Sports betting luck has gone cold. Lost 2k

Day 5:

I finished work yesterday and I had a massive urge to place a bet on a team that is on form in the baseball. I relapsed and did thinking that I could win a tiny bit of money back and further ease my financial pressure until payday - I placed 60 and the team went on to lose.

Feeling disgusted, I went into the account and put a 4 week time out period so that I do not give in.

Sorry to hear that but I'm not sure how committed you are to giving up. At first you just wanted to stop losing and now your only putting four week blocks in place. I suggest if your serious about this then you self exclude from bookies both on the high street and online. You have a problem and you need to look in the mirror and face facts. When was the last time you won big,I bet it was ages ago! Over time not only does the bookie win but he takes and takes and takes. Can I also suggest staying away from sports at the moment. Try reading,going to the gym,going for a walk,visiting friends and family etc anything to keep your mind occupied. C'mon mate you can do this! 🙂 One day at a time!

New beginning wrote:

Sorry to hear that but I'm not sure how committed you are to giving up. At first you just wanted to stop losing and now your only putting four week blocks in place. I suggest if your serious about this then you self exclude from bookies both on the high street and online. You have a problem and you need to look in the mirror and face facts. When was the last time you won big,I bet it was ages ago! Over time not only does the bookie win but he takes and takes and takes. Can I also suggest staying away from sports at the moment. Try reading,going to the gym,going for a walk,visiting friends and family etc anything to keep your mind occupied. C'mon mate you can do this! 🙂 One day at a time!

When I have lost in the past, I have always found that when I am desperate the temptation has been greater. That was why I placed it, I was thinking along the lines of 'an additional £30 will cover me for the rest of the month', rather what happened was that I ended up losing 60!

Losing that bet was the best thing that has happened to me, it has definently P****d me off, but it has further drilled in that it is a losing game. The combination of desperation and boredom was what drove me to do this....Pay day seems like forever right now 🙁

The last time I won big was during the Olympics on the golf, I won £150 but squandered it away quickly.

I think you need to go cold turkey and stop all gambling. The difference between other people is we can't stop! We chase our losses and normally rack up more or the winnings burn a hole in our pocket and we think we can grow them but to no avail. My mates gamble but they no when to stop but I don't. My problem was roulette on the fobt or latterly online. I've hopefully stopped this by blocking access to theses premises and sites but with your addiction it seems to be sports and that must be really tough with the coverage of sports based events. Newspapers,online, dedicated channels etc it's hard not to notice and think hmm one small bet and I can turn it around. You seem to still be in the gambling haze at the moment but the longer you go with out placing a bet the better you'll feel. Hopefully you'll see things in a different light and use that competitive spirit you have to beat your addiction and grow your gf days! Wishing you a gamble free day buddy 🙂

Newbeginning, thank you for your words of encouragement, it is really helping since it's quite lonely not being able to speak to anyone about it. My day has so far been gamble free. I don't have any urges right now.

Your point about sports betting is true, it doesn't help that loads of gambling companies are funding sporting events and teams. Yes things are still very raw right now, and I agree I need some time away from it - meeting with a friend right now then will head off to my gf. I should be ok in 2 weeks since I will then be paid and out of that 'haze'

Day 2:

Did not gamble yesterday following my relapse. Saw my bank balance, very depressing.

Small steps at a time. Put the blocks in place for when you get paid. Self excursions,blocking software etc

Day 3:

I have now gone 2 days without gambling. Keeping myself busy with other things is certainly helping.

Just my view - don't just think about the money or your bank balance - think about how it messes with your head - the anxiety etc. Like I said, just my view.

I guess everybody's situation is different. I got into serious difficulty when my health deteriorated. The thing that unites people here remain the same though. That is GAMBLING. ​It occupies the mind, provides a real thrill (for some) and ultimately causes degrees of harm if not totally controlled. As I said we are all different but the cure is the same. Stop!!! There is no soft way out. Self-exclusion works to a certain degree but I suspect most betting companies will accept you back quickly if you beg. Plus you can just bet elsewhere. If you are out of control just end it. Get back to living again. Life is wonderful .

