My introduction

Dear Baz

I can hear how painful this has been for you and glad you found our forum. A self exclusion is a good first step and I would encourage you to reach out to our helpline which is open 24/7 to get information on further support available to you and your family during this time. Please don't be alone with this, we are here to help.

Rachel

Forum Admin

Hi Baz

I hope you are ok.

Please don't be too hard on yourself, you're not a bad person, you just took a wrong turn and made some mistakes just like many of us. You deeply regret of your actions and thinking of your son and partner before yourself which shows you care and love them. Gambling addiction has caused us major troubles and it's not easy to live with it. I have been suffering from it more than 20 years myself.

Now it's time to pull yourself together and be strong. Time heals. If you do everything in your power to stop gambling now, bit by bit everything else will take care of themselves. And you know what, your son will grow up knowing that his dad made some mistakes like many of us, but he has learned from them and he is better person for it. He will take example of better version of you and will be proud of you for coming out the other side. I am a dad of two grown-ups myself so I have a bit of experience. 

First, please make sure you get all the help you can get, beginning with giving gamcare a call, they understand. Maybe going to GA meetings if they are good for you. Also, please give one of the debt charities a call to sort out your debt as this will give you a breathing space, maybe they can arrange one payment divided among creditors. I used Citizen's Advice in the past and it was an immediate relief.

Finally, your court case, listen I'm not an expert but if you can show the judge that you've committed those illegal actions due to your severe gambling addiction and you are full of deep regret and remorse for it, therefore you are getting all the help in your power to deal with the addiction, and you love your family so much that you don't want to cause anymore suffering to them and yourself, then hopefully, the court will show some leniency towards your sentence.

Keep us posted and I wish you and your family all the best.

Ergos

Greetings Baz,

I'm sorry to hear about the difficulties you're facing. It takes a lot of courage to acknowledge and take steps to address such challenging situations. Seeking help is a significant step toward reclaiming control and finding support. Remember, it's never too late to turn things around. There are resources and people available to help you through this tough time. Please consider reaching out to support groups or professional counselors who specialize in gambling addiction. You're not alone in this, and there's hope for a better future. Take care.

Posted by: @ft1g7sxuwb

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Hello everyone. Im new here and wanted to get something of my chest. Something ive never said to anyone else. I have a massive gambling problem and now im going to pay the price.

Ive been gambling now for over 10 years. It started off ok i was in control making some gains and some losses. My poison of choice was Inplay Betting on football matches.

Fast forward 10 years and im now 20k in debt. I have payday loan companies chasing me for late payments. Im paying off a CCJ and will be for another 12months yet and the worst of it is ive hidden the majority of it from my partner. The extent of my debts made me feel that the only way out was to make a lot more money. That meant illegal activities which has now caught up with me.

Im now facing upto 5 years in prison on 23 nov  for Cannabis selling, Fraud and selling IPTV packages. Ive ruined my life and my families my partner suffers from mental health and this is going to break her and my 6yr old son.

Im so ashamed i cant live with the guilt of what i did and what i became in them desperate times.

Today i registered and setup on gamstop my first step in dealing with it all. Next is to explain it all to my partner.

Right now all i feel is shame, pain and misery and just want to end it

I'm really sorry to hear that you're going through such a challenging time. It takes a lot of courage to acknowledge and take steps to address the issues you're facing. Reach out to friends, family, or a mental health professional for support. You don't have to face this alone.