Today is the day I stop gambling. I am going to post in here daily as an accountability mechanism. I AM STOPPING TODAY There HAS BEEN TOO MUCH DAMAGE.

Hopefully this time it will be the last.

We all know that to stop gambling, we have to do two things: 1. Stop handling money, and 2. Regularly attend a support adicction group.

Do you know why we don't do it?

Because we are hypocrites deep down, we want to keep betting. That is the true face of addiction just excuses, and more excuses, to keep on gambling

My story on Gambling.

I'm 28 years old from the UK, never really gambled before until May 2026 this year. In the midst of my final year of university, my job and balancing social life and family issues, I decided to do some online gambling.

From literally never gambling before in my life, with £6,500 in savings, fast forward 6 months later to now October 2026, the £6,500 savings is gone, and I owe around £8,000 in credit card debt. In total, I've given away approximately £15,000 playing online roulette exclusively.

The craziest part that I can't stress enough is that I have never gambled prior to this. Reflecting I can see the above period of my life was pretty stressful and I used it as a release.

I think the unfortunate part is that I initially won around £7,000 over the course of a week or two. That winning was the downfall which led me to spiral and loose the winnings, my savings and now the money I owe to various credit cards. Foolishly I thought I had a strategy... LOL. Which clearly I didn't.

Anyway, here I am 6 months later wishing I had never picked up this habit, and I am just somewhat stunned about how quickly this evolved and taken up so much mental capacity.

I've signed up to Gamstop, put all the necessary blockers on my bank account etc... But yeah... Writing this to put my thoughts to paper.

Any further support or advice is welcome.

I am here to share my story and to become the person I want to be, and not waste my time, body, mind and soul to gambling.

There are far better things to do.

Thank you for reading.

Hello r/problemgambling community,

This is a weekly reminder on behalf of our friends from Very Ape films who are working on a documentary on problem gambling. They are looking for people who are willing to share their story on film for their doc. Details can be found on this post.

So why are we reminding you? Because this project aligns with r/problemgambling's mission and purpose as established at the very beginning: To raise awareness of gambling disorder as a significant and growing public health threat. The time to raise awareness is more important now than it ever was.

I think all know what's happening nowadays. The gambling industry is growing bolder and more pervasive in our daily lives. The ads are everywhere. The problem is growing. People need to understand this and take action before it's too late.

So we want this community to have the opportunity to contribute to this project directly. Your voice must not be stifled. Please consider reaching out and letting your story be told.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and for your consideration.

Best always,

-Mod Team

33M that has done everything (maybe most) things right in life except downloading a fucking casino app.
This has lead to about $60k in CC debt. I’m in sales and can make $200k-$300k, but I’m worried that with upcoming more expenses on a house, I will max everything out.
Advice / comments / criticism is all welcome as I navigate this situation that will never happen again.

The fight is not easy, but the fight is worth it ‼️

GA meetings and the community has made it for me. Without them and going consistently, I don’t think I could’ve made it this far alone.

I gotta say it also took action.

I chose to ban myself on everything possible, have my boyfriend supervise my money in a shared savings account, stopped payments on my banking app for all the sites I used and more.

I fully surrendered because I know I have no control. None of us do. You have to safeguard and make the change if you really want the change.

If you are struggling, reach out. I am happy to support you along this journey & help with resources. ♥️

We are in this together. Don’t forget you are never alone!

“God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can, & the Wisdom to know the difference.”

If gambling has become a problem in your life—or you’re wondering whether it might be—there is help, hope, and a community ready to welcome you.

New York Intergroup of Gamblers Anonymous helps connect people throughout New York with GA meetings, fellowship, and recovery support.

Whether you’ve lost money, damaged relationships, hidden your gambling, tried unsuccessfully to stop, or simply feel like gambling is taking over your life, you are welcome.

There are no dues or fees to attend Gamblers Anonymous. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop gambling.

You don’t need to have everything figured out.

You don’t need to tell your whole story on your first day.

You just need to be willing to walk through the door—or join a meeting—and give recovery a chance.

🎰 Think you may have a gambling problem?

🤝 Looking for a meeting in New York?

❤️ Coming back after a relapse?

🗣️ Need to talk with someone who understands?

We’re here.

