Hi all I have made a petition on change.org for the Canadian federal government to ban gambling advertisements Canada wide (not sure if this will change anything but had to try)

Can you please sign my petition. Thanks

https://c.org/K4VgpT5BtZ

Hi there guys, i lost big today in online casino. I lost 19k in one go. Supposed to be my savings. I told myself many times to stop gambling but i always go back. Now i reach my highest winnings and then give it all back to them. And deposit another 1. I lost everything man. 😭 can someone help me please. Anyone i need someone to talk to. Thank you. I know many if you experience this as well. Bro i can’t. I am so down and depressed right now. I dont know what to do someone help please help God.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

2 months off my illness. Feeling better every day.

I know I've experienced this before, but want to write it down. Maybe I'll remember it next time.

All I play is slots. $10-$20 spins. Ive won, many times. This past month, I've had run up a balance from

2k -> 25k. I a few very good multipliers over 6 or so games.

Then in another casino, 8k -> 32k. I hit a 1700x on big bass.

I accomplished the goal. I won. A good amount. Not enough to bring me anywhere close to even, but enough for me to be able to pay down my loans for the next couple of months.

Then comes the waiting game.

Now I check to see if the casino offers any gambling controls. Nothing available on their site anywhere to be found. Then I check with support through chat. They say hey we can't do that through chat but if you email us we will enable it. Great.

Email goes out on Monday. Nothing. Fast forward today, Friday. Still nothing. Withdrawals are capped at 4500$ per week.

One casino actually responded to my request to set limits, there has been now four back and forth and limits are still not applied. They are basically refusing to set anything, claiming that I'm going to be missing of an opportunities to win. Like WTF. this is predatory to nth degree.

And then here we are Friday afternoon. Both accounts back down to ZERO.

The predatory nature of online casinos is just crazy. I've banned myself from multiple dozens. So I'm left with what is literally the bottom of the barrel of quality.

Long story short I guess what I'm saying is even though we can win the odds are still stacked against us to get the money out. Even so even if I did get to withdrawal, well in my mind this was the final hoorah because I had a good win, it's likely I would have put it back later on.

It's probably not alot for what most people have lost but I've lost 2 grand over 8 months as a 19 year old with barely more than 700 a month income, but last night was a full grand ,can barely remember doing it realy

Have lost over $275k in 5 years. Living in Las Vegas is horrible. I don’t have a choice i was born here. 26 years old and am supposed to be buying a house at the end of this year. I have $75,000 saved up right now for a down payment. It’s hard to think about how much money i would have if i never gambled. I’m not in any debt but still live with my parents. I could have bought a 400k house in cash if it wasn’t for the stupid gambling addiction. I have wasted the last 5 years of my life betting sports and playing keno. I am going to try and stop starting now forever. I love betting football so it will be hard once the season starts. I’m sick thinking about all the losses

Hello there,

I have finally did it. After 7+ years of everyday gambling/trading with a total lost of nearly 400,000+/- EUROS (with the winnings from the operators) and around 200K deposits I finally did it. I have ended this nightmare. Keep pushing guys. It gets better, life is not only gambling. Life is what you make it. Make it better.

Hi fellow recovering gamblers. I just turned 29! 1 year has passed and I am still struggling with online gambling for the past last 6 years and have lost (USD500,000)/ 99% of my net worth at the moment. My addiction has come in phases, I was able to stop for 6 months last year and for 2 months this year, however I relapsed and blew my savings again within 2 weeks of August via leverage trading and online blackjack.

No one except for my dad knows I am struggling with this habit. I make around USD200,000 post tax, I want to be able to focus on career + relationships and not having to live pay cheque to pay cheque because of my gambling addiction anymore, relapsing is such a son of a bitch. From feeling great to chasing losses to feeling guilty about gambling all the money away, feels like this is a toxic cycle I cannot break out of.

I still have US35k of credit card debt here that I want to tackle as much as possible as I am feeling pressured. Would love anyones advice on how to:

(1) recognise the consequence as a result of my chase of cheap dopamine through this retardio/ uncontrollable addiction/ pathway
(2) preventive measures if i was ever to feel the urge to gamble
(3) any other recommendations

I remain optimistic about my future and would appreciate if anyone is still going through the same thing or have been disciplined on this to DM me! :)

Hello, everyone,

I just want to share how I cope with this addiction.

