[Steven187]

Of course they aren’t interested.
Perhaps they should be tho. It was 100% down to me, I’m fine with that, but someone gambling on the hour every hour regularly isn’t normal and that should be flagged up.
You wouldn’t serve an alcoholic more booze. Why should this be any different?

[Steven187]

I don’t really think the companies do enough with regards to exclusion. They should be more proactive, but they want your money, so if there’s a pattern of compulsive gambling they know they have you. In my opinion, this behaviour should trigger them excluding you, even temporarily. This would have maybe given us a chance to think and try and change our behaviour. Both parties (the compulsive gambler and the online company) are aware there’s a problem. Sadly, only one is benefitting from it.

[Steven187]

I think the online aspect plays a big part.
There’s no chance I would have walked into a bookies and put on some of the bets I was placing online-the highest being ￡13,000 on a single.

Either way, think tomorrow will be a week since my last bet, so heading in the right direction.

[Steven187]

You may be right. I’m interested in what makes us go down that destructive path though or do you think that addictive trait is there from birth?

[Steven187]

I’ve been reading your posts with interest and my situation was very similar. Being up, losing, chasing losses. I’m in the very early stages of trying to sort my own situation. I had ￡50,000 in savings, won another ￡20,000 odd and it’s all gone. I now have around ￡20000 debt on credit cards. My family and girlfriend know I was gambling in a destructive way, but not the amount I’ve lost. I really don’t think they would understand and there’s the problem. I wish you all the best in your recovery and staying gamble free.

[Steven187]

Thanks for your post.

I wasn’t wanting to come across by saying it was easy to stop.
Everyone is different. I have friends who gamble, but they weren’t putting thousands on games of football, as I was. For a period, I was putting bets on first thing in the morning and last thing before going to sleep and anything inbetween. This would happen daily for weeks. I would lose and then be up and the cycle continued. I realised it was an issue, but wasn’t ready to admit I had a problem at that point. My savings are all gone, winnings are all gone and I now have huge debts on credit cards. Maybe this is the wake up call I need. I couldn’t sustain what I was doing on a number of levels, I will hopefully get through this a better person. I think we learn about ourselves continually and this will be another lesson learned.

[Steven187]

All seems so straight forward and I suppose it is. I just wish I’d never started gambling in such a destructive way.

[Steven187]

Thanks for your post.
I realise there’s only one winner and it isn’t the compulsive gambler. I won a lot of money, but I’ve lost more.
I still check sites for inplay football scores (this is where I was betting for the most part) and at times I’m tempted to put a bet on, but I can’t for several reasons. I’ve self excluded from every site I’ve used and don’t have the finances to gamble. Yes, there are always other sites and probably other ways to get finance, but I haven’t tried these yet and hopefully won’t.
I’m not naive enough to think I can just flick a switch and stop gambling immediately, but I think enough is enough. I’m determined to stop, whilst being fully aware it won’t be easy. The money is gone, but I have a roof over my head and a plan to pay off my debts etc. I still think the difficulty is than your average person/non compulsive gambler does not understand fully. This website and the people posting has been a big help to me, so thank you.

[Steven187]

Good afternoon.
After a couple more (expensive) lapses, I’m concentrating daily on not gambling. I’m trying to look at the fact that gambling has brought nothing but negativity to my life and that it will take me years to pay off what I owe. I still plan to talk to some sort of counsellor/therapist through my doctor and will arrange this in the coming weeks. I want to try and get a better understanding of why I acted the way I did with my compulsive gambling. Taking a step back, I’ve drank heavily, dabbled in drugs for a period and now gambled to excess and lost huge amounts of money-perhaps the ‘addictive’ part of my personality has always been there and always will, but it’s being aware of that and trying to control it maybe. Having experienced suicidak thoughts many times through gambling, I’m grateful that I’ve stopped…hopefully forever and can move on with my life.

[Steven187]

A lot of the debt is on credit cards that have a 0% interest offer for 24 months, so will endeavour to pay as much back as I can through that. My girlfriend (looking like being ex girlfriend soon) knows about the gambling and debt. I have no money to gamble at the moment, so will not be gambling for the foreseeable. Attempting to take it a day at a time and keep occupied with other things.

I kept my issues with gambling/debt caused by gambling to myself for a long time and eventually told my girlfriend and family. Felt like a weight hand been lifted in doing this, but I’ve still lost a lot of money after telling them.
The difficulty is that I don’t think people understand, unless they’ve been in a similar situation. It’s been an odd few months-I’m doing well in work and enjoy my job, studying part time and enjoy the course and then there’s the gambling. It was kept a secret. Difficult when people don’t know. With other addictions, other aspects of your life may suffer, but gambling had no impact on work or college. It has become an issue in my relationship, but that may turn out to be another cost.

Charles, Lizbeth – thanks for posting.

[Steven187]

Thanks for your post.
Yes, I did endeavour to stop and I also received delivery of another credit card on wed, maxed it out and lost it all.
Part of the issue here is that we kid ourselves.
I am going to put money into my girlfriends Acc each month and endeavour to stop one day at a time.

[Steven187]

Another very relatable post.
I was attempting to go for a gamble free May, managed to get another 2000 on a credit card and lost all of it today.
The cycle continues. I’m at the point that I’ll be struggling to put fuel in my car to get to and from work very shortly, never mind be able to afford the things I took for granted prior to compulsive gambling. My brother died ten years ago and I feel this has possibly contributed to the predicament I’m now in, as I haven’t really come to terms with that-or maybe that is an excuse on my part. I went through many suicidal thoughts due to gambling, but now I just want to move on and sort my life/finances out.

[Steven187]

Another very relatable post.
I was attempting to go for a gamble free May, managed to get another 2000 on a credit card and lost all of it today.
The cycle continues. I’m at the point that I’ll be struggling to put fuel in my car to get to and from work very shortly, never mind be able to afford the things I took for granted prior to compulsive gambling. My brother died ten years ago and I feel this has possibly contributed to the predicament I’m now in, as I haven’t really come to terms with that-or maybe that is an excuse on my part. I went through many suicidal thoughts due to gambling, but now I just want to move on and sort my life/finances out.

[Steven187]

I’ll attempt to take it one day at a time.
I have no money to gamble now and my credit rating is now f*cked due to debt built up through credit cards and loans, so might be an easy decision.

[Steven187]

I’ve been reading your posts with interest and wish you all the best in your efforts to stop gambling. I find myself in a similar predicament. I’ve closed online accounts/take timeouts etc, but always seem to find another site to put bets on and inevitably lose. I have lost my life savings and owe another ￡20,000 on credit cards and loans. I was paid last week and all my wages are now gone through gambling. I’m at a loss with the whole thing.

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