Scratch Cards!

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Hi d4n... i know you posted this in may last year, i was wondering where your at now? how are you doing with the scratch card addiction?... I too have a scratch card addiction, that also lead to an online slot addiction... i joined this site and was reading everyones dairys and also made a journal myself, i got as far as 52 days gamble free and felt great, then i relapsed and had a binge spent about £50, then stopped again for 18 days and now im back in the game, stupidly thinking i can control it, had a few scratch cards the other day and won more than i put it, but then that lead to more as it always does when your a compulsive gambler, but for some reason the devil makes you think its ok and that its just for fun.. im now £200 down and desperately thinking of ways to get it back..... please respond if u are still here x

I went on a site where this video showed someone who as an experiment bought a couple of hundred quids worth of s/cards and they were filmed as they went through them. I think they got about £20 back. Says it all really.

re the above post don't chase the losses. You'll end up in further doo-doo.

Try and put your finances in the hands of a trusted relative, who'll only give you sufficient funds to get through each day. You've proved that you can stop for periods of time before so it's not new territory for you. You can stop for good but you'll need to put strong preventative measures in place. You could do worse than calling the Gamcare helpline for advice.

Take Care Now.

Hi, justwant2benormal.

Sorry for the late reply. I'm still gambling, in fact I'm in a worse position than when I posted the topic. I've got multiple credit cards now which I got to allow me some spending money because I blew all of my wages on scrath cards. Just like you now I have also moved onto online gambling - slots, poker, casino and even online scratch cards!

Although when I sign up to these sites I set myself a deposit limit, once I lose all my money on there I sign up to another sight trying to chase my winnings...I've lost count how many of these sites I am signed up to now. I know I'm going to lose money but then I ask tell myself 'what if I do win big', then I carry on but then forget about winning big and just end up chasing my lost money - which of course never works.

My colleages say to me why not just buy one a day and if you lose then wait till the next day to buy one! Well if I could do that I wouldn't be where I am now would I hahaha. So now all I have now is credit cards and a massive overdraft and I'm just paying off the interest every month so the debt I'm in is not getting touched. And as for my credit rating now....well you may guess what it's like.

Well done for your time spent not buying them! I too have done this, 96 days I think was the longest. Then I was in my local corner shop in the queue and just glanced at the scratch card display and spotted a new one that had come out and though ooo I'll just buy one of those as I've been good and haven't had any for ages. And as luck would have it I won NOTHING! So back in I went and bought 2 more, and won nothing - £50 later I won £10! so I was £40 down and been buying them ever since. Let me know how you've done since your last reply 🙂

Hi d4n... Thanks for getting back to me, I'm on day 2 at the minute, I'm basically trying not to leave the house so I can stay away from shops for as long as I can without needing the essentials.. I'm glad iv found someone else who gambles on scratch cards, I think there's only one other person on here called dean who buys them, he's nearly on 100 days now, I chat to him aswell, he's on my journal page if u want to click on his name and read what he has to say... as for the online slots the best thing to do is download one of the gam blocks which doesn't let u access any gambling sites at all, I believe this helped me massively for the online gambling, but as for the scratch cards u know as well as me they are everywhere!! I said to dean they should have shutters over them like they do the cigarettes! I think that would help us massively... The way I try and stop myself buying the scratch cards is by thinking well what's the most iv won in 12 years on a single scratch card and that was £500, and Iv had maybe £100 twice! Then think what we spend on them over the years thousands and thousands of pounds!!, to help me I also watch loads of people on You tube who buy like full packs of scratch cards and video themselves scratching them off, and literally only ever win back a fraction of what they have spent... I know if your like me we think that we may be the lucky one to win thousands, but I once heard you have got more chance of having a heart attack than winning big on a scratch card!.. I always think iv got a lot better chance of saving thousands than winning thousands... If you stop now it may take a while but u will eventually get back on track with your finances, trust me I know iv done it... keep me up to date and take care x

Have you guys considered chatting to a gamcare counsellor?

They might be able to help you make some sense of things and set up a plan to deal with your gambling problem.

My addiction has never lead me to scratch cards but I can certainly relate to the online stuff, and maxing out credit cards and overdrafts. I've been unable to pay my parents any rent many times before. Borrowed £11,000 from them at one point after hitting rock bottom to clear off various loans and cards. Then a few months later I had another overdraft and another card! Pfft.

Over the years I think I must have spent around £40,000 on gambling getting myself close to £20,000 in debt at my worst. I don't earn loads, I'm on an average working class wage.

I didn't get to a turning point until I realised and accepted I was NEVER GOING TO WIN. I might have some wins here and there, but while I'm in the grips of a gambling addiction any 'wins' would certainly end up back in the casino sites likely with interest.

I found once I accepted the only way I can win is to stop things began to change. It's taken a while and I've had the occassional slip on the way, but bit by bit I can see my gambling debts reducing and see light at the end of the tunnel.

