3 weeks bet free

Well done. Sounds like you're exactly where I started!

Your comment about the odd Saturday bet is what I tried for years..mark my words, it never ever works.

Hi Lwt2277,

Thanks for your post, and well done for sharing your story in our forum.

Your question; “where does it end?” has finally brought it home to you that you need to take positive steps to get over your gambling problem, and you seemed to have responded to that effectively.

I’m also glad to learn that visiting our forum has greatly helped you and contributed to your abstaining for 3 weeks.

You can now apply the same strategy and more, to stay gamble free.

This is also a proof to yourself that you can overcome your gambling problem; if you can abstain for 3 weeks, then it’s more likely you can abstain for additional 3 weeks, and so forth. It’s doable, and you can do it, Lwt227!

Maybe, you’d also like to contact our free phone Helpline on: 0808 8020 133, and speak to one of our advisers for further help and support – other options available to you.

Our lines are open every day from 8.00am to midnight.

My best wishes to you, and please keep posting.

Regards,

Beatrice

Lwt2277 wrote:

3 weeks bet free. 21 days!!

I've been gambling since I was 12! I would get someone of age to place bets for me. I have never had a problem with casino games, it's always been Sports betting.

I gambled mainly because I thought I would be bored if I didn't. I guess you could say it was a fear of being bored.

Where I live there isn't a lot to do. All my friends gamble. It was the first thing I thought about when I woke up. I would gamble every penny I had.

Online betting is the worst. The money doesn't feel real. You win £400 and you see £50 in cash at most. You just gamble it all back.

I always said, "You never win, you just borrow it from the bookies." I asked myself one question that changed my life: "Where does it end?"

I was gambling not to win money to buy things but to win money to have more bets. If I won £100 I didn't think "Get in, a new pair of trainers," I'd think: "Get in, 3 more bets!"

I know I am not out of the woods and I don't think I ever will be. I often wonder if I can have the odd £20 on the Saturday 3 pm games, but I soon realise I can't.

I won't lie, life is more boring without a bet, BUT that bored feeling is nowhere near as bad as the dark nights when you've lost big. I like that I know how much money I am going to have every month.

I like that I am counting the days. It helps. I'm proud of my gamble free streak. Visiting this forum has helped me greatly. And not checking odds has helped.

I'm going to keep a close eye on this thread, currently struggling with sports betting addiction at the moment. Do you have any tips to overcome it?

Thanks

Hi mate, My best tip is to count the days. That's what has really worked for me. I have a problem with football betting. I could have a bet on golf or something else if I wanted to, but I don't want to lose my streak (currently 101 days) so I've resisted. Just don't check odds too. You can't want something that you don't know the price of. It's a lot of willpower but it's worth it.

Lwt2277 wrote:

Hi mate, My best tip is to count the days. That's what has really worked for me. I have a problem with football betting. I could have a bet on golf or something else if I wanted to, but I don't want to lose my streak (currently 101 days) so I've resisted. Just don't check odds too. You can't want something that you don't know the price of. It's a lot of willpower but it's worth it.

Do you still follow the sports? Sometimes my urges have been from knowing a big game is coming up and putting a bet on it.

Congratulations on your achievement! It doesn't matter how short or long you've stopped playing. What matters is that you've taken steps to stop it.

An update to this post:

I haven't had a football bet for 794 days. I went 200 days and thought "Let's see how it goes and I relapsed. I have not had a football bet since then. 794 days! I would be lying if I said that was easy because it wasn't but I had the escape of knowing I could bet on other things and not get addicted.

So I would bet on darts, cricket, golf, NFL and one or two other things but I could walk away from those. However, in the last couple of months I would find myself going away from the tactics that helped me with my Football betting addiction. I would bet more than I wanted to. Thankfully, because I have gone through all the thoughts I have been having before with my football betting addiction I am in a much better place to tackle the thought of going completely cold turkey.

My biggest tip: Count your days. I am 794 days clean of football betting and I am very protective of that. On October 3rd, 2021 I started another streak: Completely bet free. 8 days is what I am at. I keep my 794 days because, to me, football betting is my main vice. Everyone is different, no two addicts are truly the same on every thing, so I will be having two streaks: 'Football bet free' and 'Completely bet free'.

I will also be visiting this forum much more to offer others support and help when I can.