Hi, I'm 20 years old, have a decent part time job earning around £600-750 a month, and will be training to be a teaching assistant/school support worker this coming September. So I've left university studying physical education because uni just isn't for me and for a lot of others, so it's not like I messed around. Things are okay, great girlfriend, decent friends, good colleagues! But.. I feel I'm addicted to playing roulette. I can't stop spinning the wheel and it's frustrating me now.. Must've lost £260 in a week? Then again I was up £220 and kept spinning and lost it all, cashed out £50 and put on some absolutely stupid stupid bets down and of course they didn't hit, always hit the number next door which I hadn't covered of course! Today on the way home from work I had £9 in my pocket, I thought shall I go into the bookies or stay on the bus and go home after a 9-5 shift today? I got off of course, lost £9, cashed out £30. Lost £20. Then lost £10. Cashed out £20, managed to make £109, lost £14 and took my money at £95 and walked out! Went into another one, put £5 in on red, it hit, made £100 altogether and went home but of course tomorrow I'll probably put that back in the machine and most likely lose? Been playing for a year now, need £900 to pay for a course, which I will get easily as I know when enough is enough but I'm just simply wasting money? I don't know if I'm actually addicted or if I'm just in denial? People have lost families friends jobs etc so I don't want to get to that point. Can someone please help me advise me or point me in the right direction and please give me some possible ways to cut down playing and eventually stop?
There is a 20 question test you can do online to answer the question about whether you are addicted but truth is, you know you need help, wouldn't be here if you didn't! For those of us that cross the line from social gambling to not being able to just go home after a day @ work, it is a very slippery slope! Money becomes nothing more than gambling tokens & now is the time to get help before you end up in the gutter which you will! Cutting down in not an option with this beast, you need to cut it off! Get your Time-Money-Location triangle broken (you need to remove one to prevent you gambling) say by handing over your finances, self excluding from the shops that you can get to anything you can think of really! Ring Gamcare, they can help with counselling to explore why you gamble, get to GA meetings, it may all sound like a lot of effort but put it in now & you won't sink.
It is great to see someone so young seeking help now before it spirals out of control! Please stay close to this site & do everything you can to nip this in the bud now! Addiction wIll take everything you hold dear & more, only you can stop it by choosing 'No' - ODAAT
Only you can say if you have a problem or not but as ODAAT says, you have found yourself here so that says something.
Those machines only open a door to misery. You can't beat them, EVER! You might have the odd "victory" but they make the bookmaking industry a fortune so that kind of tells you something as well.
Do all you can to stop now.
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Hi, Adam,
You've been given sound advice by people who know. Get help from GamCare and or GA, put up all barriers that you can ie restrict your access to cash by getting your girlfriend to look after your money, self exclude.
BUT the help that you ask for comes from you. Your choice to commit to recovery and therefore follow ALL of the advice or to pay lip service, take a few half measures with a view to leaving open the option to gamble. Support is out there, recovery is achievable but it takes continued effort and that comes from you. Better now, before you ruin your life but still your call.
Wish you well.
CW
Hello Adam
I understand your uncertainty about being an addict or in denial. I have had 10 years of it and always hitting the number next door is the story of my life. That is how they rope you in and eventually it will drag you down to the lowest points. You are young and bright I have a son the same age and would be devastated if he were to go down this path. Cutting down is the worst option, walk away please. You have done the right thing by coming to the site, their are great people on here that will support and give you advice.
Best wishes
John
UPDATE:
hi everyone, so I posted this on Sunday evening and it's now Thursday, I have no been to the bookies at all. I wish I could thank you all individually but I've got to get to work inabit so I hope everyone that replied reads this. I've given my bank card to my mum, told her to give me £20/30 a week because I told her I was saving up. And she can take out whatever money she needs for shopping and whatnot. So that's the money issue sorted, I've wanted to go into the shop but what I've done is starting picking up more hours at work, so the overtime is double pay and no 20 year old can say no to £18.90 an hour 😛 things are much better and though I do still feel like going I am not going to go in at all. I can't think you all enough for replying, you took out your own time to help someone else and I appreciate that. I tried calling gam care but the lines were so busy so will call them again after work today and call them when I'm free to wait and speak. I will keep you posted on how I'm doing, but so far so good. I even tested myself, I walked in to the bookies with £71, yes £71 lol because I wanted to put a small £1 accumulator on, I did so and I walked out without even putting anything in the machines. Now football betting is no problem for me, a £1 every weekend is harmless, just makes games more fun to watch and I know football more than I know anything but FOBT are machines that ruin lives and some of the stories I've read are very bad. I won my accumulator of £44 or something so I gave the slip to my friend to get me the money and then pass it on to me which he agreed to do so. I'm going to spend that £44 on a new shirt for work, and just give my little sister a tenner. Atleast that way the money is spent and I have something I can keep instead of having the urge to go to the betting shop. Thanks everyone I appreciate it and will keep you posted. 4 days free of gambling, not a lot but it's a first step 🙂
Trouble is Adam - you may say a £1 football bet is harmless. From a layman's point of view - absolutely it is. From a compulsive gambler's perspective, I would strongly disagree - the problems would start when you won and the more you won the bigger the problems will become. That's the paradox for a compulsive gambling - that winning can be far more dangerous than losing. It would create a cycle in a compulsive gambler which would be hard to control.
The good thing is you are controlling your finances - please keep this up at all costs.
Adam,Detrimental is spot on it's not the losing that makes you become compulsive its when you win, I once attended a group therapy and there was a doctor there and he explained that the buz releases a chemical reaction in our brain which slowly without realizing we automatically seek that fix and no matter how much we lose we get a mindset that one more spin will sort it out.believe me I had 1 million 1 more spins. Lost my wife,house and children. You can avoid that and appreciate what you have. When I was growing up there was a saying, you never see a poor bookie. Walk away before they get another sucker.
I mean that in the best possible light
Best wishes
John
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The problem with "harmless" bets is that one thing can quickly lead to another. Do you not think it is worth sacrificing that £1 bet to keep you out of betting shops and stop having gambling on your mind?
I too thought having the odd football bet was not an issue... It's often not the football bet that is the issue its the environment you put yourself in. Unfortunately it will not be long until the machines draw you back in. I never really had a prob with football bets either but over time the urge will return to play the machines. I'm 33 now and just wished in the early days i'd seen how destructive going in the bookies could be... Just be careful a week is nothing when overcoming a gambling problem!
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