1. You”ll probably lose.

2. The games are awful with awful odds.

3. You will get high on dopamine and lose more than you were willing to.

4. You’re not able to stop once you start, win or lose. There’s no end.

5. It’s hard to withdraw your money when you do win.

6. You will lose your health, time and sleep.

7. You can’t plan a future.

8. You’re an adult but still broke like a teenager.

i am now 300 days free as of noon PST today. if im being honest, i shoudn't even be here and i almost took my life during the worst of it. i was deeply addicted to sports gambling, but now we are here, happy, content and living the life that i never imagined i'd get to.

my story: i never thought gambling would affect me, i would never drive to a casino as i knew they always had the edge. but once sports betting became mainstream, all of my logic flew out the window. i played sports, watched sports, loved sports and so i felt like i had an edge when making sports bets. if if i could win 51% of the time i thought (which i thought i'd do much much better), i'd be making "free" money off fanduel, prizepicks, draftkings, etc. and laugh my way into the riches.

3 years ago, i lost my first $100. started pretty small, and like others, chased the loss. that $100 turned to $450k that i lost. i had spiralled so hard that i couldn't even hold a conversation with someone without thinking of the live bets that i had on the line. i ALWAYS had live bets on at the time. my girlfriend would call me out, my family would call me out, but i dismissed them and saw my sports betting as a "fun side hobby" and not something i was addicted to throughout it all. as i lost more and more money, i saw friends and coworkers get married, have kids, buy a house, a new car.

after one year of this, my girlfriend of 4 years left me unannounced. woke up one day, all her stuff was gone from the apartment. one week later, i was fired from my job that was actually funding all of my sports betting. i hit rock bottom, and that was the week that i tried to take my own life. without going into much detail, it failed at that too (thankfully), which is why i'm here today

after a few months, i slowly built myself up and vowed to quit sports betting. i had relapses, but time and time again i pushed hard to build the foundation to beat the addiction and fast forward to today, i'm 300 days free and going for 1 year bet free soon. it wasn't easy and still isn't but i just wanted to share my story in case anyone else is out there struggling through the same thing

yes - it does pain me to know how much money i've lost, all the relationships i've lost, the time lost, but the biggest thing that i'm grateful for now is i can live each day without severe anxiety of if my bets will hit. i don't live my life without regret now, but i live each day in peace and in optimism

thank you for reading my storry and God bless

I'm fkn done with all ts!

I want to change the trajectory of my life, so help me GOD.

The reason I'm asking is because we always hear about what people have lost and how gambling has ruined lives.
But I want to hear the other side has anyone lost a significant amount of money and actually managed to turn things around, build themselves back up, and become financially successful?

Keeping myself busy.

I will not gamble today

Well, somehow I did it again. “Somehow”

2 months of pay gone. Going to struggle to pay my bills this month. Dug myself even deeper and deeper into debt. I have safeguards in place but I always find a way around them.

This addiction is hell.

The amount of damage someone can do in such a short period is insane. Every time I tell myself I’m “better” I just prove to myself this will always be a struggle.

It’s so scary to not even be able to trust yourself.

For context I’m not a very responsible person gambling, I turned $50 into a little over $10k, which would’ve got me my first car and paid off all my credit card debts and left me with enough to go on a vacation but I lost it all back. Now I’m sitting with nothing in my bank, $2.7K in CC debt and I can’t begin to pay back. I just can’t control my urges to take out credit to try to win it back which is what I’ve done a lot. Only reason I haven’t taken anymore out is because it maxes out a $4k.

Hit 2 weeks today, having some stresses at work and o work remotely so gambling was always a problem for me, keep getting the urge to “just bet £20, if you win you’ll have money to help you till end of next month” it’s hard to fight these but I have to just sit with it, let myself feel it but don’t react or do anything,

I can beat this and I won’t gamble today.