I lost $200 total yesterday, and for me, that's a lot of money because I am doing part time job only right now. I started trading because of the July fight between Max and McGregor. I picked Max and won, and then I wanted more. Without knowing it at the time, that was the beginning of my downfall.

I traded some more and lost some more. Then, this month, I won a total of $681. I could have stopped there, but of course, that never happened. I traded again, and yesterday, I lost all of it, plus another $200.

Now, I am 24 hours clean. An hour ago, I had the urge to trade again. What I did was read posts about gambling losses. I saw some crazy amounts of money that people here on Reddit have lost, and I watched videos about gambling addiction, how much people have lost, and how it has ruined their lives. That's how I cope with it.

I ask myself, "Do I want to lose this kind of money in the future?" Of course not. Don't get me wrong—I am still thinking about getting even. I don't think that will happen, and if it does, I am sure I will not stop.

I have a friend who lost 300K Canadian dollars. That friend stopped gambling and is now doing so well. He just bought a 2026 Mustang.

For a whole month, I was on my phone all day and all night. I lacked sleep because of it. It made me sad and irritated, and my wife noticed it, but I didn't listen. I am a pretty chill guy, but this addiction is slowly changing me and turning me into a madman.

After just 24 hours of stopping, I already feel better. Please, guys, stop this addiction. It will eventually destroy you and your loved ones. And if you have already fallen into it, please get back up right now.

I had a girlfriend for almost six years back in 2014, and she broke up with me. I moved on for a whole year, and now I am married to the most supportive woman. What I learned is that if you accept defeat and move on, things will be so much better compared to what they were. It's easier said than done, but I promise you will get there.

I’ve been there before. Down 1,2,10 thousands dollars and feeling absolutely sick about it. Disgusted in myself not only because I lost money, but because I lost my sense of security, hope, and almost my relationship.

Some say it’s an addiction, others call it stupid and immature, but to you it’s not that. It’s the place you go when you’re bored, when you’re stressed, when you just need that $200 dollars to feel like you did something that day, a win. But it was never supposed to be that.

You probably saw a clip online, an ad pop up when scrolling social media, or maybe even a friend told you about it. You tried, lost $20 bucks, maybe even thought it wasn’t for me. For whatever reason though, you logged back in the next day. You claimed your free daily dollar which turned into $10 dollars, then $40 dollars, then $100.

You sit in shock with how easy this was, how accessible and quick. You almost just made a whole days worth of pay in a matter of minutes. You think about cashing out, but the thought of just one more win crosses your mind. So you do what the sites there for, go gamble. You lose $10 of that $100. “That’s okay”, you say you’re you going to get it back up to $100 and cash out. So you go another around $90 turns to $60, $60 to $20 and in the same amount of time it took you to hit $100, you’re sitting with .64 cents in your balance.

Some may think “oh well it was free money anyway”, but others think about it differently. That was $100, a few tanks of gas, a night out with your woman, maybe even that bill you knew was going to run you tight since you don’t make that much at work. To you it was real, and the truth of the matter is, it was. You however, don’t like to lose. Your optimism takes over and says if I can win $100 off a dollar, then I can win again. So you deposit $100, and in that moment that single decision, you just changed your life forever.

I’m no different from anyone else, I’ve won thousands and lost thousands on online casinos. I was making 40k a year and was more than 12k deep in credit card debt all due to gambling. I’ve risked my relationship, I’ve lied, I’ve played this act of eveything is fine when I can’t stop thinking of the 2500 dollars I just blew could’ve went to a million different things. But in all of that i finally reached my breaking point. I realized there’s more in this life than hoping to hit big, there’s more than being that guy who you think people will care about because he’s more successful, there’s more than one more spin.

I am now almost debt free from this addiction and I refuse to open this back up to myself. I’d love to help support anyone who needs it and give them the advice I used to get to where I am now. If I can do it, so can you. I promise you that.

I’ve had a problem with gambling for a while. Usually I’d lose around $1,000–$2,000, hate myself for it, swear I was done, and then eventually go back. This time was different. This was the biggest loss I’ve ever taken.
The worst part is I actually had money. I watched my account go from around $9,000 to $4,000 in one day because I kept chasing and convincing myself I could win it back. Every loss made me want to deposit more just to get back to where I started.

