To say I’ve just taken the first step to beating my gambling addiction

[Cowparsley1]

Well, second as I guess the first is admitting it to yourself in the first place.

I just registered with GamBan so cannot play on any UK casinos.

My addiction started back in 2017. Online slots. Gosh I’ve wasted so much money.

Tonight, I’ve just gambled £600 away, lost every single penny and just reloaded and reloaded £100 after £100 and I’ve had it.

I hate how it affects my moods, I hate how it always makes me want to reach for my phone and then im not ‘present’ for my DC.

I hate how insular and anti social I’ve become because quite honestly, a lot of the time, I just want to sit and gamble.

I just want to be free of this awful addiction.

Well done on taking those first few steps!

I don't have any advice to offer as I haven't been in your shoes but deciding to take action must have been hard, so I wish you all the best with beating your addiction. I hope you can join a group that will support you through this and enable you to be there for your children.

Best of luck, you can do this! x

Why are you taking Gamban? They charge you and half the time, it doesn’t work. Cancel that.

I used to work in mental health; lots of people with gambling issues. You need to use gamstop. It is free and it works.

You also need to, right now, go on and self exclude permanently from all the sites you use. Tomorrow, you call gamblers anonymous and ask for help.

Thank you!

I’m nervous as I know it’s going to be a long road ahead to quit this now incredibly engrained habit, but I’m determined! X

Sorry, I meant GamStop, not GamBan!

Ive registered with Gamstop, deleted all apps off my phone and self excluded where I could before that too.

I might ring Gamstop in the morning and speak to someone too!

I really feel for you, gambling addiction just seems awful! Really hoping you’ve managed to crack it

I’ve been where you are, it’s just awful.

Registering with Gamstop saved my life., I was in such despair by that point.

Its been 7 years for me, and I’ve never gone back to gambling (it was online slots for me af well)

There are some good forums on Gamcare, if you want to talk to other people.

Recovery is hard, but you can do it.

Well done!

Well done!

my mum was a gambling addict while me and my sibling were growing up. She went from a high paid corporate job to eventually losing our house and declaring bankruptcy, taking her own life a few years later. She just couldn’t give up the addiction. So I didn’t want to read and run without saying how brave you are & how lucky your kids are that you are taking these positive steps! I’m saying a prayer for you x

Hi OP.
I know somebody who had a gambling addiction and also see a lot of videos on tik tok re this and this is what my friend and what I’ve seen suggest:

Put a block on gambling transactions with your bank . You can normally do this through online banking if not call them

Try to attend GA if you can . This is what massively helped my friend

Can you get a family member to look after your money for the time being and they transfer it to you as and when you need it ?

Download the free app ‘days since’. My friend currently at 586 days .

You’re chasing the Dopamine hit . Find something else to do . If you get an urge to gamble set yourself a timer or 30 mins on your phone . The urge should pass by then .

Get as much support as you can . Gordon Moody website I hear a lot of positives about this .

You’ve got this OP . Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery xx

Thank you all for your help and support.

This morning all I feel is relief still, like a weight has been lifted!

It’s definitely just a boredom thing for
me, when I’m busy and out and about, I don’t even think about gambling. It’s when im sat at home with nothing to do.

I went on holiday a few weeks ago for a week and couldn’t gamble as most UK sites won’t let you sign in from abroad. It was great, I read 4 books on that holiday and was so much more present. It made me realise how much more productive I could be with the time that I waste (not to mention the money, obviously) gambling.

I’m determined

I am so sorry for what you went through as a child and the fact that your mum took her own life. That is just absolutely awful.

It makes me so angry that adverts for casinos on TV and radio seem to be at an all time high. So many people will be sucked into it and it really does destroy lives!

This is great. I applaud anyone who recognises the problem and does something about it. Every day I deal with consumers who've been unable to help themselves, and look to recover their losses through the banks.

Gamstop is a good first step, as is using the bank's gambling block to self-limit. But do speak to your bank as well and tell them you have a problem and need their help to overcome it. They can discuss blocking payments to companies that are known to be used to bypass the gambling block. For example, gamblers will still often send money to gambling companies via PayPal so the Merchant Category Code of the ultimate recipient isn't known to the bank and won't be stopped. I'm really not trying to give you tips here, just pointing out that your bank might be able to help you reduce the opportunities further if you speak to them.

