This is my first post on this forum. after a week of reckless gambling which has seen me gamble away all my birthday money, as well as taking out a loan, I have decided enough is enough and I need help.
My embarrassment about my gambling has prevented me from talking to anyone about it, but decided that through a forum hopefully I can get some advice. I started gambling when I turned 18 playing Poker from time to time. This lead to me eventually playing slots at small stakes, with me being able to withdraw when I felt enough was enough. This however escalated to me chasing a bigger withdrawal time after time. Now, I've reached the point where I have made 12 withdrawals in the last 2 months but cancelled all of them before being processed by the casino.
With the prospects of securing a marketing job in the next few months, I have realised this reckless gambling needs to stop, and was hoping people who have gone through this could possibly offer some advice on how they beat their demons. I am truly desperate to move on and start a normal life without gambling.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to read my story!
Hi Mettrah,
Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum. I hope you're finding some inspiration here and feeling like it's a supportive place. Where exactly are you gambling? Is it in the land based casinos, or is everything online? There are different ways to try to exclude yourself from each of those, such as downloading blocking software like Gamban or Betfilter, or filling out self exclusion forms that could ban you from every casino in the country on the playingsafe.org.uk website.
You also might want to consider things like group support through Gamblers Anonymous, or maybe getting some individual counselling. We have partner agencies in many parts of the country that provide that at no cost, and if you get in touch with us we could see what might be near you. That can help people learn to manage their urges more effectively to not gamble, and choose healthier behaviours.
Feel free to give us a call if you'd like to chat more about any of this, and we'd be happy to speak with you.
All the best,
Travis
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