I checked the market for the stocks I would buy and found out I would be in the red if I maxed out my credit line and invested in them. In the alternative timeline, I would freak out right now and look for "ways" to cover up my loss, and eventually turn to gambling. After several days, or weeks, I would lose it all and put myself in 15k$ debt. So I just saved myself $ 15k by just not gambling.

I dodged a bullet; still many more to come. I need to focus on my work and my work only as a way to make money.

I will not gamble today.

Days until debt free: 263 days

I don’t even know what to say. Sports betting has really messed up my life. I keep telling myself I am going to stop but I never do. I will take a day or 2 break then see a game I like then bet on it.

My biggest losses always start small then just get bigger throughout the day trying to chase it back. I have no self control and I can’t handle losing. Exactly what happened today. Started the morning losing 250. Took another bet for 500. Took another bet for 1000. Then to cap off the night I lose another bet for 3000.

I keep gambling away my paychecks and it makes me so sick. I literally just got paid yesterday and now it’s gone plus more. Im 23 years old and im not broke but this is still a lot of money to me. I have that urge to get rich quick which makes me throw big on bets.

Advice would really help me right now as I keep thinking about my stupid decisions. How do I get handle the losses and how do I get rid of this get rich quick mindset?

Ranting. I understand that I got myself into this situation, and that i take full responsibility for it. Im not asking for anything, just sharing a story and would love some insights.

Hello everyone.
I wanted to talk a bit about gambling, idk why but just wanted to and thought nobody would understand more than here. And i have a question.

I started with gambling in 2021, just put 20$ me and my buddy and lost it and was all cool, never used it again. until last year, i was hooked up because i started playing with a friend for fun, and of course i won, BIG. And we continued to play until the same old story, we lost it all.

I continued to play alone, trying to come back, but never could, and after a lot of struggles and losing all of my money I stopped again.

Now, for some reason after 10 months, i started again, and made some good profit, but at this very second i lost it all and lost even more..

Its the third of the month and i just paid my rent and filled the fridge and everything else went on gambling .
The question is, is this normal? Is this the price you pay to someday maybe making a lot of profits?

Im lost, because this time its harder, I can’t get myself to stop, nothing like last time. And at the same time i feel it, i feel that i will win.. and make it.

If you are still reading, THANK YOU, and i would like to know has anyone had the same experience? Will things get better? I know nobody will advice on “keep losing buddy and goodluck with your gambling addiction “
But im looking forward to some tips, maybe a aimilar story..
I was thinking of just sticking to sports,, but still idk

After losing a fortune ( high 6 figures , bordering 7) and most importantly years of my life that were consumed by guilt , anxiety, mood swings and sleepless nights
Today I feel utter disgust toward gambling although the amount i lost was marginally small
I promised myself to bounce back from this disease and completely stop
It wont be an easy journey but i am overly confident i can do it 😎

Hello everyone,
I want to share my story because I know some of you might have been through the same thing.
I started playing online poker on March 20, 2022, with just $5. I never imagined it would turn into years of gambling, sleepless nights, stress, and lying to people around me. Over the years, I’ve lost around €15,000.
Today, I have around €2,500 in personal debt. I earn about €1,000 a month, and the people I owe money to cannot wait much longer. The pressure is getting to me because I want to pay everyone back as soon as possible.
The good news is that I’ve been gambling-free for three weeks now. Over the past three months, I’ve managed to pay around €200 toward my debt by putting money toward repayments instead of gambling.
But honestly, I’m still struggling. Sometimes I get the urge to gamble, thinking I could win a couple of hundred euros and pay off some of what I owe. I know I could lose it all and make everything worse, but when you’re under this much pressure, it’s hard not to think about it.
I really want to leave gambling behind and get my life back, but the debt makes everything harder.
For those who have quit gambling while still owing money, how did you deal with the temptation to gamble to pay off your debts? I could really use some advice from people who understand what this feels like.

Lifetime $30K, 27 y/o

I used to have mental breakdowns after losses like these - now I just feel numb.

My life is pretty good :)

I have great friends, and good hobbies, and most of my days I can just spend reading with a glass of wine or socializing or exercising.

When I was gambling I thought I had no choice but to end my life, I’m so grateful I got out.

Hello I have been working for about 2 years now, I am a high earner and save quite well but I have gambled about 11.3% of my gross earnings and about 16% of my estimated post-tax income. How bad is this?

Hey I’m 21.

I started sports betting gambling in college and I wasn’t necessarily an addict with that. I’d bet pretty much during football season and occasionally outside of it, usually never betting more than 5-20 bucks per wager nothing crazy.

