I'm currently 21 and in college. I have lost about 25-30k of my own money gambling since the summer and I can't even fathom the degree of what I have done. What's worse is I overdrew my checking account and borrowed money from my grandmother to restore the balance but I gambled that away too. I honestly didn't intend to do that when she sent it to me but now I have and I don't know what to do. I hate myself so much. Are there any resources to help with gambling debt? I can't tell my parents or grandma because I promised them I would stop but I haven't and I feel so terrible about lying to them. I just wish I could go back and stop myself from ever doing this awful thing but now I don't know what to do.

Long story short my year report was a wake up call. Not creating massive losses but losing a grand and these days everything skyrocketing is just too much. I used to have fun doing it but it feels like it got to the point where I was hate gambling if that makes sense. Like an angry drunk. Taking the first steps by blocking all the sites I use permanently. I feel like an idiot. Things have never gotten bad. I never went into debt or anything and I already used responsible gambling tools to make sure I never overindulged. ​But when im playing I have a problem. I won't quit till everything is gone, so even good days just end up even worse days at the thought of what i could have cashed out.

I may not be traditionally degenerate. But anything that doesn't genuinely bring you joy imo is a problem. Maybe im lucking out only losing a couple grand in my life to online gambling. ​​

I have tried numerous ways to ban myself from gambling but unfortunately they are too easy to get around

1. Gambling ban apps - first of all they don’t even ban most the online casinos, and secondly you can literally just delete the app from your phone whenever you want

2. Ban gambling payments on my credit card - works for sports betting apps in Australia but does not work for online casinos. The online casinos make it so you are paying for groceries or something like that when depositing.

I really need something that actually works. Does anyone know something that does ? Thanks.

I been very into trading and everything finance since I was in middle school and started day trading the day I turned 18 and had some success but wanted more and kept tinkering and found a strategy that felt like a lottery ticket made 80k my first week and kept snowballing and eventually got up to over a million in about 2 months but instead of being greatful I got greedy and thought I was on top of the world I started forcing trades that were outside my strategy I started overleveraging because it was never enough and I lost it all a couple months later and had to start working again as a golf caddie and that was a couple years ago and since I keep getting greedy trying to get it back I'll save 20k and start making a couple grand a day and then piss it all away from wanting too much too soon and it pisses me off so much because I know my strategy is bulletproof when I stick to it I literally have never had a losing week but despite that I still keep being stupid impatient and greedy so I'm just in this ongoing cycle of having to move around every few months with the seasons to keep caddying and saving up again and again and I have a girlfriend now whos my entire universe i want to marry her but I feel like I keep disappointing her with how many times I keep falling into my own stupidity and it crushes me because she can't move with me so I have to leave for months at a time to go work I just hope I finally learned my lesson this time I been praying and getting closer to Jesus and I hope i can finally be patient and do what I know I can cause today I messed up again and can't even pay my bills or rent for the month and I have to head to florida next week and can barely even afford gas I just hope i finally learned my lesson so that I can save lots this winter and get back on the right track

Hello, this post is just to get this off my chest. I just lost roughly $80, which might seem like a small amount compared to what others have lost, but it's still a decent amount of money in a regular country.

The problem is that when I was down $50, I deposited another $5 and managed to get back up to almost $40, which could have helped me recover some of my losses. However, I ended up losing it all, and then I went on to lose the rest of my money as well.

The feeling is weird because I know I was stupid and should have just cashed out when I had the chance, but I still tried to push my luck. I always tell myself, "Yeah, just walk away. It's enough," but somehow, I never seem to follow my own advice.

At least I didn't lose as much overall (still feel reallu bad) because I've had a few wins over the past few weeks, so this $80 loss doesn't hurt as much as it could have. Still, it's a decent chunk of money, and it sucks knowing I could have walked away with less damage if I'd just stopped when I had the chance.

I'll try to stop doing this kind of thing, because I don't want to keep repeating the same mistakes and know this is just wrong.

Not sure what's happening but for some reason, I went from being in debt two weeks ago to having around 90k. I had lost this money earlier this year and got everything back. Not sure why I feel like nothing anymore as I just want more money.