Hi darkhorse how's the recovery going I noticed you haven't posted in a while. Hope your just busy with life and if not then get posting again and come back for some support. All the best mate

New beginning wrote:

Hi darkhorse how's the recovery going I noticed you haven't posted in a while. Hope your just busy with life and if not then get posting again and come back for some support. All the best mate

I went on holiday after I stopped posting. Lead up to the planned holiday I was about to cancel because of the financial stress from gambling - this nearly caused my relationship to end, GF flipped.. The gambling has caused a lot of damage...Just came out of a short break with my GF and we are back together. I have not gambled since, but I have to pay off my debts from holiday + gambling. I am 1k in my overdraft.

I have sadly relapsed with my gambling. The impending break up has made me extremely depressed, so I gambled. I have now maxed out my overdraft of 1.2k and living on my credit card. After getting through the month, I should have only a 100 pounds of my own money left after I get my next pay cheque. Once paying off all my bills, I will head directly back into my overdraft. The tennis and basketball killed me, Andy Murray lost the only game in the set that I bet on! All of the heavy favourites I bet on today lost, and ironically after checking the scores upon stopping gambling, the one's I was going to bet on are now losing. So I would have lost even more money if I had continued to bet.

After losing the money, I had to cancel an upcoming trip to see good friends due to financial difficulties. I realised I was digging myself into a deeper hole, and after seeing the damage done in a spreadsheet from calculating the total deposits and withdrawals I decided that it was for the best I self exclude myself.

I had previously flirted with the idea that I could do controlled gambling. It doesn't work for me.

I am now penniless, heartbroken and at home. The urge to bet is sometimes there, but since I have self excluded myself, I can't even sign in now to place a bet. Previously, I also had the idea to keep my accounts open to do risk free matched betting, but I have no self discipline to wait until I have the bank roll to do it.

I was also using the time out functionality previously, but it was a bad idea since I alwatys waited for it to expire, now I am self excluded, it's final.

Hi DH

Well done for realising you can't gamble, in any form.

Once you stop, after a while, you realise that the whole 'ducking and diving' of gambling is not only destructive for your well being and all relations, but it's actually incredibly boring.

I think a part of me always knew it was boring, but another part of me craved the numb.

Reading your first few posts - won this, lost that , sure bet that lost ec etc. I have some distance now and reading what you wrote is such tedium that it's hard to keep attention.

Yet...I was exactly the same! So not meaning to have a go. It's just we get so caught up in the sugar rush and the fine detail - we stop doing things that are interesting and important to us to ourselves. We get all consumed by the process of addiction - like watching some crazed hamster going round a wheel. I'm sure it's a different perspective for the hamster, every turn is somehow different, yet to a human it's equally dumb and boring.

Do everything you can to stay stopped. Get that daylight. Then you can figure out why you were opting to stay on that wheel.

Best

Louis

cardhue wrote: Hi DH Well done for realising you can't gamble, in any form. Once you stop, after a while, you realise that the whole 'ducking and diving' of gambling is not only destructive for your well being and all relations, but it's actually incredibly boring. I think a part of me always knew it was boring, but another part of me craved the numb. Reading your first few posts - won this, lost that , sure bet that lost ec etc. I have some distance now and reading what you wrote is such tedium that it's hard to keep attention. Yet...I was exactly the same! So not meaning to have a go. It's just we get so caught up in the sugar rush and the fine detail - we stop doing things that are interesting and important to us to ourselves. We get all consumed by the process of addiction - like watching some crazed hamster going round a wheel. I'm sure it's a different perspective for the hamster, every turn is somehow different, yet to a human it's equally dumb and boring. Do everything you can to stay stopped. Get that daylight. Then you can figure out why you were opting to stay on that wheel. Best Louis

@ Half - Life

Yes, I am looking into installing the right blocking software right now, as for somebody managing my finances I dare not to tell my parents what I have done. I come from a Muslim household and they will kill me. I have phoned the helpline a lot recently to help talk things through with somebody, which has been helpful.

@ Louis what you have described was exactly how I felt. It was literally becoming an extremely vicious cycle, I would win a few then lose, then lose more then I have deposited. Funnily enough the more I got into debt, the more desperate I became and the more I lost. Eventually, psychologically I started to get into this 'gambling haze', where I couldn't quite see the damage it was causing since I was so wrapped in it. I knew my relationships were breaking down, but thought I could always smoothen them out. Now that I am self excluded, hopefully as you have said I will gain some real perspective on it, after getting distance from it. Part of the reason as I said in my previous post I was keeping my accounts open was for the idea of doing Matched betting.