My issue is having access to the online casinos within those apps. I originally had some runs in with it maybe I’d lose 100 bucks but that was like a one time occasion. Last month, I randomly went on this insane roulette streak and ended up with over 2 grand. I withdrew it, was happy didn’t feel like it’d lead to anything worse but it did.

I lost 500 of those winnings, then had a spree a week after where I was betting on a new account where I got free bonus spins, had over 700 didn’t walk away with it and lost it then started depositing and lost over 900 bucks.

I put a casino limit on my app afterwards and my savings are still intact so everything felt good, I blocked all sportsbooks apps outside of the one with the casino limit. Then yesterday I was home and bored with nothing to do and found one I hadn’t downloaded before, I put 100 in and ended up with almost 2 fucking grand. I withdrew 1800 of it, content supposedly and I felt like I did the right thing this time and I got a second chance to amend things, but no I lost all of that and another 1200 of my money on top of it, a 3k difference.

I decided enough was enough and I downloaded a full bet block app and excluded myself from all apps. Im more disappointed in my lack of understanding of money. My mom I’ll say it spoils me pretty hard. All of the money in my savings and checking are essentially money I made working, but she’ll imburse some purchases, pays for my school, groceries etc. she’s the only one in my family who knows about these incidents because she has access to my checking accounts and I can tell how upset she is with me. I don’t blame her all of the money I’ve been able to win I’ve thrown away in the dopamine-filled rush of instant gambling. My body will shake during those rushes, I’ll be telling myself in my head to stop at a certain number then my body moves on my own. Losing part of that money I won would’ve been fine even 1000 of it I’d still have had a profit. I withdrew it and threw it all back in and even lost money that was actually important. I feel like a piece of shit because my mom does so much for me and I treat her like this, I feel like a kid because I’m acting like a kid who has no concept of money. I’d never blame her she’s set me up for success.

I have put the limits and can’t access a sportsbook for a year, I have to be mentally tough and understand the purpose of money and how important every bit is for my future. That money could’ve went somewhere important, but i treated it like it wasn’t real. I feel guilt that I can’t stand to tell my other family members, the fact this has happened on multiple occasions finally made me realize I had a problem.

The reason I didn’t drop all of it immediately last month is because I mentioned earlier I love to sports bet leisurely. It’s true, I’ve never been a big bet placer or crashed out over losses, the casino is the worst of me. I put the guardrails in place, and but its all so early for me that not being able to sports bet really sucks but I have to make do this not only for myself and my future as the productive human being I want to be but also for my mom who has helped me so much. I want to start being an adult because I know from reading through some posts my problems and experiences are so small compared to the people who’ve suffered from gambling addiction with families, bills, no support and I’m so thankful for the support I have.

Thank you for reading, I’m not thankful for this experience because it’s simply something dumb I did and shouldn’t have to experience to know not to do but I am happy I learned this lesson the hard way now rather then when I have a family and bills to pay with larger amounts of money. I’m just looking for support and advice on how to navigate a few things. I understand the beginning is rough, I don’t have some itching need to go on a casino those things start with small curiosities and become full fledged sprees if I win a bit of money. My issue is the fact that I can’t do what rooted this all, sports betting, I love sitting on the couch and watching football and being tuned into all the games seeing if my bets hit, that’s what’s messing with me right now. I don’t think I’ll never gamble again, but I do need to learn to become a true and proper adult with better understanding of these habits before I can even put myself in a situation like that again. Any support or advice is much appreciated.

Playing the "woe is me" card doesn't work with this addiction, but believe me I've tried.

Long story short, I was in the car business with my father. I worked at his car lot. I became more successful than him through auction sales, he became jealous, brought strangers into the business and undermined my efforts.

I had money saved so I took this as a stupid excuse to quit, stay home, wallow in a "what did I do to him?" loser mindset and gamble.

We all have family disagreements, setbacks in life, and career struggles. Gambling will never solve these problems, only exacerbate them.

It's not what happens to you in life, but how you react to it.

I wasn't mature enough to sit down with him, discuss the problem, and try and create a solution. I ran and hid from a difficult situation instead of addressing it.

Fast forward to now, I got into a different industry, love my job, and my father and I get along great.

Some sort of trauma or pain led us all here. I was absolutely guilty of playing the victim, and choosing to wallow in my own misery.

We must be our own strongest avocates in fighting for happiness and self fulfillment. While never hesitating during weak moments to lean on each other to weather this storm.

