Enough is enough

Hey, my story sounds similar to yours although my accumulated losses are somewhat larger. Sports betting is my downfall and I completely agree on the difference between physically handing over money and pressing a button even though the bank account results are the same. I've been off the sites since January and mostly don't miss it however I've banned myself via gamstop for 5 years. Well done on your achievement and keep going!

Hello Samh42

Welcome to the forum there is now Gamstop for online national self-exclusion this includes a large number of online gambling websites. Here is the website https://www.gamstop.co.uk/

We do have a helpline where you can speak with an adviser the helpline is open 8am -midnight on 0808 8020 133. Adivisers can give you information on support avaialble and strategies that may help you to keep moving forward.

Keep posting we are here to support you

Kind Regards

Forum Admin

Thanks, I'll look into that. Silee that sounds like a phenomenal effort except for the 'mostly' haha. I know exactly where your coming from, that sweet rush is too irresistible, just got to focus on reminding yourself the gut wrenching misery that soon follows. It always seems to happen out of pure boredom for me, so I'll deliberately try and have a quite weekend to save some money, maybe be buzzing that I've saved 50p with an offer on some munch I bought. Then I'll start feeling proud how much of a budget week end I'm having and the football is on, then I'll think yo myself well not paying 50 quid for a match ticket like the fans in the stadium and petrol and parking etc and food, so that's a good hundred saved, might just treat myself to a cheeky 20 pound bet to spice things up and add an edge to the game. Roll on 2 hours and I've got a thousand on some under 21s Icelandic womens division game haha it's pathetic. Anything can happen in sport and that's proven for me for the worse every single time I decide to wager a significant amount. As i said I haven't even had one big win haha ever yet I still do it to myself. The world cup will be a massive test, just got to keep reminding our selves how stupid it is and will the money make a difference, any win you'll just be chucking it straight back in when you compare it to the losses. Stay strong.

Cheers, you too. I'm fairly confident on not gambling on world cup as I've excluded from all sites and am a different person when handing physical money over. Last world cup was a shocker though so I should enjoy it this time! Take care and keep it up.

Hi there

Some time ago I gambled 10k my entire inheritance at the time I was drunk and gambled in multiple deposits online, are my bank in anyway responsible for this the most I have ever deposited is 800 before and when I woke up I saw multiple deposits of 2500+ is there first of all anyway I can blame them, I do not remember making these deposits and when I woke up and checked it was a complete shock to me? The fact that my bank let me deposit over 10k is this irresponsible from other peoples points of view I understand there was responsibility on my behalf aswell before I get grilled but this was weird for my bank to authorise a deposit of 2 2k and a 5k considering the most I've ever deposited was 800

Please could someone advise me on this?

Regards

I have found in the past that they put a block on the card when such huge amounts and unusual activity is occurring in your account. The fact that they didn't I would be questioning.

steph92 wrote: I have found in the past that they put a block on the card when such huge amounts and unusual activity is occurring in your account. The fact that they didn't I would bequestioning.

How would you go about this? Through the casino or the bank, it has destroyed me

Regards

Have a chat with the bank first to establish if it was actually you who made that withdrawal. If not it maybe that your account was hacked. The casino doesn't give a d**n as I've rang them before when I've seen large amounts of money leave my account and paid out to them. If it is them and you haven't been the one to deposit then you can dispute this and fill out a form with your bank. I really hope you get this sorted mate. This gambling lark and losing copious amounts of money is so distressing. I know what it's like to have no money in your account. But I was at fault there. Casinos are doing very well out of us vulnerable.

