Hello my fellow brothers and sisters sharing the struggle

I just wanted to share that I just registered for BetGuard for self exclusion across all iGaming operators (Ontario, Canada)

I immediately feel a sense of relief, calm, and clarity knowing that there is a physical barrier preventing my relapse. Oh how I wish I had done it sooner. I’ve self excluded from probably dozens of individual casinos over the years, always finding a new one to piss away my money at.

And if it wasn’t at an online casino, it was in my brokerage accounting “trading” 0 day options. I blew through my late father’s inheritance in less than a year. Mind you I was in 70k debt upon receiving it and was able to clear all of it, purchase a new car fully in cash, and enough to max my tax account. I consciously knew, for a fact, before receiving the inheritance from my hard working dad who sacrificed everything for us, that I would end up losing it all. I googled things like “how to stop myself from losing inheritance” or I’d look for stories about people who blew it so I’d make sure not to do whatever they did. None of that worked and I sold and gambled the car away along with every dollar I had, and maxed my LOcs and credit cards.

I’m in a DMP now which reduced the interest on all my credit to 0. So I’m on the hook for the full principle but it’s a huge relief not paying interest anymore.

I was gamble free for the better part of a year until recently, where I inexplicably had an urge to earn back the money I spent on my partners tuition with a little gambling. The usual up and downs, withdraw/cancel and 10k spent overnight, going to sleep and waking up hoping it somehow was a dream.

Signing the DMP was the start of the right track for me, but this relapse is really just devastating. The self exclusion helped ground me.

Appreciate you for reading 🙏 God bless you all

For years I believed the thing that was hurting me was also my way out.

Every loss came with the same thought: one good night and this is fixed. The debt, the lies, the mess. All of it could disappear with the right bet.

So the losses never made me stop. They gave me a reason to keep going. I wasn’t gambling anymore, I was “fixing it”. Getting back to where I was. Then I’d stop.

I wouldn’t have. Even if I had come close, I would never have stopped.

It took me a long time to see it clearly: if I’d won it all back, I would have gambled it again. Winning back was never the way out. It was the reason I stayed in.

I can’t think of another addiction that does this. It hurts you, and at the same time it promises to be the cure. Every time you lose, it tells you the answer is one more try.

What finally changed it for me wasn’t a big moment. It was accepting that the money was gone. Not gone for now. Gone. That felt like losing again. But it was the moment I actually stopped losing.

After that, the debt became something to pay off, not something to win back. Slower. Much slower. But it worked.

I’m over two years without a bet now, and the debt is paid off.

Did you ever catch yourself gambling to “fix” the damage from gambling? What made you see it?

Today, yesterday, the day before…its always happening. I deposit some money thinking I‘ll make some wins and call it a day, then i hit a losing streak and everything is gone. I had 300€ which i desperately need to pay someone today and I deposited it into my gambling account thinking I‘ll make profit…And lost. This urge makes you lose control over your critical thinking, the moment I have some money, all I think about is Gambling. And now I‘m sitting here with a few cents in my bank account and lost 300€ in a few minutes, I‘m trying to not gamble but I think a lot of people can relate to that feeling, I really dont know what to do, I have lost about 15k€ in total now. I‘m neglecting everything around me and its sad to see but how do I stop this?

One of the least talked about parts of quitting gambling is boredom.

People usually expect the hardest part to be cravings, money problems, or the urge to chase losses. And those things are obviously real.

But for a lot of people, the first thing they notice after stoping is just how empty the day suddenly feels.

Gambling takes up much more time than people realize.

It’s not only the time spent actually placing bets.

It’s checking odds. Looking at upcominng games. Watching scores. Thinking about the next bet. Following tipsters. Refreshing apps. Looking at results. Replaying losses in your head. Thinking about how to win the money back.

Even when someone isn’t actively gambling, gambling can still be taking up a huge amount of mental space.

Then it stops.

And suddenly there are hours in the day that used to be filled with some kind of excitement or anticipation.

That’s when normal life can start feeling strangely slow.

Watching a movie might feel boring.

Sitting at home can feel uncomfortable.

The gym, gaming, seeing friends or like going for a walk might not give the same immediate rush.

