Cutting of ALL gambling?

hi demar

i would say that it is completely up to you if you gamble on some things and not others. i personally didnt have a major problem with any other types of gambling other than slots however i chose to stop everything. mainly because if i had a good win on the horses or on a scratchcard/lotto then I would be tempted to think i could win again and before long I would be right back where i started on the slots- losing.

I have had to say no to poker games that I used to enjoy if there is money involved (always is). I have had to say no when asked to go on a day to the races. These are all things that I used to enjoy as a social activity but gambling is gambling. I dont want to lose another penny. I have lost enough. So ask yourself a question- if you played poker with your friends and won 50 quid would you think (especially after a few beers) my luck is in and find yourself walking to the casino where it all starts again?

Just something to think about and all the best whatever you decide.

Linda

Hi Demar,

I gambled for twenty years before stopping around six years ago.

I stopped and started many, many times - I desperately wanted to carry on gambling in some form or another but now I know just how impossible that is.

I came to that realisation when I was playing in a penny arcade - I spent a while in there playing pennies and tuppances; I lost around four pounds in the end. It still stung me very slightly, so I thought I would have a go of a fruit machine to "break even" and soon enough, I was losing heavily and then ended up back in the Bookmakers, having started again on Roulette on the Horses, eventually losing around £600.00.

I knew then that there was no way back, and never could be again. It isn't about the money, or the stake, it is what it will lead to and what emotions it will bring out of you.

I stood no chance before I stopped completely, and no-one realistically will because they cannot guarantee how they will feel day to day - it only takes one "near miss", or perceived "bad luck" to send you spiralling out of control.

JamesP

Hi demar, you have to quit all gambling especially bookies, bokies have the same temptation as a casino. I have only been gamble free for 2 days, i use casino's and bookies, they are all the same but with a different packaging. Just quitting casino will not help you mate, you have to abstain from bookies aswell, as you could start increasing bets and playing more games in their just to fill the void left by the casino. I hope you do well mate. Take care.

Hi Demar

I'm far from an expert and only 58 days clean myself but I can tell you if I so much as bought a scratchcard or bet 50p in the bookies i'd be on that slippery slope all over again. I liken it to an alcoholic who's favourite tipple is vodka saying "is it ok if i have a pint of lager?" I tried for years to just bet on sports but the problem was that everytime i lost i would get very angry and want my money back so i resorted to gambling either online or in the bookies to recoup my losses in a very uncontrolled manner. At the end of the day you make your own decisions but that's my take on things and i know that any form of gambling would destroy all of my good work.

Hi Demar.

I feel it's an interesting topic. There's a well known user on these forums who bets only on sports and this has worked for him. I would say that it doesn't work for the majority of people, but that doesn't mean that it can't work for a minority. I've used the analogy before about total abstinence not working for a drug addict for example. That was an analogy that was probably quite rightly shot down by another forum user, but for some people restricting their bets or reducing their stakes may be more beneficial than going complete "cold turkey."

It's a good topic and a debate well worth having in my opinion. I'm open minded on it.

It is very interesting, i was at my mates on Saturday and the discussion of the World Cup this summer came up, i have a week off as do one of my mates to basically watch the footy and get drunk for a week haha. Then the discussion came up on who's going to win etc, now my friends know i have stopped etc although i never went into great details as to why just that i felt i had too.My tipple was online football gambling, i would never hand over £320 pound (my biggest ever single stake which lost btw) over the counter, i couldn't do it, because it was digital it somehow didn't feel real, anyhow im digressing, my point is i was thinking, not because i was thinking bout gambling just because it was the discussion, that i could easily walk into a bookies, put ten pound on a world cup winner and be fine, i'm sure of it. Doesn't mean i will when that time comes, im only just under a month gamble free but i certainly feel online is my problem. Not bookies or casinos. I have been in the casino a no. of times and set a limit which if it lost that was it. Everyone is different though i suppose. My advice as a novice would be if your not 100% sure, and even then its no certainty youl be right if you are. Leave it.

The majority opinion is that anyone with a gambling problem should abstain from all gambling, even lottery tickets and scratchcards.

i believe that you only need to eradicate the gambling which causes you a problem. It has taken me 6 years from point of admitting a problem to get to a point where I now only gamble on Football and Golf. (Football and Golf have never caused me a problem as I am betting in affordable amounts in advance, my problem was in the bookmakers betting everything that moved in terms of horses, greyhounds and virtual racing.)

I dont consider a weekly lottery ticket or an odd scratchcard as gambling, however many do and it is certainly a problem if someone spends all their money on them.

So in summary, if it causes you a problem, causes you to lose all your money or to change your behaviour or character as a person, cut it out. If one type of gambling leads to another and you cannot divorce them, give up all gambling.