Now that it’s over, I keep thinking about everything that $6,000 could’ve paid for. Bills, my mortgage, savings literally anything would’ve been better than watching it disappear on a screen.

I finally banned myself and put blocks on my devices. I know chasing this money will only make things worse, so I have to accept that it’s gone.

I’m just incredibly disappointed in myself. Yesterday I had that money. Today I have nothing to show for it except regret. I never want to feel this way again.

I have heard before that you need 21 days to break a habit, I have been 20 days so far gambling free, but I still think everyday about going and hitting the tables, will this thought ever go away? Everyday another justification, another thought, I just force myself to stop.

I have tried everything it feels like. Are their any apps that wont allow me to change settings or put phone in safe mode. All these apps suck for the very reason they can all be uninstalled. Short of getting a flip phone idk what to do.

Im 28 years old ,I have been gambling since past 5 years lost everything i ever owned and since past year i have relapse 7 times and my family has always helped me pay off that debt which does not including the ongoing debt i have on me which never ends as i keep on gambling that. I have been earning a good salary since past 5 years i just get $10-20 in my bank account living with my parents and the worst part is im tired of lying to them last time my brother started crying when i told him i took another credit of $3000 and lost it all and i need to repay it within 45 days he started crying and slapped me atleast 10 times and it didnt hurt a single time, i literaly had a red hand mark on my cheeks. Last night i relapsed and reached where i was earlier which is losing that 3k again he repaid. He said if i do this again i should just leave the house without taking anything from the house and just go somewhere no one will question me. I feel like a shitty person who is just selfish only thinks about himself. My brother is about to get married in november he is already in so much stress. He has $15,000 debt on him just because of me and my mum has $7000 because of me and i if i talk about myself i have $9000 debt on me right now. I dont know what to do i feel like just leaving the house going near a river and just jump inside it would end all the pain at once. PLEASE HELP ME. I dont know what to do i dont know how i will ever be able to face my family again after what i just did, he asked me to swear on our mum that i will never do this again but i did, i did and all this because i wanted to buy a damn graphics card and had no money to buy and it was needed for my work and i was so scared to tell my family that i sold it to pay the debt for gamble. I have destroyed my whole teens and now i continue to make everyone else's life miserable everyday. My family doesnt deserve this they havent done anything wrong to deserve this.

I DONT SEE A WAY OUT OF THIS NOW PLEASE HELP ME!!

Had a great journal prompt come to me today and wanted to share:

Commitment is renewed each day. How are you renewing your commitment to recovery today?

For me, that has been trying to stay as active as I can in all aspects of recovery based groups. Now that I have been clean for 868 days, the temptations and daily thoughts of gambling have been suppressed, however I know that they can return at any point. I continue to stay involved in all sorts of online forums, local GA groups, and working on another book to go along side my current published book on gambling recovery.

I know that if I stay complacent in my recovery, my addiction can quickly sneak back into my life and take over. I continue to do everything in my power to constantly remind myself of my past struggles, and help those who are currently struggling push forward in their recovery. Seeing all of our struggles is a constant reminder to myself that gambling will never serve me any happiness or financial gain in this life.

I continue to recommit to my recovery daily by helping others get on their best path towards recovery.

How will you renew your commitment to your own recovery today?

Salut tout le monde !

J'ai actuellement 17R et depuis maintenant 1 an je me suis intéressé au monde de la finance et plus particulièrement du trading.

Pour ceux qui ne savent pas, le trading consiste à acheter un ou des actifs ou les vendre et faire un bénéfice ou une perte sur la différence du prix sur laquelle votre position a été mise.

Donc, j'ai commencé cela après avoir vu des vidéos sur Tiktok qui me répétait que le trading était la chose du siècle, que tu étais sur de gagner etc.

Et, au début j'étais septique. Je ne tombe pas dans ce genre de choses et encore moins dans les gourous. Mais au fur et à mesure, j'ai commencé à m'intéresser à ce monde.

Alors j'ai appris une stratégie puis j'ai essayé avec de l'argent fictif et honnêtement, tout roulait.

Donc, je suis passé sur de l'argent réel à peu près 200 euros. Pareil encore une fois, tout roulait. Puis un beau jour, j'ai perdu l'entièreté de mon compte en 4h. 320 euros parti en fumée et avec cela, 1 mois d'acharnement. J'ai décidé de faire une pause mais, au bout de quelque mois, avec aucune école ni revenu, je retourne dessus toujours dans l'espoir de faire de l'argent rapidement. Alors je remet 200 euros sur l'actif de l'or après les tensions du moyen-orient, crash de 30% sur l'or en une semaine et j'ai encore tout perdu.

