Hello, I am 24 years old and I started sports betting for the first time in a tobacco shop when I was 18 years old. In 2019, I got to know about online betting sites and that's when the problems started. During covid, I started to bet bigger sums. I had lost so much money that I had moments of sadness, loneliness, change of behavior. Once I had nothing left in my account and I still wanted to play. In 2021, I was banned by the ANJ but unfortunately I relapsed on foreign sites. Between 2019 and 2024, I lost a lot of money, I don't want to know how much I lost, it scares me too much. I relapsed a month ago and emptied what was left in my account, I had been saving for a few months, everything is gone. I played sums that I couldn't afford. Today I don't have the value of money anymore, I don't have a job for health reasons, I just have a little help per month. I think about all the money I've lost, I think that's eating me up. I wonder how I got here? I'm 24 years old and I've lost all my savings. I made an appointment to be followed I can't do much more of this life, I only have remorse, I don't get out of it anymore. I feel like I'm the only one of my age to have bet such huge amounts per game. I tell myself every time, I should never have plunged into these gambling games that hurt me a lot.
Dear Tens9
Well done for creating your first post on the Forum,
It sounds like it has been helpful to you to think back on how this problem has progressed. You are not alone if the stress of situations around Covid contributed to your difficulties. It sounds like as well as putting blocks in place to stop or slow down your ability to gamble your level of comfort around money in general has been changed.
I am sorry to hear that you are unable to work for health reasons at the moment. I can imagine that is an extra pressure and perhaps create a temptation to use gambling to try and ‘make money’ even though the rational side of you knows that most people lose most of the time.
It sounds like it would be helpful for you to put extra safeguards around your money whilst you work on you gambling recovery journey. Some people may ask a person they trust to have their benefits and be transferred a small amount at a time. Other people set up their own bank accounts into smaller sub-accounts and label them for specific uses, for example- bills, food, other. Your bank may also be able to offer blocking to gambling websites or a temporary cooling off period of a day or two on a block you can toggle yourself.
Wishing you the best,
Louise
Forum Admin
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