I used to dream of that big win that would solve all my problems. Just that one big win and I can sort out my life and stop gambling. I was totally kidding myself. I wouldn't have stopped lol. And chasing losses never ever works. At least I'm yet to see a ga who has had that win and gotten out of the cycle that way. I only see people like us, who have to work hard to get our lives back on track to where we want them to be. And that begins with admitting our problem and getting the help and support we need to find the determination to quit.

I know you guys can do it!

Put those blocks into place to prevent yourselves from gambling, tell family and friends so they can help you - because I assure you they will want to do all they can xxx

I guess scratch cards must be hard to avoid. Bookies and casinos we can self exclude from. Scratch cards are in most shops all around us! I wonder, if you were to ask the staff and managers to not sell them to you in those shops you mainly use. That might make it a little more difficult? - Do the scratch card makers have any duty of care to players/gamblers like casinos have? If you were to write to them to effectively self exclude they might make it so even if you did win big you couldn't claim as you're excluded? Why play if you can't get your winnings?

Just an idea.

I wish you all the best with your journey and gambling recovery. I'm always here if you need to chat xxx

How are u doing d4n? x

Hi again justwant2benormal:

So wish we could all meet up and chat about this...would be nice to meet fellow gamblers face to face. £500 on a card!? Wow I think I'd count myself lucky if I won that much on one hahaha (only for a second until I realised again how much I've spent on them).

I too have watched those videos of people buying full packs and it still doesn't put me off 🙁 Not sure if I mentioned before that I work in a shop that sells these nasty items so I see the new ones come in before they've even been put in the stand and I think that's another reason I buy them...it's like I'm thinking the new designs will make me rich!

I called the number on the back of the card once and a nice woman answered asking something like what area do I have the problem in, so I told he the scratchcards and do you know what she said to me?....well there's really nothing we can do because we can't control what shops and where you can buy them from.!!!! So that was that idea out of the window!

I've looked into those bits of software that block you from gabling sites ect, trouble is that I'm quite good with computers so always find a way round things like that hehehe. I know that's not really helping my situation but I just can't help it.

If I'm occupied I'm fine most of the time and don't think about them so probably need a hobby!

My debt isn't as much as most would consider a big debt but compared to how much I earn it is quite alot. So I pay the interest off each month and that's all I pay so the debt ain't budging!

email me at: [email protected]

(if it's easier to email, I get emails via phone so can reply easier)

I was shocked a couple of weeks ago to hear my local supermarket announce over the tannoy that it was time to buy a scratchcard.

The speel was the typical its a good idea because your gonna be a winner nonsense.

Its just not right and as a recovering gambler I can see how ingrained within our society it is. Scratchcards are not my trigger but I can see the same hook tactics as other forms of gambling.

Advertising standards should mean that they have to declare that the chances of winning anything are slim to none. I dont mean the tiny nominal amounts or false wins as I call them.

I just think with deregultion they are trying to turn us into a nation of gambling addicts.

Im glad Ive seen the light. Im glad Im out of it and free from gambling

Hi d4n... yeah i class myself as very lucky to have won that amount, but it was only the one and I swore I would keep it all and never give it them back! 2 weeks later I'd gave it back to them and more!.. we Can't Win Because We Can't Stop, we will only win when we do actually stop for good!... yeah it must be very hard when u work in a shop with them, have u thought of maybe changing jobs if u can? I know it's hard to get a job nowadays but worth a try.... I know wot u mean about just paying the interest off, been there and got the t-shirt lol but trust me I come out of the other end and managed to have savings aswell! It felt so good! And the best thing for me was walking in a shop and realising how little I spent without buying scratch cards... I do think u probably need a hobby if u get bored, what r ur interests? I love decorating, painting, jogging, reading, And taking the kids on fun days out. Swimming, zoo, cinemas.. if u can't afford to go out I generally clean , But I think u said u live with ur parents so I bet they do that for u lol... but If u really really truly want to stop and save ur life from more debt and misery. U will find something to do... keep me up to date... I'm now on day 5 and think I have turned a corner ( I hope anyway lol) x 🙂 x

Hi d4n... how are u doing? hope your ok x

Coming to my local shop just 10 meters away a smiley photo of me with my thumbs up, with the slogan "Sell me Scratch Cards and I'll head b**t you". For behind their counter of course. I'e also been having the counselling and opted out of all on line sites for 5 years. Good luck everyone.

Hi guys, I've read your post and gone through some of the responses. 

Firstly I think it's amazing that you can be so open about it. I hope your struggles are slowly improving! ? I have a question if you don't mind?? I on the opposite side, my partner has the gambling addiction. He's blocked himself from online slots etc but he still does the weekly lottery but recently, literally the last two weeks he's started buying scratch cards. At the moment it's just one or two but he doesn't tell me and I find them in his pocket.

Do you know any warning signs I should look out for that this is getting out of hand? Other than the obvious he comes home with 20 a day, is there anything you can think of that you started to do when it started to increase?

Thank you fir taking the time to read this, and I truly hope your situation gets better. X