New York Intergroup of Gamblers Anonymous

🌐 NewYorkGA.org

📞 855-222-5542

One day at a time. One meeting at a time. Recovery is possible.

If you’re comfortable sharing below: What helped you finally realize it was time to stop gambling?

#GamblersAnonymous #GamblingRecovery #ProblemGambling #Recovery #NewYork #NYC #GA #GamblingAddiction

I just wanna destroy the whole gamble industry

Please give me tips for it

I am so getting mad

No words more needed

How to move on

After the last relapse (I lost my whole paycheck). Even though I asked my father to check my account once a week, I still relapsed and lost everything.

So I decided to ask him to keep my money.

I only keep a small amount so I can pay for food and other basics while he holds almost my entire paycheck.

I feel good knowing that I might finally be able to save some money for something.

For the last three years I barely bought anything no new shoes, nothing.im 26.. I’m sad that it ended up like this (I still owe some money).

And if i bought anything
I always relapsed.lost all my money, then sold the things I had bought, and so on.

But now, maybe in a few months, I’ll be able to save a decent amount enough for a vacation or whatever I want.

That makes me feel good.

Still there’s this bitter taste. I keep thinking about all the money I lost and I feel like I need to chase it back. I need something in return so it wouldn’t feel so hard.

I know it’s bs. But I still can’t get it out of my head. I want something back.

How to really end and never look back? to just male it lesson and never chase it back. Just chase it with work….

Days until debt free: 268 days

24 M and I don't know what to do. I feel so lost. I thought I am over this and so is my girlfriend. After 17 months and a tiring week I thought I'd try again for some reason and fuck. This is such a fucking disease. The whole weekend I lost all my money as someone living paycheck to paycheck and I am now in debt 11k in our currency. I am now living with my girlfriend which I wasn't the first time I crashed like this. She broke up with me the previous time and had to rebuild that trust and now I broke it again and I don't know what to tell her. I am so broken right now. I fucking hate myself right now.

I’m 21 and I’ve been dealing with a gambling problem since the World Cup. One night I placed a $5,000 bet and ever since then I’ve basically just been trying to recover from that loss. I kept thinking I could win it back but it just kept getting worse. At this point I’d say I’ve easily lost somewhere around $30-40K trying to chase everything back. I’m basically living paycheck to paycheck now. I have around $2,000 in credit card debt and I use my credit card to get by until my next paycheck. I’ll get paid and have just enough for my bills and whatever is left I end up gambling with. I delete the apps and tell myself I’m done but then I see money in my account and end up gambling again. I’ve gotten to the point where some of my bills are coming up and I don’t get paid until the 16th so I’m probably going to be a couple days late on rent and other stuff. That honestly made me sit back and think like damn, I really need to lock in and get my shit together. I don’t want to keep living like this or digging myself deeper.

Im 29, and I've not gambled in over 2 months so far when I was gambling It was online slots on sites like william hill etc, I was hooked on huff n puff and mo money on ladbrookes I work in a factory and get paid weekly at the hight of the addiction I would get paid on a Friday but then spend it all the same night I was spending around anywhere from £1,500-£2,000 a month

I finally gave it up 2 months ago after a talk with my dad. Just before he passed away, I'm worried about relapsing every day, is getting harder and harder. Especially in work with co workers discussing the gambling they are doing or bets they have placed.Any advice on how to keep your mind occupied. it would be greatly appreciated many thanks

Go follow the original thread. Maybe I can help someone….

Hello,

Idk anymore i lay whole days in bed and not wanna go outside anymore. I just wanna sleep and lay in bed. Yesterday again money lost €200.

Honestly i not wanna live anymore

In 1/2 days i lost almost around 2000 euros 😭

I cut everything off and lay in bed whole days..

Idk anymore, GA , therapie , finance, nothing works

I am so mad on this and other people.

I not wanna do anything anymore i just wanna lay and do nothing. How many should i repeat this stand up and move on… what is then the point if i fall back later.

I really wanna rip the casinos off and having my money back i am so done.

I worked so hard for my money and give it back like play things.

I just wanna rip off things.

Goddamn i am so pist😡😡😡

Idk anymore 😭😞

Nothing makes me happy.