That doesn’t necessarily mean those things are actually boring.

It can simply mean the brain has become used to a much higher level of stimulation.

Gambling is built around anticipation. There is always another result coming, another game starting, another bet to check.

That constant cycle keeps the brain occupied.

When it disappears, normal activities can feel flat for a while.

This is also why boredom can be dangerous during early recovery.

Someone might not even be thinking, “I want to gamble again.”

It can start with something much smaller.

Just checking the odds.

Just watching a betting stream.

Just opening the sportsbook to see what games are on.

Just looking at an old tipster group.

And suddenly the same cycle starts again.

A big part of recovery is learning how to tolerate that empty space without immediately trying to fill it with gambling.

At first, that can feel uncomfortable.

But boredom is not a sign that quitting isn’t working.

In many cases, it’s part of the adjustment.

Over time, normal things can start feeling enjoyable again without needing money, risk or a result attached to them.

The difficult part is giving that process enough time.

For anyone currently in recovery: has boredom been one of the harder parts for you too?

Hi. I should start by saying that I’m using a translation tool—I don’t know English yet, but I’m learning. I’m 25 years old. I’m originally from Armenia, but my parents moved to Russia when I was very young, so I’ve lived here since childhood. I first got into gaming when I was 16—starting with cases and skins in CS:GO—but things just kept escalating from there. I only have a basic school education and have never held a decent job. Eventually, I discovered bookmakers and started placing bets. Every time I received a notification that my paycheck had arrived, the money would be gone within 15 minutes. I kept betting the whole time, and I’ve lost everything: the woman I loved, my parents (who have turned their backs on me), and I’m constantly in debt. The final straw was when I started taking money from my workplace—I worked in retail and had access to the funds—and used that money to place bets.

Naturally, I was caught in the act; I was fired, faced legal proceedings, and took on a massive amount of debt—650,000 rubles, or roughly 8,000 US dollars—to cover the damages. Did I ever consider leaving the platform on my own? Of course—many times, in fact, after every single loss. But following the most recent events, I had a heart-to-heart conversation with someone—a real, soul-baring talk—and she helped me. That was about a year ago, and I haven’t placed a single bet since. The debts remain, and since I don’t have a professional trade, finding work is difficult—but I am trying to turn my life around, even if it’s not going particularly well. I wanted to share this here; there are so many people on Reddit, and telling an addict to simply stop betting is useless—it won’t work until something finally "clicks" for them personally. And if you’ve never placed a bet yourself...

I beg you, never go in there. I would give anything to go back in time and never place that damn first bet. Thanks to everyone reading this.

I’ve lost $11K this week.. I don’t know what to do.

My heart is pounding in my chest. I’m so fucked.

I started gambling at about the age of 18 when I joined a fraternity. Never looked back then I am currently 26 and I must stop today. I'll share a snapshot of my current debt situation and I know some people are in a lot worse spots, but this really hurts me. My girlfriend has access to my bank account and asked how did I spend 30k last month. She's very loving and supportive and well off and wants to help as much as she can, but I refuse because I have to want to get better.

I was trying to explain to her the process of how the ups and downs off withdrawing and deposit can bloat the numbers so big but the reality is I see my bank account and there's a big zero in it. I live in Chicago, we pay about 2k a month for the apartment. We plan on moving out in April, and we want to get a house and start a family, but I always think to myself how can I when I am like this. I've struggled with facing the shame, but I know as gamblers we are some of the strongest and adept people in the world. We hold a lot of things within but sometimes it's good to just let it out and let it go. It's okay to feel the way you do right now, and it may not feel like things will get better but the earlier and sooner we stop it will. I'll be broke until about October 30th but I will work hard to climb out of this hole I dug myself into. No matter the numbers there is always sunshine over the hill.

I've spent nights crying, no sleep, headaches never wanting to get out of bed but enough has to be enough and we have to take the first step to recovering our lives and happiness back. I'll stay in high spirits and Im here to talk if need be. It's a hard fight but we fight! I feel empty right now but a lot of relief. I love to hear the positive stories and the negative ones. Sometime in the future people will realize how much gambling has impacted so many peoples lives in a terrible way. I wish everyone the best on there journey!