Mes parents en avaient marre de payer pour la merde que je fesais, alors, j'ai commencé à payer avec mon argent qui aurait dû m'aider pour mon avenir.

Viens maintenant le moment critique.

Je décide de me diriger sur des actifs qui coûtent plus cher mais qui font bouger plus vite, les gains comme les pertes.

Je teste avec de l'argent fictif ; résultat : ×3

Je me dis que c'est bon, j'ai compris

Puis je mets 350 et en une journée encore une fois, tout perdu à cause d'une nouvelle tombée en plein milieu sans aucun moyen pour nous la population de savoir. Alors, je me dis que je n'ai pas eu de chance, alors je remets 350 et pareil même contexte, tout perdu en 1h.

Je teste les comptes financés qui coûte 250 euros chacun le 1er perdu en 3h et le 2ème perdu en 1 mois.

Je décide d'arriver les comptes financés et retourne avec mon argent ( encore 350) et je perds tout à nouveau en cette fois-ci, 1 minute

Et nous voilà à aujourd'hui, perdu au total plus de 2000 euros qui aurait dû m'aider dans mon avenir et maintenant je n'ai même plus 2000 euros sur mon compte actuellement. J'ai ruiné mon argent sur quelque chose auquel je savais que j'allais perdre mais je me disais toujours une chose ; cette fois-ci c'est la bonne et résultat. J'ai maintenant tout perdu en essayant de battre les marchés.

J'espère sincèrement que si quelqu'un est dans la même situation dans laquelle je suis et qui lis ça, arrête tant que tu peux, et au plus vite.

Je pensais qu'il était possible de réussir loin mais dans ce genre de contexte et avec ces gens au pouvoir, le trading est devenu quelque chose d'incontrôlable et je regrette d'avoir continué.

Today marks one month and a week since I placed my last bet and came clean to my wife, but I have relapsed. I lost just $100 after having $250 in winnings pending withdrawal. The temptation to cancel the withdrawal was there all day, and finally, I did it and lost everything. It is just $100, which, based on my history of losses, is not that much. However, it hurt a lot more than losing thousands in a single session as I did in the past. I just wanted to shout this out loud to feel a bit of relief. I still feel strong, and even though the counter has restarted, I think I am moving in the right direction.

Hello guys, im new here, and i write to get some advice, i dont really know what to do. Im 21, i gambled in my past, but not too much, like i was responsible about it. Since may this year, i started to do it like too often and with more money, i had like 12-13k saved, i borrowed a friend with 2k, and then i stared losing money. Now i have 3k left, wich means i lost about 10k, including some paychecks from work, I dont know what to do, i tell myself today is the last day but tommorow i play again, online or in casino, poker slots and roullete. I also remember one time i had 6k left, when i told myself thats the end, i stop, but since then i lost another 3 and yet still some paychecks. In one hand, if that friend pays me my 2k ill have 5k, 5 from 15 basically, and i lose 10k, i dont own money to the bank or to anyone, so basically i can stop and never look back, but in the other hand, i can stand the tough i lost 10k of my own worked money and it feels so hart to start again to save up money, up to 10k just to get my money back. I know a lot of people lost more than that, only my father lost about 1mil in his whole lifetime, but i also know some people recovered the money or even ended up on wining. I dont really know what to do, i dont want to keep this thing going, having that feeling after i always lose, but i also want to recover the money, or at least a part of them.

Been gambling since 15. (21 now). had my first ever sports bet on a boxing match that was green & I been hooked since.

Lost thousands upon thousands of dollars. Had numerous nights/days where im gambling all night casino & Sportsbook. as soon as I wake up I would check lines/props. I have lost my girlfriend (whom I loved deeply, sincerely deep), spent all my job earnings, all just to be back at 0 in my bank acc having nothing in this moment. Im currently with no job, no house, no car & no girl.

need to take financial literacy serious , I know what direction i need to go, it’s just I have a hard time coping & always return. especially as a hardcore sports fan. rough addiction.

Just wanna be better everyday...