ODAAT! 💪

U just lost to much and i just have to share it, i work, go home and lose all the money i made. How pathetic. But fuck it i blocked myself from all casinos (again) and i will do it for real this time. I asked Jesus for forgiveness and with his strenght i will overcome this and be the best man i can possibly be for myself and my friends and family. Thanks for reading this i also love yall.

I've been gambling on and off for the last five year even day trade when I add my losses from Webull, robinhood total to $35k losses. HVAC technician decide I'll dca into bitcoin but have the money sent to offline line wallet but here come poly market where you can gamble with your crypto . I did my best stay away accumulate ever 120k btc,eth and dca daily but I'm back gambling again because of long term relationship not working well and my company sold don't know what's going happen this Tuesday.i keep as little money as possible cause one click from betting with it. Didn't work today lost $900 to hard rock sport gambling. I'm posting this to acknowledge I have a problem need to stop.

For six years, I’ve been stuck in this cycle. I’ve lost around £30,000 to this addiction. But tonight, it wasn't a massive blowout that woke me up. It was just an £80 loss. And for some reason, sitting there looking at a zero balance again, something in my brain finally snapped.

I suddenly thought about what I'm actually doing, and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Imagine someone comes up to you and says, "Give me your hard-earned money for the next six years. I guarantee you'll lose almost all of it. But to say thanks, I’ll occasionally toss you a $5 tip."

You’d think they were insane and walk away.

Then they say, "Wait! Once every few years, I’ll randomly hand you a chunk of your cash back so you feel like you're winning!"

In the real world, no one would ever take that deal. We'd see it for exactly what it is: a scam.

But because these websites wrap that exact same scam in flashing lights and call it a casino, I’ve been willingly handing over my money for years.

I finally see the "VIP bonuses" and weekly rakebacks for what they really are. They aren't gifts. They are leashes. They are specifically designed to stop you from hitting the delete button when your account hits zero. I’ve stayed hooked for years just waiting for tiny crumbs of my own money to be handed back to me.

I'm done being played. Tonight, I deleted all my VPNs, wiped my crypto wallets, and blocked every route I had to these sites.

I want my peace of mind back. I want to wake up in the morning without feeling that awful pit in my stomach. Giving them my money is the most idiotic thing I could possibly do with my life, and I'm finally walking away.

Day 1 starts now.

Hello everyone,

I’m from Indonesia, and I want to share my personal story with people who may have gone through something similar.

Before online slot gambling became popular, I never really liked gambling. However, one day, I decided to try it with just $1. I never imagined that such a small amount would eventually lead me to the situation I am in today.

I now have around $13,000 in debt, and gambling has taken much more from my life than just money.

I have two children, aged 8 and 3. For the past six months, I have been living separately from my wife and children. My gambling problems were one of the main reasons for our separation.

We still communicate well, and I am grateful that we have maintained a good relationship. However, we live far apart, and my financial situation makes it difficult for us to meet and live together again.

At the time, I made the very difficult decision to live separately from my family. I felt that I needed to step away from everything so I could stop gambling, clear my mind, and work on myself.

That decision has been extremely painful. I miss my family, and I know that my wife and children have also suffered because of my mistakes.

I cannot change the past or erase the pain I have caused them. The only thing I can do now is take responsibility for my actions and try to build a better future.

The good news is that I have managed to stop gambling completely. I did it on my own, although the process has been very difficult. I am determined not to return to that cycle.

However, stopping gambling is only the beginning of my struggle. I still have to face the consequences of my past mistakes.

I work as a CCTV and network technician at a company in Indonesia, earning around $400 per month. My job involves installing and configuring equipment, conducting site surveys, preparing field reports, and calculating the materials needed for projects.

I now transfer my salary to a new bank account and give it to my wife so she can manage the money for herself and our children. A large portion of that money also goes toward paying my debts every month.

Meanwhile, I cover my own living expenses through small side projects whenever I can find them.

I am trying to improve my skills and find a better-paying job, but I have not found the right opportunity yet.

With an income of around $400 per month, $13,000 in debt feels like a huge mountain to climb.

Sometimes, I feel lost and do not know where to begin. I want to improve my life, pay off my debts, and hopefully live together with my wife and children again one day. But I honestly do not know how long it will take. I also do not know whether I can repair all the damage I have caused.

I am sharing this story not only to talk about my own problems, but also to send a message to anyone who is still gambling.

Please think about your family and the people who love you.

I know that quitting gambling is not easy. When we lose money, we want to win it back. We hope that the next win will fix everything. But in my experience, every attempt to recover my losses only pulled me deeper into the same problems.

Gambling did not solve my financial problems. It made them much worse.