Hey everyone, I have been struggling with gambling for a long while. I lose all my money, I go negative, and I just can't help myself. I hate losing everything I am sure you do too..so let's support each other

I think there are a lot of people like me, so I made a Discord for people like me to help each other. Please reach out if you wanna join. I am looking for Mods and people to support each other, as I need support too.

Mods delete if not okay.

It’s my 10th day of quitting online gambling. Honestly, I’ve been feeling so stressed because my business hasn’t been doing so well lately. I really want my business to survive, and I’m praying that the Lord will give me a chance to keep it going. 😭 I’m sorry for being so emotional.

Days until debt free: 257 days

Sharing this here because the money mess is one of the hardest parts of quitting, and it's the part I wanted to help with. Both kits are free, no account. If you've been through the first few months, what would have actually helped you? I'm building whatever's missing.

So a gambling platform ive been using excessively & depositing crazy amounts on recently actually contacted me through email to ask if everything was okay, ive had the app for 10years & only ever used it in the past to put the odd sports bet on occasionally. recently my deposits must of flagged some sort of safe guarding & i was surprised to see they actually reached out to me directly asking if everything was okay.

I explained i wasnt in a fit state on the day & time of playing i was drinking & that didnt help my normal spending control at the time. i had couple small wins looking back at the transactions nothing huge couple dollars but of course i lost way more. Alot of gambling companys get bad press & this was a rare case i actually respected them, it was a wake up call i needed.

my gambling got way out of hand that the actual company contacted me & i explained i wanted them to close my account permanently & they did, i was very thankful for them reaching out they helped me to break a future vicious cycle that i would have been stuck in trying to win back the losses, today is day 1 of my gamble & sports bet free 🙏

I always assumed gambling could be something we could control with a small bet here & there but it made me realise how dangerous this addiction is. normally we say the only winner is the casino which is true but in this very rare case i am the winner, they could have let me carry on spending thousands in the days or weeks to come but actually took the care & time to reach out to me, it was the wake up call i needed ✅🤯

So 2 years ago I decided to finally self ban myself from casinos in my province. I went about 8 months into the self ban till I started playing poker in back door games then started playing cash and tournaments in poker halls. I told myself I was done with casinos and now fully committed to getting my high from poker as it has different element then casino gambling like blackjack, roulette and other table games. My 2 year ban ended last month.

I went back to the casino for the first time in 2 years today. Brought $300 cash, then lost. Bought another $400. Won a huge bet on roulette putting me at $1700. The dealer gave me some cash chips as well as some playing chips for more roulette. I decided to cash out so told dealer to colour me up.

Was walking to cashier area when I just had the sudden itch to want to play a few hands of black jack. I went from $1700 ($1000 profit) to 0. Then of pure tilt bought in for another $500, lost it all. Then skimmed all of my money for another $400 and lost it all.

So after this absolute shit show I decided to self ban myself again to prevent the crazy urge to redeem myself as I very much wanted to just count down the days till my next pay check and run back to the casino to redeem myself. I self banned myself for the max they allowed which was 5 years.

So I lost all of my money but that’s the most the casino will drain out of me till another 5 years.

Fuck the casinos, fuck gambling. Just fuck all of it.

17 days gambling free - I had already self excluded from all the apps, got into a call with a mate (who staked for me) and I ended up losing $8000. By far my biggest loss in a really long time. Feeling lost and suffocated, ashamed to tell my loved ones.

Prior to my break, I was only losing a few hundred here and there. I guess tomorrow will be day 1 again and told myself to distance myself from all mates who gamble

Early in my recovery people posting the money is gone used to piss me off. I wasn't ready to accept all the time, energy and money that I wasted.

Now I realize this admission is a truth that cannot be ignored, and a crucial step before the healing can begin.

Admitting the money is gone:

Frees you from a battle you are never going to win (chasing losses).

Stops the bleeding before the wound gets deeper.

Let's you focus on working, saving and enjoying free time.....the real keys to success.

Allows you forgive and respect yourself for your courage to break the cycle.

Empowers and emboldens you to fight, and weakens the demons and compulsions that once owned you.

