road. Why are they not regulated other than the fact you have to be over £18?
Hi I have stood there for a few hours in the past wasting money but more importantly is the time! My only advice is do not carry cash!! Or ability to get cash, if you need fuel get a cr card without cash facility / fuel card. For incidentals / lunch etc just carry a £10 or what’s needed! If your like me if I don’t have cash I don’t think about gambling, if I have cr card / cash my mind tells me to gamble! No cash can’t gamble, no gamble enjoy a smoke and a coffee / sandwich and off on job and I am sure in a better mood! Sounds easy! But no cash can’t gamble! Hope it works out
I used to live close to a motorway services and was forever up there playing the bandits. The d**n place is open 24/7 . I got banned from the place in the end for smashing a couple of the machines up :-). Just keep on driving past them these days.
Yes If I was ever to get a job as a sales rep those motorway service stations are a potential trigger point for me. I discuss that with people close and I would have very restricted access to cash. I would be happy with that as Im a compulsive gambler in recovery
They are parrticularly insidious in motorway service stations because thats where people feel alone, down, bored or indeed happy to be travelling on holiday...all these emotional triggers spark a go on the machines
That could be slightly awkward but necessary. Difficult if you need to entertain clients and stay away from home. I think a key point is that I would be happy to provide receipts and accept that if I didnt do that they could assume Im gambling on the road. That means a pretty solid breakdown of the cash Im allowed with me. Its not about treating me like a baby....its actually about saving my life to be blunt
If they assume Im gambling its job over really because staying gamble free is more important to me. Yes its that serious because I had (have) the potential to gamble all my salary and more
So please reach out for help because I have learnt that its a drug addiction. It acts just like a drug addiction....the action of gambling is the substance you are taking and creates the chemical rushes and trances. At the peak of my addiction the craving and walking in were the highest rushes which soon turned to a stupor or trance depressant as I overdosed on spins.
I was seeking a drug of escape just like an alcoholic or heroin addict. Gambling was my drug of choice
Best wishes from everyone on the forum
I see the original post to the thread was from 2011, so hopefully the OP is now gamble free.
Years ago me and a mate on our day trips out would always stop to play them. In fact on a long journey, we'd make an extra stop or two to play the fruit machines at service stations.
They only had standard machines back then, I.E no higher jackpots than a pub, but what many people didn't realise also was they were set to the lowest payout percentage as well around 70%.
Last time I went in one was a good few years back and gamcare and other advice was prominent about responsible gambling, so I guess they weren't immune from promoting it.
Also over 18 only which wasn't always something years ago either.
We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. You can also contact us for free on 0808 80 20 133. If you would like to find out more about the service before you start, including information on confidentiality, please click below. Call recordings and chat transcripts are saved for 28 days for quality assurance.
