My 1st Step to beating my problem

Good luck my man, I’m here on day 2 and ready to beat this with you. My story is very similar to your own and I too have always betted on sports. We can stand firm and take control of our lives again if we don’t give gambling the one thing which gives it power over us, our attention.

Thanks for your comments mate I actually feel like a huge weight has been lifted off me rather than feeling anything else right now like a dark cloud has cleared and it's going to be clear sky's for me from now on, I've self excluded from ever site I know of and changed banks again to give me a fresh start. Comments like yours from others will help give me the strength to do this and change my life.

Welcome to the site I can see you are already active on it and posting on other threads . There are a lot of people out there who are suffering and only a very small percentage of problem gamblers like us decide to do something about it . There are quite a few different suggestions at the very start to put a plaster on that wound . One is the blocks , self exclusion, handing over control of money , changing your routine . That’s a start . I mentioned putting a plaster on but all the above really is just papering over the cracks . You need to try and have different thoughts towards gambling and become a non gambler, not just a gambler who doesn’t have access to money . Read some diaries on here . Get some inspiration from the fact that you are not alone and there are people including myself on hand to offfer any support we can . Create your own diary and put your thoughts and feelings out there . I found that very cathartic and it excorcised a lot of demons that had been locked away in my head . I know that part sounds extreme but it genuinely is like a higher force that is difficult to arrest . In a very short space of time , you will see gambling for what it is . You will appreciate things in life away from gambling once you decide to finally let it go in your life . Then, clock up a few days and you get to your next payday , then the next and things start to look a lot clearer .

That’s it compadre, like you say clear skies from now on. I know from experience that my life is better when I don’t gamble. Let’s both stay active on this forum, reach out if your struggling bro and I’ll be happy to help. Maybe take a quick read of my diary too, you may read something in there that resonates with you.

All the best, speak soon.

Welcome to the forum,

There are a lot of good people on here going through the same things as you. There is a lot of good advice and information about what you can do to stop. Mixer made a great board that covers so much info and questions you might have, i'll link in below.

http://www.gamcare.org.uk/forum/want-do-something-read

I see you have been posting arounds the boards thats good to see. I also read every post on here for a few months tbh. I wanted to know everything i could do and support and be supported by people like myself. Hope you stick around and fight the battle, its one very worth winning.

All the best mate, i'll be around the boards.

Tonight I've just spent my last bit of my wage that got paid 2 days ago. It's time for me to realise I'm addicted and can't stop gambling.
But In the past I've self excluded from one site and gone to another..... There is too many sites that you can always find a place to gamble.

Hi buddy,

Read your thread and reading your other posts around the site. Really loving your passion for beating this and your determination coupled with some air tight blocks will see you through!

Good man!

Looking forward to reading more of your posts. Stay strong bud.....a gf and amazing life is just round the corner.

Respect to you my friend!

All the best,

Abet

I have found my strength and my new life has already begun it's about positive thinking and I'm not wasting anymore of my time on gambling. My focus is going to be on not only keeping myself gf but also I truly believe we are a facing a gambling epidemic we are really the first generation of online gambling now please don't take this as me shifting the blame onto anyone but myself for my situation but online betting providers have a real lack of duty of care towards customers and things need to change asap I have no doubt in my mind change is upon us as pace seems to be picking up regarding several major issues and I want to help people before they do the damage I have.

I very much agree with you Jackdaniels365 with what you said about being the first generation and a gambling epidemic is definaletly lurking.Its a free for all as far as I can see...and one site that I was on last night proved very difficult to self exclude. They take the deposits far too easily and multiples without any checks. I am responsiblee for my own actions and am not trying to shift the blame either...but I would like to see online gambling much more diffiult to access.And it would be great if you had to actually apply for a gambling card instead of the ease of just any debit or credit card. Those companies are completely praying on addicts and they think it is enough to put a paragraph on their sites about responsible gambling...its now where near enough. I would hazzard a guess that the majority of thier income comes from addicts...not responsible gamblers

Completely understand what you’re talking about in regards to the epidemic JD. Of course to an extent we chose to gamble and should shoulder some of the blame & take responsibility for our own actions. But then again there is two sides to every story and these companies have mastered a way of silently targeting people. There’s hardly any regulation, they fercisously market it as the path to glory. To me the way that there is an advert which splits the screen directly before kick off before a big game is astounding. This is a new development but only goes to show these companies influence and profits are only growing. You see the odd responsible gambling advert but they always seem light hearted and somewhat jokey. The way these companies have exploited so many of us is anything but a joke. I’ve been stung but I’m still standing, can’t buy the lie anymore.

We do have to take responsibility for our choices nobody forced us to place any bets or join any sites we made the choice to do so and we must P**f our chests out and deal with the mess we've left behind, however in my experience the problem is these companies have a real lack of duty of care towards customers in general and new guidelines and legislation should be enforced this is only my opinion of course now without naming companies I had 2 providers actually limit my account on how much money I could place on a bet because I'd won a few when I spoke to them the stated I had irregular betting patterns however those patterns were fine whilst I was losing, I've had another company ring me to tell me about a deposit offer yes that's right call me on my mobile phone to tell me about a offer, that's just a couple of examples and I'm sure we all have some to share, I also think that the site that displays in game stats should be held more responsible for those stats to be accurate so for example your watching a game inplay and based on the stats you can see it would influence your bet yet these stats are just a guide so basically fabricated, if customers actually looked at all the small print when joining these sites I seriously don't think the problem would be as bad as it is. 2 major things I believe would give customers more protection around not over spending or to ensure they do gamble responsibly would be to stop allowing deposits on credit cards now that could be something the credit card companies could help enforce as I'm sure they lose money with none payment also and the betting provider should also ask the customer about income maybe even ask for a wage slip as part of the verification process that way it could be set as % of what you earn as an automatic maximum deposit limit obviously we earn different salaries and have different disposable income amounts. Just thinking and talking out loud with these points but once I'm in a better place I really feel like I want to help stop others falling into the trap in a vocal constructive way. I know some will read this like I'm passing the blame I'm not my situation is all my doing and was all my choice I would just like to help others make the right choices and have a bit more protection if they make the wrong one. For the companies I understand it's a business and about making money but when it's ruining lives and costing lives in some cases something needs to done. Maybe in time people like us will help in making sure that things do change

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Hi JD365

Good for you for wanting to quit this destructive problem. My gambling problem was always the roulette machines in the bookies, and they took me right to edge, where I almost lost everything, but I am in a much better place now. While we have to take responsibility for our actions, I have been shocked reading about the online gambling sites as it is not something I have ever done. From reading many posts on here, it appears you can lose literally tens of thousands pounds in a very short time, if this is true then these companies are irresponsible and stricter regulations need to be put in place. Read the diary of R SMITH - Out in the Open. His story of online gambling sites shows them for what they really are, you will enjoy reading how he fought back against them.

I entirely agree with your observation about the first generation of online gamblers, long gone are the days where you would have to travel to a gambling establishment, bookies, casino etc to get your fix. These days you do not even have to leave your home. From viewing the stories on this forum, it is clear there are many people including women, who are addicted to online gambling sites, I'm certain many of these people would never have entered a bookies as there is still a seedy element to them. No such concerns for them now as they can gamble in private by simply using a card, This is going to get much worse before it gets better.

All the best

At least we’ve wised up over the years and realised we are essientially prey to these companies. They call us customers but I don’t really see myself as one. I don’t buy a product or a service, I essentially trade my mental clarity and cash for misery.

Or at least I used to, enough is enough.