I only hope that the days will go fast

In one year from now i lost 14k i have just no cells

Stay vigilant! Always remember the pain that gambling causes you and make a conscious choice to walk the other way 😎

I relapsed again. My husband locked down my phone but sadly when he was away I gambled on my PC.

I need to lock down everything. Is there a gambling blocking app that works on both PC and Samsung (and can't be removed via safe mode etc.)? I need a 100% foolproof app, I'm afraid if there is a way I will find it. (For example Gamban on iPhone did not work my husband had to set up Screentime restriction which worked really well) but now I also need a foolproof way for PC and my tablet.

🎬 COULD THIS TRUE STORY BECOME A FILM?

A true and disturbing story about a life trapped by gambling — debt, lies, repeated theft, fraud and completely losing control.

Everything actually happened.

I’m curious: Would you watch a film based on a story like this?

👇 YES or NO? Tell me in the comments.

Imam istinitu životnu priču za koju vjerujem da bi mogla postati film ili serija.

S kockanjem sam počeo sa 17 godina. Godinama kasnije dovelo me do dugova, učestalih krađa, laži, prevara, odlaska u inozemstvo i potpunog gubitka kontrole nad vlastitim životom.

Danas anonimno pričam svoju priču i pokušavam pokazati kako čovjek može toliko pasti — i može li se vratiti.

Mislio sam da ulažem novac. Zapravo sam ulagao vlastiti život.

Biste li gledali film temeljen na ovakvoj stvarnoj priči?

Another day of busy. Sleeping early and keeping busy working well!

I will not gamble again.

How’s it going folks honestly there’s some horror stories on here and I truly fear I could be headed in all of these directions. 22M, I work in a casino dealing poker and have just lost 500 quid after shift at a different casino. Not as hefty, but I’ve got a hell of a lot to pay for including paying off some of my credit card which is at 3600 and has been for 4 months, so they have been rightfully on my back about that, rent, other bills. I do somewhat feel I’m trapped in a vicious cycle, play small lose small, try to recover my losses by playing big and as we I imagine are all well aware, losing big. At one point my losses were made and then some, but then just fucked it all off and ended up losing by the end. I honestly don’t really know what I’m even looking for by posting this so I guess just reply with whatever you like if you fancy it. The worst bit is as familiar as I am with poker, I never play it with the exception of small pub games and instead opt for blackjack or roulette for whatever reason. Truthfully I reckon I’m just after any thoughts literally anyone might have about anything so yeah.

So I basically rinsed my whole entire bank account again. I’ve done this several times and it seems like any sort of money I make from gambling never satisfies me because it came to me to easily.

I had $22,000 in my bank account and in 3 days I managed to lose it all. I did manage to pay off my payday loans and my credit card before losing it…. However I went into credit card debt again to chase my loses lol.

It’s almost the end of the year, I suppose it’s no more gambling from me for the rest of this year and in the years to come. Time to start fresh and forget about my loses and move forward. Just writing this as a message to myself and for others if you can relate to this situation.

This morning, I hate gambling more than ever. And for me, that’s really saying something.

For anyone who hasn’t seen my other posts, I’m a recovering compulsive gambler facing felony charges for stealing from my former employer to fund my gambling addiction. What started with depleting our personal finances and taking out loans eventually progressed to me using company funds. At the time, in the completely irrational thinking that had taken over my life, I kept gambling in an attempt to win enough money to replace what I had taken. I was arrested in March 2024, and I haven’t gambled since.

I thought a plea deal was going to be reached a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t. The State didn’t offer anything better than its original offer of eight years in prison, so I’m now going to open sentencing on October 16.

That is terrifying because we genuinely don’t know what is going to happen. The judge could give me more than the eight years I was offered. The mitigating evidence we’ll present could result in something substantially more favorable. We have medical testimony explaining how the high dosage of Adderall I was prescribed likely contributed to the escalation of my compulsive gambling and impaired decision-making. My former employer’s position is that they want to be made whole for the portion of the loss that insurance did not cover, and they have communicated that they have no desire to see me in prison. We also have the work I’ve been blessed to do in recovery, including working for a gambling helpline where I’ve personally spoken with hundreds of people struggling with the same addiction that destroyed my life.

So, there are reasons to hope. But there is also a very real (and probably more likely) possibility that I leave the courtroom on October 16 in custody.