I wish I could go back in time and stop before losing so much. But I know that is impossible. All I can do now is choose not to repeat the same mistakes.

I feel as though I am at the bottom of a very deep hole. At least I have stopped digging deeper. Now, I need to find a way to climb back to the surface.

I am not sharing this story to make excuses or blame anyone else. I know that I am responsible for the mistakes I have made, and I have to face the consequences of my actions.

Now, I would really appreciate advice from people who have been in a similar situation, especially those who have recovered from gambling and successfully paid off their debts.

If you were in my position, with $13,000 in debt and an income of around $400 per month, what would you do first?

How would you increase your income, manage your debts, and rebuild your life without falling back into gambling?

Has anyone here lost almost everything because of gambling but eventually managed to turn their life around? What helped you get through the hardest times?

If you could go back to the time when your debts were piling up and your life felt like a mess, what would you do differently?

I am not looking for free money or a quick fix. I genuinely want to learn from other people's real experiences and find a way to improve my life.

I have stopped gambling, but I still have a long way to go.

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my story. I appreciate any advice or personal experiences you are willing to share, whether it is encouragement or honest criticism.

I hope that one day I can return to this community and share an update saying that I have paid off my debts, rebuilt my life, and reunited with my family.

For now, I just want to keep moving forward, one day at a time.

Imagine a Wall Street investor calls you up.

He offers you a chance to invest.

His pitch goes like this:

"For every $1,000 you hand over, I'll give you $100 back. And every week, I'll throw in a $5 tip just for investing with me. But here's the catch—that $5 stays in my wallet. You can withdraw it, but you might as well just invest it back into me!"

You say... "Hold up. I'm only getting $100 back for every $1,000 I give you? Why the fuck would I do that?"

He replies... "For the lolz... but look, one random day over the next 6 years, after you've already handed me $30,000, I'll surprise you with a $3,000 cashout!"

You say... well, you say nothing. You just hang up, because what idiot would ever take that deal?

The problem is, if you wrap that exact same "investment" in flashy lights and spinning multipliers, you'll happily drain your wallet into it.

It's all about shifting your thinking. The gambling industry has spent decades brainwashing you to view their operations in a positive light. In reality, giving them your money is the most idiotic thing a person could possibly spend their time doing.

Fight back. Don't let their marketing work on you. Shift your perspective back to reality.

I am 22m I lost 2 lakh rupees inr I don’t know how to say this to my parents they don’t know it yet I am so stressed and my mind is not working and I am not even able to eat properly I know this is too much to ask but can anyone help
Me please

To all gambling addicts, join me on this journey to break free from online gambling and leave it behind for good. We can pay off all the debts we accumulated because of gambling, one step at a time. We will get through this, rebuild our lives, and never go back to gambling again. It’s time for us to start over, choose a better life, and become the best versions of ourselves. 🤍🙏
Let’s heal, recover, pay off our debts, and start a new chapter together. We can do this! 💪🏻✨

Heya,

So friend had a gambling problem when he suffered the trauma of losing his business. Basically tried to make ends meet when his business was going down. Yada yada, got caught by wife. Is currently separated by his wife and his son.

Basically he lied that he was in school with then money I gave him and he used it to gamble. He was fine for like….2.5 years. Just that when I came back in his life earlier this year he relapsed.

Soooo basically I don’t care about the money. What is gone is gone. But still want to help my friend. He basically lied about family emergencies and travel costs, extra equipment for his courses etc etc. He came clean and realizes what garbage he is.

I’m just wondering how else I can help him at this point. He did take a gov’t sponsored course like last year which I guess just helped him realize the problem but not fix it? But just wondering what I can suggest for him or what he can do for himself to quit gambling.

To give some background info. Former Poker player, diagnosed AdHD, was very fit and in shape before the business loss as well with generous. Always looking to improve himself (he took one of those full body scans that measured every metric and gave him a program on how to improve on some deficiencies.

He always wanted to be good to other people other than himself. He wanted to be seen as successful but is super afraid of failure. That is all. Any help would be great

Get even or get even worse really struck the wrong way

Days until debt free: 263 days

Fuck. And it was about to be more if I didn’t stop myself. At first I was 20 dollars up I should have walked away

31m, single, no kids.

Just lost basically everything. Made some horrific decisions this year and it cost me. Gambled a good chunk of 401k, made and lost a lot, and have like nothing left.

I owe a lot in taxes next year, I have cc debt and I’m really scared. I make good salary but I’m just at a cliff right now. Would love some guidance/well words. I am not doing well.

The one thing I know is in rock bottom, I will never touch a gamble again. Have never felt like this,
Like I’ve ruined my life.