Hi, this is the first time I've ever said anything about gambling in the sense of it being a problem.
I am a married man with 3 young children, i have a steady job and life on the whole is really good, if not slightly hectic. My gambling activities started out and progressed in a common theme i guess, as a young teenager i would play cards at school sometimes losing my dinner money, then onto pubs where the fruit machines dominated my time, instead of socialising with friends i would be stood at the flashing lights, from there it was the bookies and online gambling sites.
One thing i have to make clear is that i have always had the ability not to spend essential money that is for the mortgage or bills etc. Thats not to say this wont be the case unless i address this now.
I have done Gamstop for 5 years and can say that this has worked in that respect, i have not sought to try and get around it by using unregistered sites, my biggest problem has been betting on football. I have been doing this via a friend by sending him money to put on bets for me. Over the last few years i have lost substantial amounts that could of been used on my children etc.
The biggest thing that has motivated me in all this is the fact im losing precious time with my family, i find myself checking on the results of some obscure football fixture when im supposed to be reading my children a bedtime story, or seeing whos won a corner when im at the park with them.
As i said this is the first time I've opened up to any of this, and I'm wanting to take control of it. I managed to stop smoking after 20 years and im hoping i can take that sort of mentality into this battle.
Any advice is welcome.
Thankyou
Mark
Hi Mark.
I am only 2 days gambling fee having reached the same conclusion as you. I have never lost money I could afford but I have been a problem gambler for 10 years betting on football. I would prioritise finding out whether an under 19 team in Bolivia had scored yet instead of playing with my two amazing boys.
Deposit limits always prevented me from losing too much money, but over December I opened a new account and gambled away £600. I had never done this before and I realised I was now in bigger trouble than I ever thought.
Tell your wife, put blocking software on your phone and other devices, and block you bank card. Remove all possible temptation and start to make up for that time lost. You have done brilliantly to identify this before you lose more than just time.
You can do it!! ?
Thank you for your response and advice, i will look to implement these measures. Surprised at how much of a relief its been to finally admit that i have a problem.
Hello mate, thanks for sharing your story. My only bit of advice would be to tell your friend(s) not to accept money for bets from you under any circumstance and no matter how you present yourself in terms of being in control etc. I fortunately don't have this problem but I have told my friends that if I were to ever start betting on my phone again in years to come that they are to intervene as no matter how much I swear I'm in control, I won't be and cannot be trusted. My friends were surprised, even shocked by my admission as I've not had a bet for nearly 3 years but I've told them that it's a life long thing for me and that I welcome their support. I wish you all the very best for 2021.
Hi Mark15,
You have been placing football bets via a friend, sending him money to place bets for you. Why did you self exclude ?. Was it to kid people you intended stopping. With self exclusion you're all in or you're out. Think about this, what is it you're sick of & want to change ?. Loosing or gambling.
Al
Hi,
Im no expert in this field but i used Gamstop to self exclude as a tool to stop me gambling, im sure i dont need to explain to you that people that are addicted to gambling will find any way to facilitate it. Which is what im doing and trying to address. To answer your further question i stated that i want to stop as its taking over my life in respects to stealing time away from my children and quality in life in general. So clearly its nothing to do with ‘losing’ as you put it.
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