Please Help!!!

Dear @emma1702 ,

thank you for posting on the forum. Sorry to hear you are having problems. The best thing you can do in terms of making a complaint, is to contact the Gambling Commission. http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/home.aspx

If you feel you have a valid complaint, please contact them.

Please contact one of our advisers if you do need to talk about this in more detail. The helpline 0808 802 0133 and Netline are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Kind regards

Forum Admin.

Hi.

You play away your money even though you banned yourself and when you did not win you want them to pay back your bets. I would not expect them to pay you anything back.  Why because you have only done what hundreds if not thousands of gamblers have done before you.

That reality however good it seems to you is flawed. It is a bit like saying if I only hang around and make another bet the bad luck will turn and everything will be ok. But what happens after that? What if you did win. The result is most likely just more gambling because you just got a new tank of gas that you could go further on.

It is a persistent itch that one can't stop scratching.

Try and stop because you want to. Pure will power alone won't help. You need to talk to people who have experience and can give you some sound advice. It is all about making a decision to get well.

Good luck!

Hi Emma,

What are you really looking for ?. Help to stop gambling or a refund because you didn't win. Can i ask if you'd scooped the jackpot would you even be here asking for advice. Would you really be complaining they accepted your bet if you'd won 6 or 7 million. Common denominator on here is people want to stop gambling. Read posts of those who've done 5 year exclusion & found an overseas company more than happy to accept their bets. Addiction is all about illusions & mental health, when i lost it was everyone else's fault EXCEPT MINE. Sorry if this sounds harsh but addiction has the power to turn aggressors into victims.

Best Wishes

AL 

Hi Emma,

I did the same as you. Signing up with gamstop didn't take away the urge to gamble and I went on the lottery site and blew a bunch of money on the scratch cards. At the time I thought that because it wasn't technically a "casino" it was somehow exempt from Gambling rules and regulations. However I have since found out the following and this is from the gambling commission website...

"Instant Win Games offered by lotteries will also be blocked for consumers who chose to self-exclude (ie gamstop) however low risk games such as draw-based games like the Lotto and EuroMillions will still be available. The opportunity to self-exclude from draw based games is available through individual lottery operators."

As far as I understand it is from the end of march that the above will be in place.

Unfortunately Emma its all come too late for the likes of you and me. The money you have gambled is gone and it ain't coming back. Its history now, take it on the chin and move on...

Thanks everyone, for contributing to this topic. We've moved it from Debates & Discussions to Overcoming Problem Gambling, since it is a question rather than a debate.

Best wishes

Forum Admin

Got to agree with slowlearner there: the pain you feel is because the scratch cards lost, not because they let you do it.

I could still call myself a compulsive gambler if I was winning more bets and money than I was losing, the dynamic would be different but there would still be a part of me hating how much time I was spending doing it and taking time away from family.