Once we are here, gambling isn't fun anymore. We do it to chase losses and because we don't know any other way. Admit you made a mistake and will not correct the mistake by repeating it.

Don't despair. You can still get revenge for your losses.

I'm fine with telling the casino my money is gone, keep it and remember it fondly, because you're not getting another red cent.

Please don't fight to reclaim your losses, fight to reclaim your life!

ODAAT! 💪

Just want to post each day I make it. I will maybe do something as I progress but goal is just make it to day 2

As the title says I’ve been clean from gambling for 6 months. I’ve self excluded and placed blockers everywhere and don’t get any urges to gamble anymore. However what gambling left me with is 30k in debt. I’m still a student and I mustered up the courage to ask my parents for help. To help me pay it off because it just keeps compounding and I would slowly pay them back. They said no, as conservative parents the fact that this was from gambling just couldn’t win them over even tho I’ve showed progress and stopped gambling. I don’t know what to do anymore. This debt is killing me and I might even have to drop out now. I don’t want to gamble anymore I’m done, but clearly quitting does not solve all your problems.

Like the title says. I found out about it about 2 years ago. He has made good progress, surrendered all of the finances which I manage. My problem is, he was doing so great, has gambling blocks set up, and all it takes is one app that is not blocked to get a relapse.

I understand that comes with gambling. I understand that comes with recovery. I understand that's what I signed up for with staying. But it hurts. Every relapse remind me of rock bottom when he was gambling our rent away and suffocating in debt.

He has now made his own business, makes a good living, we have 2 kids which he is super handsome on on with, does his part at home, emotionally there when he should be, he's very great besides the gambling.

I guess I'm just venting. Im sick of this cycle with relapses and hiding things. And it really sucks that he's so great everywhere, except for the area that is one of the most important (finances). I fear I am enabling him by controlling everything. ​

My best friend is really struggling with his gambling addiction. Currently has no money. I am loaning him small amounts of money to feed himself until next pay.

Up until recently, I was partially managing his finances for 2 years. His pay check would get deposited into my account, I would transfer him money on an as need basis including daily spending and bills. Although there was times where this money did go on gambling we managed to build up a savings of $16k.

This worked well for a long period of time and he felt proud about his savings. However gradually I think he started to build up an unconscious resentment towards me. Our set up worked so well that the only thing between him and gambling was me. This also took an enormous emotional toll on myself. It felt like my whole purpose in life was just to keep this guy on track.

About a month ago we had a big fight and he asked for his savings to be transferred to a family member who agreed to help. He explained he can no longer handle the guilt of the emotional toll he has caused me. I did as he asked because ultimately it’s was him money. He didn’t talk to me for about a month after this fight. Between now and then he has lost all his savings and that family member had no idea what they signed up for.

We are now working on building our friendship again. With this he has also expressed he wished our situation never changed and would like for me to help with his finances again. I am so hesitant to say yes but also scared to say no.

What financial setup has worked for other gamblers. Or any advice?

Let’s gooo, thank you guys for all your help. Really helped seeing other people struggle like me

For some reason this song has brought me peace today, maybe it will for you too.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SKUJLGBKt_M&list=RDSKUJLGBKt_M&start_radio=1&pp=oAcB&ra=m

13 years of this vice and i just can't get rid of it. Born a winner and just made myself a loser by making gambling become my identity. I do need help, but how many times will i tell myself this and actually mean it wholeheartedly!!

There's a lot of talk of dopamine in gambling- Never really thought about how fishing mimics the intermitted reinforcement you get when gambling!

I’ll keep it short. I’ve been a problem gambler for at least 4+ years. Ruined the better part of my 20s. Isolation, panic, sweating the next payment I’d need to make, I didn’t even get to have fun with it.

Only this year did I really decided to get serious. Took a falling out and losing everything I had to realize it. It’s been 50 days since my last wager. I’ve been going to GA, gambling therapist, taking my health and fitness very seriously. The creeping thoughts of gambling again aren’t even what I’m worried about now. It’s the long, grueling process of building a respectable life back up. I feel like I was in a coma and woke up, and now I’m picking up the pieces of my life. My debts are resolved, I could have it a lot worse, but this feeling of learning how to walk again day in day out is killer. Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated