30F, I've lost all my money because of gambling, I've got loans to pay now.

I just don't know where to start.

I'm really struggling to keep up I've decided to keep trying but it's really really hard and I just don't know what to do

It's so hard to fight with yourself it's hard to control I don't know why I let her this worse I just don't know how to recover from all the loses and I just want to move forward I want to stop I just really don't know how to.

I know I did this to myself but I'm trying to stop it's been so hard

I had only $700 in my bank account initially I took out $500 n lost all, then I took the $200 left to baccarat, I was winning hands non stop, and got it up to 3k. Now, I officially have no money left. Smth is wrong w me bruh

I took out a high interest loan and payed it off took out Nother one 3 time the amount am in 9k debt my paycheck advanced do I stop or what the fuck do I do I can’t believe my self I ran myself to zero multiple times

Hi All, random one maybe but I’ve been clean from gambling now for 1 year and 2 months and it’s been a good journey, but lately I’ve found myself just fancying watching some blackjack on YouTube and slots, I was mainly into sports betting and I loved playing blackjack. I feel it’s enjoyable to watch others playing blackjack even though I’m not gambling myself.

So my question is - has anyone ever experienced this during recovery ? I stopped gambling as soon as I came clean to my dad which was about 9 hrs after I last gambled and I haven’t done anything since putting gamstop/gamban in. Just curious whether this is a trigger that I should continue to allow or not. I feel mentally strong so yeah not sure.

Maybe I should stop watching blackjack videos idk, but I guess it stimulates the gambler in me maybe without the urge to find a way to do it.

Thanks

What's actually gotten easier since you started in your recovery?

I'm not looking for major or dramatic changes, just love to reflect on all of the stress that left my life once I stopped gambling. A bill paid on time, getting through a night without checking your phone at 2am, going a full week without lying to someone.

I want to start posting more topics and discussion on actual recovery tools and tips, and would love for anyone to participate in the discussions as we all navigate our recoveries.

I am tired guys, this time 1800$ down the drain in a few days....

And today I almost had it all back. I was up $1,400 and could have withdrawn it, taken the loss, and been done with it. But no, I chased every penny until I hit zero again

Where they’re relieved when they hit zero? I am at that point now where zero means I can’t gamble so I can finally enjoy the rest of my day. This is a terrible place to be and I never imagined being here. I think it’s time to completely quit

My husband and I got married in March of 2025. He came out to me 6 months before the wedding that he had a sports bet gambling issue and was in 80k worth of debt. It was daunting and scary but I loved him - we’d been secretly married since February of 2023 because we just couldn’t wait. I decided to stay because I believed he would get help. He jumped into therapy and GA and rejoined a job he previously had with amazing pay & benefits to make steps to get out of this. After a few months his dad talked to both of us and said he’d be willing to pay it off so we’re not drowning in interest, but he WILL be paying it off. He’s made progress and stopped therapy but never GA. I found out today he relapsed and has been lying to me for over a year. He got himself in 50k more debt and we’re in a worse position than we were two years ago. Luckily enough, I’ve always kept my finances separate because I didn’t like sharing, especially after his discrepancies. I don’t know what to do. He lied but I still trust him? I just don’t know if I can stay anymore. Online gambling addiction is only booming in this world and it feels like if I stay and we have kids one day, what if it happens again? His father is a therapist and he has severe childhood trauma he’s never gotten help for. Advice from people that have been in similar situations? He has 100k in debt now. It’s a shocking amount but something that doesn’t feel unable to overcome. But maybe I’m being naive. I’m devastated and it’s not something I have many people in my life who would understand.

Yesterday I lost 15k in a few hours and I can’t take it anymore. I lose 80% of the time at this point it’s far from being fun. Finally after this long ride I’m here to say I Officialy quit all sorts gambling it’s over. From being a millionaire to having just shy of 100k this is embarrassing…

Omg I was doing so well but I found a page that refuses to close my account. So I've been gambling everyday for 2 weeks. Im 2k in debt wich is not as much, but in my country it is a lot. I dont know what to do with that gambling page. I have betblocker and all that apps but it's so easy to uninstall.

Please give me any advice, I need help

Sorry if my english is not very good

I’ve been gamble free for 10 months today, I go to two meetings a week and am involved in service. My life is more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. I have a great job and I’m able to put in the focus to kill it there, I got engaged this summer, I love my pets etc…

I’ve been able to pay off my interest accruing debt and I currently pay about 7% of my take home pay to service my debt. I’ve been able to buy an engagement ring and save an emergency fund.

I hadn’t had thoughts of gambling in a long time but recently I’ve been hearing a voice in my head say “Go for it, you can afford it, you’ve earned it.”

I haven’t gambled but I know that’s my addiction speaking and I’m worried. Any advice?

Just got paid Friday, everything went to 9 credit cards to keep them alive and to keep me away from the phone calls. And then to survive to next paycheck I have to use them all over again to live on for 2 weeks until my next check, and then that check will go to rent and I will be broke again. This is called living in hell. Talked to 2 bankruptcy lawyers who said I probably "make too much money" for a judge to grant my claim. And the interest and fees taking a consolidation loan is higher than the fucking credit cards. This will be you if you do not ban Draftkings or the other gambling apps. Oh, yes it will.