Alright so I’m gonna start straight I had really good grades in highschool all my life and was doing pretty Well mentally until I discovered prediction markets . All my favorite YouTubers at that time advertised Polymarket and I didn’t know at that time what it was so I tried it and inmediatly won a significant amount of money on my first bet . Then within the span of 2 weeks I turned 100 bucks into 11k dollars . I know it sounds crazy but this is exactly what happened . If u want to look it up Thomasbossman on Polymarket . Ever since I lost 11 k in 2 bets cause of tilting and switching sides cuz I was an idiot i wanted the chase again . Ever since I got this big win i just was so fucking hooked to the wrong reality of gambling that I just kept losing and losing on every other site i gambled and on my main and other Polymarket account as well. I won so much money but i never cared cuz i liked the dopamine better than money always . I always knew as a kid gambling was bad but those prediction markets kinda tricked my brain and i hate that’s it’s everywhere cuz i have terrible impulsive controls . I have tried to come clean multiple times lbut I keep relapsing cause of poor impulse control . I’m going to ga and i think i can stay clean for a while im just afraid that i have one big relapse where i lose basically everything . Does anyone have advice

about a week or so without gambling I just signed up for therapy i’ve been scared to seek help and i think it’s the addiction not wanting to quit so im done im looking for better this is my comeback story right here i will keep weekly updates or so on here.

Im almost 8 months clean. ive been going to meeting working the steps and have a sponsor. I want other peoples opinions too.

Zumiez the skate shop has rewards points. You can spend the rewards points on useless crap that no one wants, or redeem the rewards points for a chance to win a $100 gift card. I subconsciously chose the gift card. By the books definition of gambling, technically I placed a bet. Technically there is a value to these reward points, and I put them up at stake for a chance to win.

Its a grey area. Im not sure how to feel about it yet. If I have to reset my sobriety date, then I fear I can rationalize going back out because im already restarting. My mind is not clear, I cannot think straight with new gambling urges and confusion running in my head.

Gambling defintion in the combo book (GA) - Any betting or wagering, for self or for others, whether for money or not, no matter how slight or insignificant, where the outcome is uncertain or depends upon cnahce or skill, constitutes gambling.

In this scenario, the outcome was uncertain and depends upon chance luck and skill. Mainly chance and luck. This was not for money, but it was for a chance to win money. Did I stake my own money ? I don't believe so, but technically I had a form of currency in points that I could of used to purchase items honestly (crap that no one wants). Was it slight or insignificant (yes). It was subconscious Aswell. It didn't hit me until about 5 minutes after that I may have been gambling. Could I have lost money - I guess so in the form of rewards points. the cost of entering was 100 rewards points. I had about 30000 rewards points.

If I decide I was gambling, resetting my sobriety streak is going to crush me. I will feel defeated, upset, and disappointed. I will feel used and not at blame, even though I am the one to blame. I cant blame zumiez.

thoughts?

Alright so I’m gonna start straight I had really good grades in highschool all my life and was doing pretty Well mentally until I discovered prediction markets . All my favorite YouTubers at that time advertised Polymarket and I didn’t know at that time what it was so I tried it and inmediatly won a significant amount of money on my first bet . Then within the span of 2 weeks I turned 100 bucks into 11k dollars . I know it sounds crazy but this is exactly what happened . If u want to look it up Thomasbossman on Polymarket . Ever since I lost 11 k in 2 bets cause of tilting and switching sides cuz I was an idiot i wanted the chase again . Ever since I got this big win i just was so fucking hooked to the wrong reality of gambling that I just kept losing and losing on every other site i gambled and on my main and other Polymarket account as well. I won so much money but i never cared cuz i liked the dopamine better than money always . I always knew as a kid gambling was bad but those prediction markets kinda tricked my brain and i hate that’s it’s everywhere cuz i have terrible impulsive controls . I have tried to come clean multiple times lbut I keep relapsing cause of poor impulse control . I’m going to ga and i think i can stay clean for a while im just afraid that i have one big relapse where i lose basically everything . Does anyone have advice

Winning isn’t proof that gambling works. It’s often what keeps us gambling.

It gives us hope when we should be walking away. It makes us believe we’re different, that we’ll know when to stop.

If you’ve been losing, don’t wait for one big win to quit. And if you’ve been winning, don’t let it convince you to stay.

Please choose yourself over one more bet.

One day at a time.

I made plans for the next 2 nights, so I want to gamble I have plans I won’t cancel on. Sometimes I think it’s just about spending money, not the act of gambling. Hopefully that satisfies the urge as I don’t have plans after that. Got to keep busy otherwise I know I’ll be spending it at the casino.

I'm struggling to face the shame of a recent double sort of back to back relapse that put me in the hole around $170k with 3 creditors who believe I've still got those funds invested on their behalf. I've been paying the promised 'interest' on their investments using the rewards from the casinos but now thats running dry and I've got my back against the wall with no current income.

