My FOBT recovery

Hi John

Quick question.... are you still using the bookies to place bets on football/horses?

I self excluded earlier this year and now hardly think about the fotb's. The small bets that I do place are through my phone.

Not sure if I would have the same sucess keeping off the roulette if I was regulary inside a bookies. When I ran out of money sometimes I just stormed out in disgust with myself but somwtimes stayed to watch others... what im saying is for me, being well away from them has really helped me... not been inside any bookies since 1st May and I have no intention right now to even risk thinking im strong enough to walk in place a bet on the football and walk straight back out again.

Im playing it safe and keeping to my small stakes on the football. And every once in a blue moon saturday afternoon horse racing on the tele. (all placed on my phone)

If i do get really lucky and win a fair amount then im hopeful my mind wont stray thinking about visiting the roulette. If i do the blocks are in place.

Back last year I recall brazil in federations cup. There was a last min goal which won me just over a hundred quid. Im sure you know the buzz of winning so luckily. Anyways next day after work went to collect at the bookies. Wanted that buzz again, put money straight into fotb and it was gone in 5 mins.

Thats why the fotb's are so bad for us....

Sorry for rambling on your diary mate.

Stay focused and strong!!

Mark

If I have a flutter on the horses now I make sure I do it on the phone , all the bookies in Bradford are now like ***** casinos with flashing lights , cozy seats , free drinks.

Even a woman I know well who is a manager at Bet Fred said they now employ people until 10pm on Sunday just to get the passing fobt pub trade , I have to admit when im completely drunk on a night out that is where I usually end up.

I think Bradford especially is bad because last week while out and about in a town centre which is dead there were 12 bookies in the space of five minutes all of which offered free plays on the machines when you first went into the shop.

I have seen first hand what fobts can do , a bloke I worked with killed himself because of them and the debt he ran up, another lost his kid and wife after he confessed all and a few of my close friends are on very rocky ground after been suckered in by them.

Gambling within your means was always normal before the fobt came along , the bookies are only open now at silly o clock in the morning to feed peoples habits.

Gone are the days you could go in to the shop and read the ***** **** , the bookies are now surrounded by dodgy looking characters who have been taken over by the fobt and the worrying thing is the crimes some commit to feed the habit like muggings are for the sake of a few quid and usually involve a knife.

I know I could never enter the shop with the sole purpose of placing a horse bet , part of me would shake seeing the fobt knowing my recovery is so early.

Yet I know I could sit and watch the racing at home and happily place a bet on my phone and it wouldnt become a problem.

The therapy and counselling would argue you would need to cut out the whole of gambling not just part , I would disagree with them given my previous experiences.

No two people are the same and it is what works for you that prevents the problem.

we have very similar stories... i'm also from bradford.. BD6

i make sure i stay well away from the city centre, like you said - theres too many bookies

Even managed a day on the beer yesterday surrounded by fruit machines and roulette fobts and found the courage to stay completely away from them , amazing waking up and you realise the only money you spent was on beer and taxi home.

Still had a flutter on the horses and Saturday but the main victory for me was another week in which the fobt didnt take massive amounts of money , another week coming up and hopefully one with no fobt.

I found your diary to be an interesting read and to a large extent would agree that every person and recovery is unique

Would have to disagree that the FOBT is the vast reason of compulsive gambling on the forum, though it's well up there! Keep reading diaries for months and years and you will see a wider picture

I myself have never had a problem with FOBTs, but can assure you that it's as easy to lose a six figure sum on just the horses

Would just advise a little caution with your chosen recovery path, other forms of betting have a strange way of leading the horse back to the water

Take care and wish you good luck

Weldy

I can honestly say the only destructive part of gambling in which I turn into a maniac is on the roulette , another part is fruit machines especially when im out and had a few beers.

I turned a massive corner this week having gone out and not gone anywhere near a fruit machine or indeed on the roulette.

However I must admit last night I came very close to going on the roulette on my phone , I opened the page even had the screen ready to bet , stood up in the room and thought I cannot let the hard work of the last few weeks go to ruin.

I somehow found the resolve to close the app and go to bed , unfortunately I need a decent phone for work emails but if it wasn't for work I would buy a basic phone with no internet so the ability to gamble on the phone is taken away.

Unfortunately despite many people asking on here , I have yet to find a blocker for gambling on the i phone

Keep going, you are doing really well. I too haven't found anything for iphone, I did find we can install the k9 browser app and disable safari, as it requires a password to disable , I couldn't do this as no one knows about my gambling but if someone could disable it and not tell you the password that might be an option for you?

It is really tough at the moment , one of the things which drives me to the fobt is stress and it is a really bad week.

This is the toughest week yet with urges really bad , so far managing to keep them under control.

Hi John

Hopefully you got through today free from the FOBT's.

The longer you keep off them the more determined you will get about not letting them drag you back.

You cant win.. as even if you get lucky you wont be able to keep off them...we both know that.

Go to the gym, go for a run.. anything to destress.. expect those evil machines!

Hi John

Hopefully you got through today free from the FOBT's.

The longer you keep off them the more determined you will get about not letting them drag you back.

You cant win.. as even if you get lucky you wont be able to keep off them...we both know that.

Go to the gym, go for a run.. anything to destress.. expect those evil machines!

Hi John

Hopefully you got through today free from the FOBT's.

The longer you keep off them the more determined you will get about not letting them drag you back.

You cant win.. as even if you get lucky you wont be able to keep off them...we both know that.

Go to the gym, go for a run.. anything to destress.. expect those evil machines!

Hi John

Hopefully you got through today free from the FOBT's.

The longer you keep off them the more determined you will get about not letting them drag you back.

You cant win.. as even if you get lucky you wont be able to keep off them...we both know that.

Go to the gym, go for a run.. anything to destress.. expect those evil machines!

Been very very tough this last few days however one thing that I noticed today is the amount of money that I have through not using the fobt , I think now the mist is clearing I realise that even when I won, it was just recovering what I lost.

When I think properly now about the fobt , you would put the odd 20.00 in and that suddenly turned into 50.00 and then you would gradually build up how much money you surrounded a number by.

Once the first bit of money is blown you find the next 20 barely covers two spins and the number you wanted it would tickle but just drop next door.

It is nearly the end of another week and it will be very testing this next few weeks , however I maintain this website is key to recovery , other peoples daily horror stories of the fobt give a real realisation of problems which seem deeper than mine , but the fobt is the fobt anyone who plays them will be suckered in.

I will keep reading the pages and updating see how far I can take it.

Why not use some of the money that you now have on yourself? Dont look at it as gambling money.. Treat yourself, treat a family member to a day out.. anything..

I can see the dangers that lie ahead when you have a big wad of money and you dont know what to do with it. When I got my first bit of PPI money out of the blue it was gone in a month, feel so so stupid about that.. Back then I couldnt see the wood for the trees.

This site has helped my mindset so much. Im scared that even one revisit on a FOTB will put me right back where I started

I know that any re-visit to the fobt would properly knacker up my thinking , plans , wedding and future.

I think the realisation is my wedding is less than 8 months away and any relapse on the roulette would properly c**k things up , if I can book the wedding cars this week and do a few other bits it will be good.

Think the thought of a ruined wedding if I did use the roulette is spurring me on , the main worry is after the wedding.