My story and it's a long one

Hi all my name is J and I'm 28, I have a good job, loving wife and a brilliant family oh and not forgetting a terrible gambling addiction that has ruined me financially for the last 14 years until the penny has finally dropped over the last 12 months.
So let's go right back, I have gambled since I can remember I would guess 14 around the time the FOBTs were introduced, I remember sharing £5 with 5 others and the ring leader getting it up to £50 before losing on the roulette and I all I could think about was WOW why didn't he take the money I could have made an easy profit there! Now I'm typing it brings back memories of me at ages of 7/8 in arcades, I couldn't get enough of the 10p machines, I firmly believe gambling addiction is something we are born with and to allow children to gamble is a complete farce but that's for another day.

So from the age of 14 I played in the bookies and since that day I have had more money to my name as the years have gone by, I've bet on everything, you name it I've bet on it, the main exception being online casinos which other then 1 bad night I have never been drawn towards, much like the lottery and scratch cards which a must be how the wiring in my brain works as I would never consider regularly gambling on a scratch card.
I could try and work out how much I've lost but I wouldn't know where to start maybe 100k with all the paydays gone to waste plus payday loans etc.I have some nice clothes a semi decent car and I have enjoyed nice holidays which I've had to budget with on arrival due to gambling before hand but materialistic wise I am worth very little, my biggest strength is my job which I've worked up the ranks in, ironically, due to a desire to earn more money to cover gambling debts.. Talking about debts I currently pay out £700 a month towards them which kills me as my other bills are £300 a month so I think how much spare cash I would have if I never stepped foot in a bookmakers.
I have enough income left to keep my head above water but it's a shame that I've never seen the benefit of a promotion.
There's nothing I can do to change the past so I better start looking forward.
I've estimated that 3 years gambling free would pay them off nearly.
When I was in my early 20s I never understood about credit so I ignored 2 payday loans and boom 2 defaults which I quickly payed off but the impact has been enormous as you all may know these defaults stay on your credit file for 6 whole years which I am pleased to say are finally over but due to a high level of debt my credit report isn't close to where I want it to be but it's gone from very poor to fair which is a small step forward.

So back to gambling, I would say the main source of my loses were due to the FOBT mainly roulette, I can't stand to lose 20p on it, I've lost count of how many times starting with £3 lost that and then tried to chase the £3 back and sometimes I do get my money back but when I don't that £3 chasing turns into a £500 loss on those dreaded machines which results in me then placing huge football bets to get my money back which never ever ends well.
In recent years I have done well to stay off the machines but I've had 1 or 2 relapses on the machines costing me a small fortune, it's amazing I can stay off them for 3 months but then I put £1 in and I'm right back in that zone, something takes over you and if I'm honest I can't even remember what goes through my head when playing those vile machines.
I have tried just sticking to football, gambling weekends only etc etc but nothing has worked and I decided to change a few months back, I stopped completely but recently relapsed without any major losses.

I have excluded from all online accounts and all bookmakers. The shop bookies is the great thing as thats where 99% of my losses are from and like previously mentioned I'm not inclined to gamble online so that's never a temptation.

So this is my diary, I'm feeling good and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, it's only been a few weeks but now the temptation is removed as I can't go in I feel better then I ever have in my adult life, I don't want to be checking my phone 24/7 for a goal from a team I have no interest with or I don't want to say I'm going to get petrol then head to the bookies.
What I want is a normal life with some savings behind me and a bright future.
After only a few weeks my bank balance is surprisingly much healthier and if I carry on in this manner what's siting in my account will go towards becoming debt free even sooner and maybe I can treat myself without worrying about my bank balance.

I staring saving a few hundred 6 months ago and I'm determined to keep that going for 3 years to set me up when I'm debt free.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and I will be keeping this up to date for my own sake.

If I could offer anyone advice it would be to ban themselves from the bookies, it has changed everything for me.
I know that won't suit all but if you're like me it may well help.

J.