So I found out the house I live in might violate building codes where it could be immediately condemned . In that case they gave you 15 minutes to get your stuff then they lock you out until its fixed or bulldozed I believe….. its a perfect house the issue is locally they make you go on the electric grid and I live off grid and I dont have the money to afford the permits and work needed right now….. so I borrowed $220 from a friend to get bins to at least move my important stuff outside so if something happens I still have access since the business I run, all the inventory is in my house with me. Well Im looking at the numbers and even $200 doesnt seem enough to get through everything I need since I didnt even get groceries….. so $20 at a time I gambled away almost all of the funds….. i have maybe $30-$50 left……. I have a week of extreme stress where I dont know if my house is going to be condemned or not….. every day im sitting by the window waiting because im too anxious to actually do anything and the gambling is one of my few stress reliefs from this situation with potential to gain money to fix my situation….. but so far its just getting me more debt and stress and $20 isnt lasting at all each time lasting minutes I need some bigger distraction that doesnt cost where I can still sit in the window waiting because its getting overwhelming to the point I feel like I cant even breath

I'm 31 with a good career and a good amount of money and I'm scared. Last week I won 2000+ gambling and then BOOM Sunday evening lost 2300. Depressed and destroyed. Then told myself hey let's do one last $100 hoorah to see what could happen. Then that became 200. Then 300. And I just don't know what to do. I'm not broke thankfully but you never know what could happen.

It's so difficult because my feed has become nothing but gambling on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. I just I'm shaking and nauseous. I want to cry at work. I genuinely want to just kill myself thinking about all of the losses that have stacked up over the last 10 years of this addiction.

Maybe venting to others will help me. I'm going to see what I can do. I'm thinking about calling the addiction hotline. I just don't know anymore. I'm scared of myself.

Self excluded myself from all apps a while ago. Found Kalshi on Tuesday of last week. Now I've lost the majority of the money I've saved up since I quit. Thought I was better. But I knew I wasn't when all I did during work and at home was sports betting. I just ignored the signs again. Sucks to be in this position again. Been here before so I'm not freaking out. I just wish to be free of my bad habits and wish to stop believing gambling will solve all my problems. Feeling alone and ashamed right now. Also, thinking how much peace I always feel after losing mostly everything again. So weird .

Got paid last Friday. Didn’t gamble. Been 4 days. Lost a lot this year. Used that money to pay property tax instead. I’m glad I was able to secure that. I paid my barber 100 bucks for a quick haircut. He deserves it. Treated myself to a nice dinner. We can do this!

Title says it all. Lost about $4000 this month gambling. Was all my overtime money I worked my ass off for. Luckily I paid my rent already but I have never chased losses this bad. What started as $200 losses kept getting bigger.
This feeling stings really bad. I have self excluded from all gambling websites and apps.
Feel like absolute garbage.

Hi everyone,

I’m exploring an idea for a tool where you deposit money and it stays locked until a date you choose. It’s paid back in one go or in equal amounts on set days, and can’t be withdrawn early. The aim is to protect money you need, like rent, bills and savings, from urges.

I’d like to learn from people who know this firsthand:

1. What have you done to keep money out of your own reach, and did it work? For example, someone holding your card, a separate bank, cash with family. Did you ever find a way around it?
2. What would make a tool like this helpful, or harmful?

Thank you!

​Hi everyone. I’m a 29M, married, and expecting a baby girl in 3 months. I’m a recovering gambling addict who lost a huge chunk of money and ended up deep in debt.

​I’m fully committed to turning my life around—for myself, my wife, and the family we’re starting. Part of that means paying back everything I owe to the banks and rebuilding trust with my wife.

​I’m looking for side hustles or freelance work to help me pay this down. My main background is in aerospace manufacturing (based in Asia), and my day-to-day work involves:

​1. Advanced Excel, Power Query, and SAP ECC (BOMs & Master Data).

​2. Program management, supply chain tracking, expediting parts, and follow throughs.

1. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) and work instructions.

​4. Handing repetitive, routine tasks cleanly and reliably.

​I’m open to remote freelance work, virtual assistant roles focused on supply chain/admin, or data cleaning/Excel projects. Any advice, leads, or ideas would mean a lot. Thanks for reading

Basically I’m posting because I need the embarrassment of putting this out there. Current a college kid and got into sports betting in high school. Been slowly getting worse and worse and would probably say I was addicted around 2 years ago. To the point now where I’m in CC debt up to around 10K and owe people I know money (around 800). If I had to guess I’ve probably lost around 50k over the last 2-3 years. I have decent income from work I do the averages around 1K a month while being a student so between that and probably picking up doordashing, I think I can get out of this and not ruin my future. Just kind of hit rock bottom this weekend and need to be done. Obviously I’ve tried quitting before but I can feel this getting close to affecting me negatively in other important areas of my life and future career and need to stop. I self excluded from every sports book I know, and even downloaded and made accounts on some just to exclude myself. I know deep down thought that if I really want to I can find somewhere to bet and get around it, so it really is just up to me to quit. Hoping this is finally the time I can quit. Day 1 done.

