I for one am still addicted to playing these machines. I don’t lose as much on them as I used to but can’t seen them to let go on playing them. To play more than £2 you have a bar which in my view is dangerous because you can still lose a small fortune in a short period of time. I saw somebody put £350 and the only chance he had of winning was on one number the rest we’re pointless. So why still play on them
I have to say I’m getting there with that mindset. The chances of winning on them now are even less than before but still just as dangerous. The few times I have been in recently you don’t see as many people on them as you did before the stake reduction.
You can't rationalise away your gambling urges. It helps, but everyone has their vice.
The FOBT's will play hook the most addicted, I've seen people play the new roulette with the bar, and it is very easy for them to keep pressing again and again, because it is such a short amount of time between each bet.
Urgh I totally agree it’s just to easy to keep pressing again and again before you notice you have lost a lot of money then you can’t stop because you want to get your money back. As a compulsive gambler thats me
Aln it’s got to happen one day surely. The sooner the better
TBH boro I don't think it's anything to do with the stake anymore ?
In my humble opinion it's the fact that addictions just telling you not to let go ? you still want revenge for the losses of the past and believe that these machines still owe you and that one day you'll get even ? .
Before the new stakes came into place you truly believed it to be the answer to your prayers and that you'd not go back because there would be no point in playing for £2 , addictions not about the money for us Boro just the buzz and that's what you need to be thinking about replacing , finding something else to fill your time with instead of a FOBT being at the center of your world .
Like many of us on here all it does is create somewhere for our mind to go for a couple of hours because we don't like the real world and that's the difficult bit in letting go of our comfort blanket and stepping back in real life again and dealing with what it throws at us, which isn't always easy my friend .
Wishing you well mate
I agree A9 it’s not about the stake in my head I still think I can win and like you say it take away all the other s**t in my life but the problem is if you lose it just makes life worse. I know all these things but I still do it
LOL :))
So if you know all these things then the only thing that will change your life and way of thinking is to come up with a plan to help you move forward mate ?
The trouble is thinking of something that's going to work for you and only you yourself can do that .
It is really hard buddy , I spent so many years of my life trying to find out what my plan was and break my cycle of addiction but it wouldn't really have mattered if I'd found it ten years ago as I truly wasn't ready for that change or to give it all up and the only time it did work was when I was ready .
I guess we all have our moments where it just cant go on the same way anymore , mines arrived Boro and I hope yours does soon mate 🙂
The only way to stop playing them mate is to never set foot in a bookies ever again I used them for a wee but it was an easy excuse.j avoid where they are, you need massive will power and change in yourself to stop, it's hard but I've done it for over 2 months now my second longest spell ever.i will never gamble again, I'm on last chance street, you need to have that attitude mate. Give them nothing more.accept defeat.
So why still play on them?....because they are addicts seeking dopamine and escape.
Its a complex addiction. Please start reading about the mind control and drugged stupor it sets up. When I was addicted it put me in a trance of escape
I believe the limit changes are a red herring. People can still lose a small fortune on even lower stakes due to the repeat play. Signing in and a strict limit would have been better but its still a highly dangerous activity.
We are in danger here of talking about reletive sums of money. I dont think any gambler likes giving money away in the street but I saw hundreds and thousands being fed into those vile machines.
I know I was extremely ill. Ive proved that in my recovery. I have a normal relationship with money now and I'm naturally careful with it because it doesnt grow on trees.
Best wishes to everyone on the forum.
P.S I dont know why the forum software blanks out normal words
Boro, get your self to a local GA meeting ??
Of course people still play them. Addiction doesn't go away just because of a stake reduction. As many people on this thread have alluded to its the "being in action" and the "the escapism" that people crave that I crave. I never actually played the big stakes roulette because the action wasn't quick enuff (if you can believe that) and then i'd lose to quickly...cos it was more about the passing of time than anything else. The rapid spin spin spin was what I craved.. cos at any second it might spin you that 500 pounds... and you'd be able to pay your rent!!As ive said in other threads even at 20p you'd be surprised at how much money you can loose over an hour or two. If your poor anyway it can have a profound impact on day to day living as ive found out on many occasions.
We all gamble in slightly different ways, but the end result is always the same... financial loss and personal misery. My mate, he sometimes saves up his money, puts a big bet on some horse and when it loses he escapes to the machines. The only difference between me and him is that I go straight to the machines. In my opinion there is something inherently evil about all gaming machines.
Of course people still play them. Addiction doesn't go away just because of a stake reduction. As many people on this thread have alluded to its the "being in action" and the "the escapism" that people crave that I crave. I never actually played the big stakes roulette because the action wasn't quick enuff (if you can believe that) and then i'd lose to quickly...cos it was more about the passing of time than anything else. The rapid spin spin spin was what I craved.. cos at any second it might spin you that 500 pounds... and you'd be able to pay your rent!!As ive said in other threads even at 20p you'd be surprised at how much money you can loose over an hour or two. If your poor anyway it can have a profound impact on day to day living as ive found out on many occasions.
We all gamble in slightly different ways, but the end result is always the same... financial loss and personal misery. My mate, he sometimes saves up his money, puts a big bet on some horse and when it loses he escapes to the machines. The only difference between me and him is that I go straight to the machines. In my opinion there is something inherently evil about all gaming machines.
It’s all evil mate, horse racing looks glamorous but it all ends in one result, a loss over time.
no exceptions if you want to quit, it’s all or nothing.
The only way to stop playing them mate is to never set foot in a bookies ever again
Exactly - £2 just means people can play them for hours until they have lost what they started with.
I've seen people smash up the old fruit machines when they were 10p stake.
It's not all about the money.
Hey mate
Someone at GA referred to them in their upgraded state as 'death by a thousand cuts?'
They are deadly, dangerous, powerful and ruthless... avoid at all costs unless you're a sucker for punishment.
Even at £2 they are dangerous. Because as you're now starting to realise gambling addiction has not so much to do with monetary gain and more to do with flooding your receptors with pleasure signals.
Forget the money as the metric for a second. Think about time as the metric. How much time are you spending/wasting on a £2 a pop machine? £2 for a hit of dopamine? I'd rather drink a beer and be done with it. Far more effective use of my money and time. Drink the beer then move on with your day... Still plenty of time to do constructive things with your day.
Problem with these machines now is that they are not eating up your wallet so much, but they are instead eating up your hours.
Arent the hours, days, weeks and months what make up your future?
Your throwing away your future every time you play these machines now, as well as your money. Time is priceless. Don't waste any more of it ?
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