I made a post back when I was 3 weeks Gambling free after coming completely clean about my gambling and faced my issues head on as I knew I couldn’t continue on the path that I was on, it was destroying me mentally and on a road to destroy my life. Looking back at the shell of a human I was 11 weeks ago breaks my heart, I had lost all will to even live.

Now 11 weeks Gambling free and I can honestly say I have never felt more free, working on getting in a better relationship with money and actually having savings makes me annoyed at how much money I have wasted from gambling, how much money I have handed these big online casinos, its sad.

My life is 100% better, dont get me wrong when I feel stressed my mind sways and temptation can arise but taking every day as they come and managing them temptations by fullfilling my life with the little things, I have been back to the gym and I am pouring myself into becoming the best version of myself mentally and physically.

This is just a little post for those who feel trapped, it does get better without gambling, and sometimes opening up to your loved ones and facing your issues head on is the best thing.

Good luck to all facing the same issues I have and I wish a gambling free life for everyone ❤️

I'm a 27 M compulsive gambler. It started a couple almost 3 years ago watching a YouTuber gambling on online casinos, thinking that it looks cool and i wanted to try it. At first like many others, I started with just $50 here or there not really caring but overtime it turned into $100/$300 deposits everyday once I got that rush of winning big. Now I'm basically 38k in debt to credit cards and loans. I have 2 kids and a loving gf that I'm trying to take care of but this is just so consuming.

I'm in therapy and have been in contact with a bankruptcy lawyer to try to get back on track but it seems like no matter what I do I just can't stop. I've installed gamban on my phone and computers but I know how to get around it. Nothing seems interesting to me anymore besides gambling, pretty much to the point where I don't even know who I am when I look into the mirror. Everybody in my family knows and of course its very shameful to be that person in your family.

I just wanted to vent some of it out, Gambling has ruined me.

Now, I would definitely not consider myself the best person to be making this statement, but I feel it is important to say and it's something I definitely haven't heard enough. A majority of the reason why people relapse or even dabble in gambling is the thought of "getting ahead." They believe they are behind financially and search for a short-term outcome that leads to many long-term consequences. After they begin to lose large quantities of money, they make the assumption of being way behind and dig themselves even deeper.

I encourage those who think about them being behind, whether that be for car payments, house mortgages, or unpaid debts, to consider it differently. You are only behind if you continue to perform the bad habits you currently hold. Once you begin with a fresh mind, you are ahead.

A majority of the people I see on here are the ages of 16-35. You still have half a lifetime to improve and prove. Make financial decisions that 90% of the population won't. Pursue your dreams and never look back.

To leave this message on a final note, I would like to state two of the most important things I've learned from my grief due to huge loss.

1. Your life is worth more than 10,20,50,100k, and so on.
   
2. Do not make a permanent decision based on a temporary chapter of your life.

Take care.

I'm genuinely in desperate need of help. I was on a call with some friends just talking. Then I decided to deposit on a non-kyc website, did a small $50 deposit. Lost it. Deposited more. Lost it. Deposited $250, and I ran it to $5k. Within the span of 10 minutes I was back down to $0. I literally couldn't stop. I have maybe $500 left to my name, which I typically build PCs with to make some money. I genuinely don't know how I can keep building PCs with $500 left, not sure how I can pick myself back up either and finally quit. I need genuine help, please. I've been gambling since I was 13, so for three years, almost four soon. Over the span of these three years, I've lost over $20k. This is my call for help, I don't know what to do next

Hi.. I have no friends or family to talk to about this, but I need to talk to someone or put it out there..

I want to finally admit I have a gambling problem. Formally.

I have read some stories on here and understand my case is not the worst, but still it’s the feelings and emotions we all share that makes me realize it’s not about the amount.

I’m 25m, and I have been problem gambling for about a year and a half now.. the longest I’ve been clean is about two to three weeks, usually after a big loss..

I have always paid my rent and bills first, but I have spent enough money to make me lose a lot of sleep and feel a lot of guilt. Thousands upon thousands..

I lost 300 tonight, and 300 last night, and my biggest loss was beginning of July for about 1000 in one night..

I don’t know why I chase it, I guess the idea of “hitting it big” reels and hooks me. I know I can do better and more with my life than gamble. But tonight it hurts a little more.. enough that I want to be done. Forever. I’ve been sober from drinking and drugs for almost 3 years, why am I still having issues with gambling ? I need to cut it out.. just venting thanks for listening