Hi guys , New here and this is my first post.
Im a 20 year old student who’s been struggling with gambling since turning 18 and that physically Makes me feel sick.
It started like most peoples journey into this winning big off of a small deposit on the roulette wheel and then being hooked from then onwards. Stakes get higher and then Next thing you know your chasing and lost all of your student loan ( in my case) .
I really want to escape this life of problem gambling as I am only young and then stress and upset that comes with these big losses is not something I want to continue with especially knowing that it’s nothing but my own fault. In April 2019 I gamstopped for 6 months in order to focus on saving for a holiday and now due to Covid I’ve fallen back into the trap again and relapsed and once again lost my student loan with months to go until the next. I’m not writing this for sympathy etc as I am fully aware that this is my own fault once again as I have an extremely addictive personality and in this field find it difficult To say enough is enough and end up chasing. I’ve once again activated gamstop this time for longer which took a lot from me as I’m currently a jobless student due to Covid and now I’ve lost my student bursary I’m kind of up s**t creek in the short term until I source a new job so if anybody has any ideas on how to help become financially stable after my stupid stupid decisions please share with me it would be very appreciated. I can’t stress this enough that this isn’t to feed any more form of gambling and I am once again gamstopped but at the minute things aren’t looking good for me and I hope any other young gamblers whom may read this realise it isn’t the way forward and creates problems instead of solving them!
First of all, it's not due to Covid that you gambled. You have to take responsibility which you kind of have done that it's your own fault.
Going forward, it's your own choice. You can't do anything about what you have lost, not matter how much in the back of your mind you think you might win it back. You won't. It's as simple as that. So you should talk to a friend or a relative about it. Because then you will really want to stop. Get them to control your finances. It's a long road but you have to start.
Hi mate,
I know it’s entirely my own fault pal not blaming Covid as it’s me who clicked deposit At the end of the day. After losing my part time job due to Covid gave me more time alone bored which opened the spiral again as the incentive of earning money with now having no other income bar the loan is what I was trying to say .
Your correct aswell I’m gonna have to face the facts n focus on the future as the past is the past now
You have to ban yourself. Self-exclude. The money has gone and its never coming back - you might win a couple of hundred and then chuck it all back plus plenty more. Thats how it is.
Self-exclude and ban - pluck up courage and just do it. A long life as a gambler is a bloody nightmare so get out while you can.
Good luck
Thanks mick and yes that’s my fear I dont want to live a lifetime of it that’s why I want and need to sort it out now. I banned myself on gamstop immediately after and it does feel like weight is lifted off shoulders as can’t return to try chasing
You're still very young. You can do this. Jus block everything forever. Make it your sole focus for the near future. Block and ban yourself from everything possible. Two years of gambling whilst you're this young can be a massive learning process. It's gonna be difficult but please listen to me mate. You HAVE to do this. I wish I could go back in time and tell my 21 year old self not to gamble. Seventeen years later I wish that even more. NOTHING good comes out of it. I can't stress that enough. Nothing good at all.
We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. You can also contact us for free on 0808 80 20 133. If you would like to find out more about the service before you start, including information on confidentiality, please click below. Call recordings and chat transcripts are saved for 28 days for quality assurance.
