I started gambling in my teenage years, so have gambled for over 20 years. I can’t even begin to imagine the ridiculous amount of money that I’ve lost over that time.
I mainly gamble on sports markets, but have also dabbled in online casinos too. Despite having some wins over the years, I now know that any winnings are basically a loan from the bookmakers and they will always end up getting this money back, along with much more on top.
My worst gambling habits are gambling with money that I can’t afford to lose and also recklessly chasing losses. The gambling losses over the years have put in a horrendous financial position with an unthinkable amount of debt, the part I dislike the most is how these money worries then cause me to lie to my loved ones.
I have tried an uncountable amount of times to give up gambling over the years and I have managed to go several weeks without gambling on a few occasions but I always end up relapsing which causes me to make my already terrible financial situation even worse. I have tried a couple of times previously keeping dairies on this forum too, the last time being back in December 2022.
Yesterday I found myself gambling a large sum of money on a tennis match that I had never even heard of either of the players names and of course this bet ended up losing. At 6:50pm after the match had finished and I had again lost money I couldn’t afford to lose, I switched off the live sports picture and the gambling website and realised this really has to stop once and for all.
This brings me up to today (8th September 2025) which is day 1 of my gambling free life. I know the forward journey will be tough and I will face many temptations and challenges along the way, however I feel that I am finally ready to beat this horrible addiction once and for all.
I will check back in and update my diary with how my journey is going and wish everyone else the very best of luck in their own personal journeys.
Hello " a new beginning '
Over 24 hours completed since my last bet, I had some strong urges today to gamble due to being short of money after yesterday’s disastrous loss and thinking that gambling would be the quick way to get money, however I managed to stay strong and remember that gambling is not the solution to money problems and instead went to the gym after work which helped take my mind off it.
A good start but many more days and challenges to overcome.
Have completed 4 days gamble free now, still getting a lot of urges but have managed to resist the temptation so far , trying to keep myself occupied seems to be working well so far but still a long way to go.
Well done mate keep up the great efforts 👏 👏 👏Â Keep on resisting those urges, in time it becomes easier to resist, albeit they may not go entirely.Â
Just wanted to come on and say hello and well done 👏👏. Have you got all the necessary blocks in place to prevent you from gambling?
Take it from me, if you don’t, this could lead to even more financial destruction. I recently went 17 months g.f only to relapse not once but twice over the last several weeks. This is because I did not install Gamban on my devices to enable me not to access those dodgy overseas sites.  Thanks to Gamcare, I have now been given the link to download it free for up to 15 devices so I will be doing that tomorrow with my sister sitting at my side to reassure her also.
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wishing you strength and determination.
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Pink Lady 🩷🍎.
Fantastic news and a positive way forward- well done youÂ
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