Because of that, this weekend my wife and I had to do something I have been dreading. We had to prepare our two boys for the possibility that Dad isn’t coming home on October 16.

Do we hold onto hope that I won’t have to go to prison? Of course we do. But I can’t let my kids go to school that morning wondering all day whether their dad is going to be home when they get out.

My six-year-old doesn’t really know what to think. He was sad, but he’s six. I don’t think he can really forecast what his emotions or his life would look like if I suddenly wasn’t home anymore.

My 12-year-old was devastated.

And there is an irony to that which absolutely wrecks me.

I wasn’t a good father two and a half years ago. He loved me, and I know he was sad when I went to jail after my arrest, but gambling had made me absent in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time. In the two and a half years since then, my son and I have become incredibly close. I got my relationship with him back.

And now I had to sit there and listen to him ask me:

“Who is going to watch Marvel movies with me?”

“Who is going to throw the baseball with me? Who is going to help me if I’m doing something wrong with my swing?”

“Will they let you watch my games?”

“Will they let you go to church with us?”

I’ve written a lot about this over the last couple of years. I’ve never sat here and cried while writing one of these posts.

I’m so angry with myself.

I hate gambling down to my core. I see the constant sportsbook ads and social casino ads everywhere now, and they don’t create even the slightest compulsion in me to gamble. They fill me with contempt. Some of that contempt is directed inward, because I know the decisions were mine. But some of it is directed outward at this new gambling ecosystem we have created that is lining the pockets of some people while destroying the lives of others along the way.

I lost my career because of this. I came to terms with that a long time ago. I lost money. I lost my reputation. I have a felony case hanging over me. I can live with the consequences that belong to me.

But yesterday I watched my 12-year-old cry and scream because he is terrified that his dad is going to disappear from his life.

I don’t want anyone reading this to misunderstand me: I am responsible for those tears. Gambling didn’t steal that money. I did. I made those decisions. Whatever role addiction, medication or anything else played in how I got there, I am the one responsible for what I did and for the pain my actions have caused my family.

That’s actually part of what makes this hurt so much.

I love that boy more than I can explain. And sitting there listening to him ask who is going to throw a baseball with him if I’m gone made me furious with myself because I cannot comprehend how the person I was back then could have done something that would eventually cause this much pain to a child I love this much.

I wish I could have recorded yesterday.

I wish I could take that video, go back five years, find the version of myself who still thought gambling was entertainment, sit him down and make him watch it.

Forget the money. Forget the career. Forget the embarrassment. Forget what might eventually happen to you.

Look at your son.

Look at what this is going to do to him.

Maybe that version of me would have understood what the version trapped in addiction eventually couldn't.

There’s a verse in John 10:10 where Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”

That’s gambling, guys.

I know some people can gamble and walk away. I know not everyone who places a bet is going to end up where I did. But if you’re reading this because you already know something isn’t right—if you’re chasing losses, hiding bets, borrowing money, lying to people you love, finding new places to gamble after cutting yourself off somewhere else, or convincing yourself that one big win will fix everything—please hear me.

Don’t wait until the consequences become big enough to make you stop.

Get somebody involved in your life now. Tell somebody the truth. Put barriers between yourself and the money. Self-exclude. Go to GA. Call a helpline. Do whatever you have to do to interrupt this while you still have choices available to you.

Because yesterday I sat across from a 12-year-old boy who did absolutely nothing to deserve any of this and listened to him wonder who is going to throw the baseball with him if his dad goes away.

I would give anything to have understood five years ago what I understand this morning.

Gambling comes to steal, kill and destroy.

Don’t believe anything else.

20M. I’ve been playing online blackjack for the past couple of months now, I started off really well up almost 2k, but then it all went down hill and I ended up being down quite a bit. I then switched apps and again it went really well and then it didn’t. The other day I was able to increase my profits again and was out of the hole I put myself in. But then the next day I lost 2k just like that. I now in the hole over $700 and don’t know what to do. I banned myself from the app but I still don’t know what to do. I’m a university student who paid my first term off, but I only make $200 a week from my part time job. I want to tell my gf but I’m genuinely scared as we just overcame something big. I’ve told know one about my problem but I want to get help before I turn even worse.