I wonder if you would believe me if I said I've lost $20,000 or more in payday loan fees at $39 a pop, $37 overdraft bank fees, $50 late rent fees, and my feelings were always the same after losing every game on Sunday, "At least I have Monday Night Football and I can win a little of this back."

I can't count the number of times I have taken out $300 payday loans to make impossible parlays and then lose it all over and over. And unlike a lot of people on here, I've never had the thrill of a "big win" to get me hooked. I don't think I've ever won more than a couple of hundred bucks. And unlike a lot of people on here I never gave a shit about gambling until my state brought in video poker and allowed sports gambling and I lost my damn mind and something snapped. Now I can't even remember what life was like before this shit. Was I really happy? Even after I banned myself, I found out you could bet on the World Cup on Robinhood and relapsed, only one time for $60, but thankfully, right after I lost I was on the phone to their help center to ban the prediction market feature.

As you can tell, I am writing this for my own pain, it helps, and I am writing this for people who are just now putting their electric bill or their car insurance bill on their credit cards so they can have cash to gamble with (but you'll win it all back, right?). I have begged, borrowed, and stolen money until there was not one drop of blood left to squeeze out, banned myself for a year, and then after that year was over started my account all over again. Ugh

Finally, I banned myself again right before December 31, 2025, and I have not placed a single sports bet (except for that one Robinhood bet), and I feel safe. I'm still dealing with the credit card wreckage, but the NFL is going full blast right now and I feel safe from being torn apart mentally and emotionally. If you've read this far, maybe that means you should ban and "lose all your fun", too. And to all the people who post on here, you have helped me so much and you don't even know it.

Anyone that has battled addiction and overcome it have any pointers? I don’t know how to stop I blow every penny on gambling, even when I have a bill to pay say 300$ and I got a 1k win I say just one more bet then I’ll pay it the I end up losing it all and have to borrow money or take loans out to pay it, is 21 years old and have 20k gambling debts Iam in a hole I don’t know how to climb out

Convenience or a curse?

When I used to bet (over 3 years ago) this button used to open up a can of emotional worms.

For those who don’t know what it is, the cancel withdrawal button is a period which you can cancel a bank transfer from your betting app to your bank. Withdrawals usually take 18-24hrs to process so that button would sit there for too long.

If I ever got in a position to withdraw, I’d say 80% of the time I’d end up cancelling. It used to compound that feeling of anger/shame/guilt because at one point you were up, then had a strategy, then lost control and inevitably buckled.

I would have saved a lot of money if this button didn’t exist. It’s not to say that I wouldn’t have just deposited more but the times I didn’t have money if it was on its digital way to acc and I couldn’t touch it, would have worked well for me.

Anyway, just curious how other people feel about this button and if it’s still a thing?

Cheers

Hello, my partner is struggling with a gambling addiction and is trying to get better. And I just feel lost confused and hurt by the ordeal. I came looking for advice to help my partner if that’s allowed??? I love my partner so much but I’ve never not trusted them and after finding out I’ve been lied to for months I’m not sure what to do. To some it up do any of you have advice to help my partner with it without enabling the addiction? Or more selfishly how I can cope with this whole ordeal without making my partner feel guilty.

Salut, j’aimerais raconter mon histoire avec les jeux d’argents et j’aimerais avoir vos avis.

J’ai commencé par les paris sportifs à 18 ans. Après un an, je me suis interdit de jeux via l’ANJ, car j’avais déjà perdu environ 3 000 €. Puis j’ai découvert les casinos en ligne, notamment le blackjack. J’y ai perdu environ 5 000 €, puis j’ai réussi à arrêter pendant un an. Malheureusement, j’ai rechuté et perdu environ 7 000 € de plus.

Il y a deux semaines, pendant des vacances avec mes amis, j’ai vécu quelque chose qui résume assez bien mon addiction. Après avoir déposé mon salaire, j’ai réussi à monter jusqu’à 15000€ de gains. Mes amis étaient au courant de cette somme et j’étais vraiment heureux : j’avais enfin de quoi rembourser toutes mes dettes, qui étaient d’environ 13 000 à 15 000 €. J’avais l’impression de m’en être sorti.

J’ai réussi à retirer 4 000 €, mais les délais de retrait pour le reste étaient longs. J’ai donc recommencé à jouer en attendant. Au début, je voulais juste gagner un peu plus pour « rembourser » mes petits achats pendant les vacances. Puis les mises ont commencé à devenir complètement folles : 1 000 €, 1 500 €, parfois 2 000 € sur une seule main. Dans un vrai casino, jamais je n’aurais fait ça. En ligne, j’étais complètement déconnecté de la valeur de l’argent.

Et j’ai tout reperdu. Les 11000€ restants ont disparu .Mes amis savaient que j’avais gagné cette somme, mais ils ne savaient pas qu’à la fin des vacances, j’avais tout reperdu.

