Hello all,
I have been gambling for just over 10 years now, almost only online sports betting with the occasional slots removed link
I do not have huge debts, mainly due to my awful credit history which you could call a weird blessing in disguise as I rarely get accepted for credit.. However I have used some payday loans and credit cards over the years due to my gambling.
I seem to be stuck in a loop, I have self-excluded myself from nearly all the bookmakers and the ones I have an account with I have this horrible cycle of setting a weekly deposit limit but then just continuously upping it to then reduce it again to then upping it again etc. I then have a horrible losing streak, self-exclude from that site only to then sign up to another within hours removed link I always seem to find a way to have at least 1 active account with a bookmaker.
I do not bet huge money, it is usually stupid in play £10 bets which of course when they lose I go chasing. It just seems utterly pointless to waste this money when it could go towards savings or something nice.
I will be signing up to GAMSTOP however I am worried I will still find a way to sign up to sites and bet. However I am more worried I will miss the 'Buzz' and how this will affect me mentally, like I said I only really bet small amounts however I do feel the urge to bet nearly every day.
I am lucky in the sense that it has not affected my homelife or left me in huge debts. Does anyone have any advice on how they have managed to fill their days and replace the gambling? Also any advice on how to cope mentally and with the urges would be appreciated.
Apologies for the little ramble.
Gambling is a bad habit but it is not an illness because ultimately it is a choice
If your life is a complete and utter shambles because of gambling drinking drugs overeating whatever you have nobody to blame but yourself
at 23 i was in around 15 thousand pounds worth of debt because i was an idiot i was trying to live way way beyond my means and i was indulging in heavy gambling sessions to try and fund it
i remember many years ago i saw a picture on instagram some guy had bought some trainers i wanted i thought how come he can afford them and i cant
I hopped in my car and drove down to the casino i was going to win the money for them trainers , i withdrew cash from my credit card at an extortionate interest rate and proceeded to lose the lot about £200 if i remember correctly
After i left i realised I could have had 2 pairs of trainers and some change instead i had nothing but an extra 200 quid hole in my credit card
Most gamblers will have been experienced this story or a variation of it
When i look back at that stage in my life i was just living on a roundabout
c**P job , c**P wages , c**P lifestyle , c**P spending habits , c**P friends, c**P perspective on life i was young so there was at least some excuse but ultimately i was going around in circles
5 years later i cleared the debt , got a better easier job which allowed me to set up side projects on the side , moved out of my parents spare room , i built up a 10k investment portfolio , and a few thousand in savings , i bought a good car for cash
I am far from rich but i have enough to keep the wolves from the door and sustain myself and more importantly i feel i am moving forward in life
Hello Max,
Thanks for the response, you are absolutely correct that Gambling is not an illness because ultimately it is a choice, I suppose I have never thought about what gambling is to me.
I know your trainer story all too well, one reason for my gambling is that I try to win money from gambling to pay for things that I could have probably already afforded, or would have afforded by saving up for a few months. It is so stupid when I look back at all the money I have stupidly just thrown away. I am always chasing that big win and just cannot seem to stop.
There is so much more I want to say and rant about how stupid I have been but I struggle to articulate it in a way that other people could make sense of it.
Well done on moving forward with your life though, it is inspiring and I hope you have found some peace and happiness now.
Hello guys - I need to call you out on this dialogue where you say gambling is not an illness but a choice.
We choose to gamble in the first instance, but for those of us who are compulsive gamblers, we don’t choose to stand in a betting shop or casino chasing losses losing all our money whilst physically unable to leave. Or to continue to click buttons online until all our money has gone, unable to stop ourselves from doing so. In these situations we are overpowered by the addiction, by some sort of demon inside us, to the point of realising we are losing everything, becoming unaware of how much we are losing, knowing we are harming our finances, our physical and mental health and that of others but still at those moments powerless to stop ourselves. That is an illness not a choice.
Good luck with your journeys and recoveries.
Captain
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