I have gambled since I was 18.. the usual slip and slide, started with £10 on bingo every week, then slots, then tables. One pound stakes used to seem massive to me and now i didn’t even feel anything when betting a hundred a hand on blackjack. That was until last week, when the months and months of ignorance finally hit me. I had taken out loans to gamble. Around £.... Lost it all. I then borrowed £... from a wealthy friend in a panic and gambled it down to my last £.... Enough to live off until payday. I had a moment of madness and decided to gamble the last of it. I won. Got it up to £... A number is never seen before. Enough to pay off everything and still have money left over, start a new life gamble free. I withdrew the money, waited 5 days and they then emailed saying I had to withdraw to a different account. So I did. And I waited, and waited. After 12 days of waiting, emailing, live chat, my head got the better of me. I was fed up of waiting and wanted to play again. I didn’t want to have ‘some left over.’ I wanted the £.... So i aimed for £.... And you can guess what happened. £... a hand on blackjack and must have lost about 30 hands in a row. The entire balance lost in about 15 mins. I am 20 years old. I am 21 in two days. Supposed to be the best time of my life, now I can’t afford to even celebrate. I don’t even want to celebrate l. I could’ve have the best time but now i’m in debt of around £.... My parents expect me to have saved up for a car for my birthday. I don’t know what to say to them when they find out i have nothing. I am a disgrace. I want to end my life, I will never gamble again. It disgusts me that when you search for gambling help the first few results are casinos. I haven’t eaten for 3 days. Haven’t been to work. Just sat in the pitch black and cried. I want out.
Carly,
so good that you have reached out for support. You are not a disgrace and you are far from alone. Many of us on here share similar stories. I am female too, was in your shoes 3 weeks ago and beginning to turn my life around. It can be done. The dark days can get better. Please chat to one of the advisors if you haven't already. Saved my life x
Glad you are here too carly...... Its where life can begin again. You have by sounds time ahead of you to put things right.
Money troubles always seem immense but the are fixable
Your parents may be annoyed.. They will love you. Ultimately though. Be patient and kind to yourself and use the support from this siteyou receive.
I hope to hear from you in chat. So much wisdom on that group. 1pm. 8pm. Don't ever feel lonely please.
Boo radley x
Hello Carly,
Welcome.
Theres an old cliche - ' Life begins at the end of your comfort zone '
Unfortunately, you and like the rest of us on here made gambling our comfort blanket, now just by being here you've shown courage and now time to step out of the darkness and back into life.
We tend to lose our values when we cave into gambling, yet just by reading your initial post, your values are still very a live and kicking.
Things now will seem very hard, yet your facing upto things. Going back to work may seem a giant step but will do you the world of good.
Wishing you well
I was 25 and in the exact same situation as you. Please don’t beat yourself up, I promise it is fixable, you can and will get through this. Sign up to the gamblock thing as it’s genuinely the only thing that stopped me. Ask the bank to block gambling from your account. You can pay back the loans in small small parts. I think you need to talk to your parents as they will help you through this xxx
We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. You can also contact us for free on 0808 80 20 133. If you would like to find out more about the service before you start, including information on confidentiality, please click below. Call recordings and chat transcripts are saved for 28 days for quality assurance.