Day 1 take 10

Back again, lower than ever, so disappointed in myself for relapsing and relapsing hard. A point I want to share with people out there is what I am certain about this time is it's all or nothing. By this I mean, overtime financial losses heal and that relapse seems distant, I think I'm right in saying all us problem gamblers are envy of those who can have fun gambling, everytime I feel like I'm capable of just enjoying a cheeky weekend acca as five teams can make you a few grand if they win, way better odds than the lottery and it's a bit of fun for a miniscule loss but we all know as problem gamblers we can't stop there, unlike people who can enjoy a bit of fun we hate loosing and love winning too much. Every time I have relapsed it's a recurring theme, time has healed my emotional and financial wounds, I find a betting site I haven't blocked myself from a previous relapse, set myself a weekly deposit of 20 thinking I'm capable of being in control then boom I spiral out after narrowly missing out on a big win feeling cheated of that win open a new account with no deposit limit and smack a few grand on a football game. The most shocking thing was forgetting my gamcare password just now to write this and typing it into my emails to find the password with all the previous betting companies I've used popping up as a key word, it's endless there literally is not a large betting site avaible I haven't lost hundreds to thousands with. So it's not really a lesson learnt today but more a lesson I already knew but chose to ignore. I'm a problem gambler and I am incapable of having a fun bet. I don't bore anyone reading this with all my circumstantial depression etc which probably contributed me to relapse again also but the significant golden rule here is never ever think you are capable of having a 'small bet' ever again- never ever. I think the first time I posted on here a part of me knew I would try and be normally with just 20 a week, but I'm officially incapable of it. So hopefully this will help someone out there, if there's a small part of you thinking you can control it just please read this

Decided this time around I'm not going to focus on saving targets to recover. As the weeks go by and paydays sap away the loss from a relapse I become militant in saving. Each time I purchase anything by card I'll immediately round off to an even number putting the odd changed in into the isa. I'll be over satisfied with how much I've saved with more than enough, ie this time round with a week until payday I had met my saving targets with 200 spare to enjoy at the weekend, then a little thought in my head said I'll just put 20 on these 'guaranteed' football games that way this weekend will be free and I can put that 200 in the isa as well, then boom 2k gone before I can call myself an idiot. So this time around I'm not going to focus on saving but instead focus on my well-being, by being cautious with saving after a relapse it brings on anxiety and all I think about it making/ saving money and the fools way out is a gamble.

I understand where your coming from i gamble compulsively. We gamble because we love the action. When we win it just makes us want more action in other words we can't stop.winning is bad for us it encourages us to gamble more.

That's precisely it, it hasn't been even 24 hours since my fold yesterday and I already feel like trying to win it back. The hardest thing is to accept that money is gone forever. I wish I could brain wash myself to stop thinking about the thousands gone down the drain, where I've been stingy with myself in life but chuck away thousands in this parallel gambling facade. If I ever win anything I'll have a momentary feeling of euphoria then immediately calculate it compared to what I've lost over time and put the money straight back in until it's gone. That's why I seriously think the key to coming over gambling is to try and focus on well being as opposed to saving. I try and trick my mind it was all a terrible business model gone bad but in reality it's thousands over a period I've compensated my own enjoyment by being stingy with money to save like a ninja only to blow it all in a few seconds

Day two going free. Previous times I would have a sense of optimism and relief after loosing such a large amount, coming back into reality and laughing how stupid I was and convinced I would remember that feeling and never be soo foolish again. This time I have the same horrible lump I had the first time I lost a significant amount. Struggling to talk to work colleagues and keep a smile on my face, I feel worthless and ashamed. The worst part is you just can't talk to people about a gambling problem, my passion is travelling and I've blown enough money to see the world and backpack for a year at least instead I've probably killed an enthusiastic part of me for life. It's a horrible lesson to learn in life and I just really hope this time I have truly learnt that lesson

Day 5, today a certain football favourite was down a goal at half time was soo tempted to put a few thousand on them with increased odds. I was trembling as I went through it in my head, it wasn't just a passing thought, but resisted. Of course they went on to win it which made my anxiety even worse, scanning the stats of other games in play. I had to walk outside to come back to reality. It's sickening. I'm still in the mind set a few days ago I was a few k better off and not excepting it's gone. Each morning I wake up and don't want to leave my bed. I don't want to communicate with people and just basically lost all motivation. I can't tell freinds or family about this time as I just feel pathetic. The most worrying thing of all is I feel gambling has killed a certain spark in me for the rest of my life. If I do perk up, and when this moment feels like a distant memory I'll read this diary each time I get an urge. I've identified my particular urges aren't because I want to gamble what ever the cost but each time is because I can't move on from the loss in my mind. That money is long gone but my subconscious can't seem to agree. Week a heads goals, restrict my time on phone and laptop this week, I've bought a few good books at the weekend so I'm going to get lost in a novel to take my mind off things.