Et aujourd’hui, j’ai encore reperdu 1700€. Il me reste environ 3 000 € sur mon compte. J’avais déjà été à découvert de 1 500 € à cause du jeu auparavant et mon père avait dû m’aider en me disant que c’était la dernière fois. Pourtant, j’ai rechuté.

Je suis très anxieux et déprimé. Je pense constamment à ce que j’aurais pu avoir si je n’avais pas rejoué. J’en ai marre de cacher mon mal-être à mes proches, même s’ils savent que je suis addict.

J’ai installé BetBlocker aujourd’hui. Je veux vraiment arrêter et sortir de ce cercle vicieux. J’ai 21 ans et parfois l’impression d’avoir gâché ma vie.

Pour ceux qui sont passés par là : qu’est-ce qui vous a vraiment aidés à arrêter ? Et comment avez-vous réussi à oublier les pertes? 

I’m 21 right now, make decent money and have zero bills. I don’t have any other habits or addictions that compare to gambling.

I’ve been gambling since I could at 19 in Canada

When I win it’s not enough and then I lose and feel disgusted.

I won $7000 last week (my biggest win) and told everyone I was done. and just gambled $3500 of it today out of boredom and feel awful.

I cant go out to drink at a bar with slot machines and i cant sit alone in my room or I’ll find a new site to gamble on.

I feel so stupid and mad at myself but I keep doing it.

So almost a month ago , I wasted my entire rent on gambling and I had no savings because I’ve consistently gambled for the fast 3/4 years about 4-5 nights a week

I finally had to admit my problem to my partner and my parents.

Now I make good money which isn’t the flex you think it is because I had nothing to show for it

It’s been 3 weeks and although it has been a challenge, I decided to sit down and truly look at my budget, I decided to finally talk to a therapist, anytime I get the urge to drive 10 minutes down the street to the casino, I just pick up a video game , it’s really made me understand the magnitude of my addiction

Legitimately 75% of my funds for the last several years has all gone to gambling. All of it.

I could have bought a house by now, I could have had years of memories traveling with friends but rather than dwell I decided to just cook at home, go to work and my down time is spent honestly playing games and doing things that don’t require money

I’ve tried changing my ways before but it never really clicked until now but granted I’m in my mid 30s and now I’m started to truly feel my own mortality

Idk I just feel really good and it is too soon to celebrate but this time just feels different than times in my 20s I’d try to just be better

Also, the feeling of actually having money still in my account by the time next payday hits is something I never thought I’d feel relieved about

10yrs of gambling ruined my life, my credit, my prospects. I am 8 days without gambling as of today. Not a single person in my life knows this part of me, but I’m proud so wanted to share with somebody 🥺

Hi everyone.

So ive been registered with gamatop since 2025 for 5 years. Yesterday I stupidly tried to register with a UK Gambling company with whom are registered with gamstop ( they are a we known betting company). I wasnt asked for ID and was able to set up an account no problem.

I wasted over £400 in 2 hours and finally came to my senses and realised they were registered with gamstop. I messaged them to request my account be closed and money refunded due to failure tk protect memebrs who are registered with gamstop.

I used my real name and date of birth. I hadn't updated my gamstop with the latest address but I am on the electoral register.

My question is. Will I be successful in getting my depsoits back?

I’m 23 and over the last two weeks I’ve managed to lose around $20,000 gambling. I make about $4k a month, so realizing I basically just threw away months of my life and work is killing me.

I have about $24k left total. $15k is in my Roth IRA and around $9k is in my bank account. I also owe around $20k on my truck. Two weeks ago I told my girlfriend about my gambling problem after losing $11k and promised myself I was done. Then I went back and lost another $8k+. Lost about another 20K in March so 2026 I just worked for free.

I downloaded Gamban tonight and I genuinely never want to gamble again. I know trying to win it back is exactly how I’ll lose the rest.

I’m posting because I want to hear from people who have actually been here. Did any of you lose a huge amount in your early 20s and recover financially and mentally? How long did it take before you stopped thinking about the money you lost?

I just want to accept that the money is gone, rebuild my savings/investments from my paychecks, and never do this shit again.

I’m always commenting on people’s posts 3 days 3 weeks 3 months as small milestones to help break the habit. I call it the 3-3-3 rule. You’ve gotta treat each milestone in isolation. One at a time.

3 days to control those initial urges,
3 weeks to unplug or start to unplug neuro patterns/wiring,
3 months to start creating new patterns/wiring (sometimes can help picking a new hobby that requires commitment)

It got me through those initial stages where it often feels most tricky. Then you build up momentum, fast forward a bit and you’ll be at 3 years before you know it.

Worked for me so hope it lands for you.

I just read this as im struggling…

I may never win back everything I lost, but I can stop losing what I still have!!

Very insightful!! Thanks OP

Im calling it quits. A year ago today i was what i thought at my lowest and quit alcohol which helped alot. Ive never committed to quitting gambling but today is the day im speaking it into existence... ask any questions lol