Get as much help as you can. It's such a horribly difficult compulsion to overcome. Wishing you all the strength you can muster x

Congratulations on taking your first steps to break free.
The very best of luck to you as you go forward.

Gambling has been made alarmingly normal now. You see it in video games, mobile games etc and kids getting brought up on it with in game loot boxes and crates. It's such a terrible addiction, you can lose literally everything in a matter of seconds, from the comfort of your own home, in an app. You don't even have to go out or physically see the actual amount of money. Even other addictions like alcohol, it is impossible to decimate your life savings and face financial ruin in a few minutes.

I think we need much much tighter regulations around the entire thing. It's such a crooked industry as well. Its always been rigged but I feel the apps are literally just data harvesting machines that you can throw limited money into.

You have done well to acknowledge it op. Good luck to you.

Oh op, I’m in exactly the same boat. It’s been 2.5 years since I found online slots and I’ve lost thousands. I think I was gambling 200 pounds a day. I’m not a high earner, but was withdrawing amounts from my pension pot!
my husband is furious and upset with me, says he can’t trust me.Its not even about the money anymore, it’s the thrill of the dopamine rush when I get a win.
i signed up to Gamstop but ended up using my husband’s accounts to gamble with.
2 days gamble-free now. I had a huge urge to ask my friend to put 50 quid into her online account last night, so I could do the slots. But I didn’t.
If you want to message me for mutual support
please do
liz

What help are you getting? Trying to get around the stops by using your husband’s details and even knowing you can use your friends’ accounts is very worrying.

What help are you getting? You can’t do it alone and there is nothing to be embarrassed about here. Reach out and get help.

Get to GA and look into counselling also but well done massively scary big step you should be proud but get support from those who can understand and help you through the good and bad days

Also look at the Moses site which allows you to self ban from in-person casinos bookies etc

“BeltaLodaLife”
Apart from the Gamstop and not using my husband’s accounts, I am on an online Facebook forum. I’m in an alcohol support group (in person) so I’ve had some really good advice from them. It’s down to me now to not give in to my impulses.
I transferred my addiction to alcohol to gambling . I haven’t had alcohol for 7 years now.

I hope you’ve had a good/ gamble free day today. I echo another poster, I think you should reach out to Gamstop and see if there’s any help available in terms of counselling/ support groups.

It’s such a terrible addiction, I hope we can both be strong enough to kick it to the kerb for good! X

”Cowparsley” nice to hear from you. Yes, another gamble-free day for me. I have plenty of people to talk to , some of who have kicked addictions, but yes, I think I probably need to speak to a therapist who specialises in gambling addiction. If you had told me If be in this position s few years ago, I wouldn’t have believed you, I wasn’t remotely interested in gambling, let alone slots. But here we are.
Im
hoping you’re doing ok?
sending strength

Before you gamble your money away, ask chatGPT for a full breakdown of the statistics for the bet you are about to place and the money you are about to gamble. Trust me, you won't proceed. Also, find a new addiction to replace and keep you busy, get into fitness or a hobby. Get professional help and maybe ask a trusted person to look after your money for a while until you break the habits.

Congratulations. Keep going!

Well, another day done!

Today I worked out how much spare money I will have each month if I’m not gambling. I mean it’ll vary as my gambling varied each month but I think, on average I’ll be about £500 a month better off! I’m actually excited to have this ‘spare’ money and to be able to put a lot of it into savings each month (I have something that I would love to save up for and if I manage that, it’ll be amazing and that alone will make giving up gambling worth it)

I’m mortified that I have been essentially paying off a mortgage every month with the amount I’ve gambled! I’ve been constantly ‘broke’ for the last 8 years, because pretty much ALL my money (apart from what I needed to pay mortgage, bills etc, I’ve always been ‘good’ in that respect and managed to not gamble that away each month!) has been put into online slots each month! I get paid Friday and I’m £500 richer than I have been in years!!!

@Lizzbear, I hope today is another successful day for you! X

Congrats, really rooting for you!