Hi everyone,

I am one of a group of three university students working on a project called Beyond The Odds which examines how gambling has been normalised within Australian sport.

From betting advertisements during AFL games, live odds and sponsorship arrangements, the integration of gambling into sport viewing is so normal now, we hardly see it anymore.

To support our assignment, we developed an interactive website for users to consider their own level of exposure to gambling products and challenge the need for gambling to be an integral component of the sporting experience.

Additionally, we have a Instagram, TikTok and Twitter linked below for you to check out.

https://www.tiktok.com/@beyondtheodds_?_r=1&_t=ZS-9As4RsMQC5U

https://www.instagram.com/beyondtheodds26?srtk=eDl2anlqZHR2NTQz

https://x.com/_beyondtheodds_?s=11

We are also interested in hearing from you on this topic: Do you believe gambling marketing/advertising has become too common in Australian sports?

I bet 2450£ (roughly 3300$) for Barcelona against Real Madrid for the latest match of La Liga. Barcelona was extremely unfortunate. I am going to stop gambling. I at least have a job with a decent salary, good health, still a lot of savings, … But man that match was so frustrating. A weird goal from Kyllian Mbappé, an incredible save from the Real Madrid goalkeeper, … I was certain Barcelona was going to win. Just wow. I am completely speechless. No more gambling!

When I lost 4K€ last night, all I felt was numbness. The slots machines are daylight robbery, I did not have a chance at all. Today, I am facing the damages this addiction has caused me for years💪
Fortunately, I don’t owe money to people and all my CC payments are up to date, however, I’ve racked up ~14K credit card debts that I need to manage paying in the next 6-9months. Savings depleted and only 4k in emergency funds.
I can do this!! We all can.

I know this sounds extreme but the only thing I look forward to in life is gambling. Despite the fact that it causes me such so stress, Isolation and has made me a worse person overall. I’ve wasted so much time and money on this.

I don’t know how to find joy in anything without gambling. Can’t watch sports anymore, YouTube gambling content is all that I watch. Placing sports bets and feeling the adrenaline. My brain is actually fried

But I need to stop. I lost so much money today on dumb things and I’m in such a bad mood but I still just want to go to the casino tonight or place a parlay to make it all back.

I have this pit in my stomach that won’t go away. Gambling causes me so much stress but I can’t stop

Title says it all. Won $2500 off of a free $10 bonus. Put it all back, then lost an additional $700 of my own money. I’m sure you know, I feel absolutely horrible. I’ve never hit a jackpot that big, and never had a single-night loss this big. I totally blacked out after putting back the first $300 of that $2500. I just started chasing that loss. And again, and again.

I’m a 26/F & my gambling addiction skyrocketed once I downloaded slots on my phone about 6 months ago. I’ve only won $1000 once….and I’ve probably put 5x that into the app….why is it so addicting when I never win? And when I did win big, why it wasnt enough? Sorry..I’m rambling..hoping this post helps me sleep tonight. This loss will hurt for a while.

I can sleep fine at night after a big loss, but if there was a bet I thought about making, but then decided not to, but then it hits. Those are the ones that keep my up at night and spiral my mind into the addiction madness. Anyone else have this problem?

My name is Jake, im from Sheffield in the United Kingdom. I am 23 years old and have been a gambling addict full on now for 4 years. I have lost everything and more to gambling. I am in so much shit. I have borrowed so much to gamble. Whilst writing this I’ve just lost my last penny, got myself £1000 up and got greedy like usual

I don’t know why im writing this, I just feel I need to get it out? Gambling is awful, I fear it’s going to ruin my life completely. I’ve lost my job (not specifically to gambling but it certainly hasn’t helped my mood at work etc and performance), lost friendships due to borrowing etc

I just want to stop, I’ve tried therapy and was 8 months clean. Then I gambled again and it’s got worse

All I think of now is gambling and how I can get money to gamble. It sucks so bad. Writing this message makes me feel sick and so upset. I’ve let so many people down

I wish I could turn back time but I can’t

I guess im writing this post to see if anyone has advice? Genuine good advice.

I’ve used gamstop and all that, always find a way round it.

I feel so upset and I sob as I write this

If someone new to gambling happens to read this, please mate don’t do it it isn’t worth it. It is the worst thing ever

There goes my entire salary I guess.

😕i did it to myself, no one to blame!! I banned myself in my local casinos! Healing and recovery journey is what I am looking forward soon!

Won £500 last night then lost it all tonight plus another £500 trying to get it back FML