I have just discovered that online gambling is the problem that my daughter has hidden from me for years. She is obviously ill now, no doubt with all the strain, lies and debts. I have no idea how to help her. Where do I start?
Hi spencerj
First of all sorry to hear your problem but in this site/forum your daughter will be able to relate to a lot of things people have done. First of all your daughter has to WANT to stop online gambling ? I would ring the gamcare helpline first of all as they are very helpful indeed and might even suggest some councilling for her, you mentioned all the lies and debt this is a trait of a CG and yes it does make us very ill this addiction. Can you take control of her finances maybe and if it's online gambling why not install some blocking software onto her laptop and phone and only you know the password ! I would definitely ring the helpline though if you already haven't done. Hope this has helped you a bit and good luck.
All the Best
Darren
Hi spencer
I'm sorry to see what you're going through. It's rubbish when we find out what's been going on behind our backs.
The starting point is whether your daughter is now ready to give up. If she is there are things she can do right now, today which will virtually eliminate her access to gambling starting with handing over control of her finances to you, installing blockers and self excluding from her accounts. If she's not ready to give up though the bald truth is she won't. There isn't anything you can do to make her stop but you can take a step back and leave her to feel the consequences of her actions.
Hi Spencerj,
Welcome to the forum and thanks for your post.
It’s not surprising that you feel shocked when you discovered your daughter has been gambling for years, and didn’t even give you a clue about what is going on with her.
I can also understand your anxiety and frustration, and perhaps anger too regarding her gambling problem, and I do empathise with the situation that you find yourself in.
Just to assure you that help is at available at Gamcare, all she needs to do is to reach out for it. Maybe you can encourage her to contact us on our free phone Helpline on: 0808 8020 133, and speak on a 1 to 1 basis with one of our advisers, so she know what her options are.
Our lines are open every day from 8.00am to midnight.
There’s a lot we can do for her; we can advise her on strategies to put in place to enable her to overcome her gambling issues. We can also refer her to 12 sessions of free counselling, and nearest to where she lives, if that would help her to stop.
Perhaps it would be advisable for her to read from our forum too, so she’d realise she’s not alone, and that it’s possible for her to overcome her gambling problem if she follows our advice.
Please try and update us on her situation from time to time, so we can continue to support both of you accordingly.
Thanks once again for your post, and please keep posting.
Kind regards,
Beatrice
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