Hi All,
First time poster. I have been on and off addicted to online slots. Not to the point where it severly impacts my life, but to the point where a "cheeky" tenner quickly turns into a couple of hundred quid, 2-3 times a week. I know that there are lots of better uses of my hard earned money than gambling, but I simply cannot help myself when bored. I find that I try to justify losing the money, i.e. "Didn't I save a lot of money not gambling for a week, I deserve to gamble" and then end up undoing all my hard work and losing. It's irrational I know, and I am putting into place measures to prevent myself from splurging on online slots.
I'm not normally open about my gambling problem. But I felt a sense of obligation, to let people know about the below.
I bank with Halifax (I'm sure a lot of other banks offer this service). Today, they have released a "Freeze/prevent online transactions temporarily". For me, giving up access of my bank card isn't an option, so this is as close as I can get. It can be turned on and off by yourself, so I may easily just turn it off the next time I want to gamble. But it is just another attempt at prevention that should hopefully make me stop and think, until the urge has passed.
Hopefully this helps someone. But if not, no worries, I look forward to reading through the advice and stories on here!
Cheers
A.
Another option could be to use Revolut, they have this option in-app as well. If you have a life partner he/she can set up the account and order an extra card, and keep it blocked for online. You can also block cash withdrawals, so the card can basically be used only for payments and also the partner will get a notification as soon as a transaction happens so no way to hide any relapses.
Could be a good choice for recovering addicts who still need access to money in their daily lives.
And also the Revolut card will only have as much money as you transfer there, so if the card is in your partners name they can just put whatever amount is reasonable and you can still have a card like an adult, however without the possibility to gamble online and withdraw cash. And all transactions logged to your partners phone/app.
Thanks Ak, just had a quick look and their app looks like quite a good banking concept in general. With the extra security measures you suggest it could be a very useful tool!
Yeah, I got it when travelling outside of the EU since a friend told me that they apply interbank exchange rates, so you don´t lose a lot on currency conversions. So I also ordered a card for my wife. Works like a charm so far, also you can keep track of how much you spend through statistics etc.
Never thought of the card being useful for limiting problem gambling but when you look at it from this aspect, it sure has potential for it if used correctly.
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