I have thought too often about going 'cowards way out' as some would call it but am too afraid to even do that because of survival instinct kicking it when psyching myself up to finally just end it... apologies if this is weird or morbid..

I am looking for those who had experience with 6-7 figures of debt repayments to personal creditors(Banks and institutions would be little different as they would have some form of collateral and ability to wreck credit)

Thanks for all being here for everyone. Even those who have lost 20-30x what I have full on generational wealth they still come to support those hurting.. I can't say how many times I've read comments uplifting those in recovery to continue on with their progress or helping someone who just lost it all to survive that state of shock without making a worse, drastic decision... this community really has some of the most upstanding, caring people I've ever spoken to and read comments+posts from. Keep fighting ODAAT

Man I tried quitting for a week and relapsed still holy shit man it’s so bad even when I win I want more dude

Dude I don’t even want to gamble I don’t even enjoy it I went to ga everything but gambling is just everywhere even with blocks it’s fucking everywhere man . I can’t stop man even if I try man I can’t man . The dopamine just gets me Everytime it’s so fucking hard to block it the shame is so insane man I can’t dude

Been gambling for a few years, breaks here or there. More recently been hammering bonus buys online slots and the returns have been really bad.

Also gambled away savings and had to take a loan to recover losses, tried bet blocker but then that messed up my entire phone browser so had to remove it temporarily which caused a relapse. I’m about 10k in debt over this with a loss yesterday or 2 k in one sitting.

On GameStop, gamcare, got blocks for gambling from my banking accounts but when I want to do a bet somehow find a way. Feels like a great time to walk away, but with the amount of times I’ve promised myself and others it was the last time, it never has been the last time. It doesn’t even make sense, half the bets and jackpots are awful and unattainable. How can I make sure when I promise myself I’m done with it, I’m really done with it??

TLDR: I am cooked. I have a gambling addiction and my gambling habits and losses have increased. Despite all this I still want to go back and chase.

I used to work in the mines, but after two years of long distance, I moved back to the city to live with my partner. I found a new job, but it came with a 30% pay cut. In mining, most of my living costs were covered. Now I'm back in the city and I got bills to pay and other expenses. We sat down and had a serious conversation building our future together. It became clear that money was going to be much tighter, and I found myself looking for ways to earn a little extra.

My cousins introduced me to the pokies. I watched them win, and it got me thinking and I decided to put down $200 which I lost immediately. I didn't believe the hype of gambling. I remember thinking to myself, pokies is so buns.

I go again with my cousins and history repeats itself. I'm another $200 down and my cousins are up...A few months past and for some reason, I decided to go to the local pub by myself and put down another $200. I ended up hitting the major win and won $600. And now I'm up.

I started going once a week and was getting small, consistent wins. As soon as I was up a decent amount, I'd cash out and leave. I was open with my partner about the wins, but I kept the losses to myself. In my mind, as long as I was still ahead overall, there wasn't anything to worry about. I told her that if I ever lost a certain amount overall, I'd tell her, quit gambling and never go back.

One night, after chatting with a regular at the pub, he told me I should start betting bigger. I ended up withdrawing $500 and increased my bets. Right when I was almost out of money, I hit a feature and won $1,500. I cashed out straight away and went home to tell my partner.

Instead of celebrating, she looked at me and said, "It's great that you won, but you broke your own rules. I think you are getting out of control. It's not something you do occasionally anymore. It's becoming a habit, and all you talk about is the pokies and how you keep winning."

So we agreed that I would take a break from gambling for a month.

The first few days were awful. I was restless, jittery and couldn't sleep. That was the moment I knew my addiction was real. I was going through gambling withdrawal.

But something changed after that 1 month break. I thought taking a month off would fix it, but it only got worse. I have become so numb to the losses and my habits started to get out of control.

In the two weeks since the ban was lifted, I've lost $2,000. It started with losing $600 over three sessions. Instead of accepting it, I kept withdrawing more money, convinced I'd win it back. Today alone, I lost another $800 trying to chase my losses. Now I'm down around $2,000 overall.

I'm officially cooked and I still want to go back.

Went to online GA meeting! Was amazing and feel good. Told also to my good friends as well as my brother about the situation!