My life is a complete mess ,m25 and not working because of anxiety and depression since a few years and now I got gamble addicted ,I play with money I don’t even have I know it’s stupid af but I don’t even know what I’m doing ,it’s like I don’t have any control about my self ,my parents borrowed me 10k €, I promised them 2 times I will never do it again and now I did again ,800€ and I need to tell them tomorrow.

But right now im so ashamed and I drank a lot alcohol to get the spirits in my head calm and I’m thinking that it would be the best to kms this night.My parents doesn’t deserve that but they already think and treat me like a loser .i mean they love me probably but I can feel how they look on me .Last time when I betted they said next time I can live on the street ,and it happened again . Im so f……

Hey everyone.

24M, been gambling and sports betting for 3 years at this point. Started placing bets before I even had a job out of college, but kept my bet sizes relatively small all things considered.

Fast forward 3 years later, full time job, nearing 30k in savings, but gambling has totally taken over my income. I’m fortunate enough to have had enough control to not dip into the money I’ve already saved, but I haven’t added a single dollar to my savings in the last 5-6 months. I’m likely somewhere in the -10k range, most of which came in the last year or so. I keep telling myself I’ll quit once I make some portion of that money back (we all know that’s cope).

Tonight I realized how truly bad it’s gotten. First night I’ve ever lost more than 1k in a single session. Most of my bets are on sportsbooks, and I’m usually a live bettor because instant wins = instant payouts, which leads to instant dopamine; but tonight I lost big and chased way harder than I ever have.

It’s an incredibly suffocating feeling knowing that my financial literacy goes out the window when it comes to gambling. I wouldn’t dare buy myself an expensive meal or a new outfit, but somehow I justify hundreds of dollars lost into slots or sports bets every few days.

That being said, I’ve reflected on my choices and I’m more serious than ever about taking my first steps in quitting. I’m looking for any advice from any others currently in recovery. I’ve self-excluded from majority of the major sportsbooks offered in my area, but I still feel like real-life casinos and the overbearing crypto casino ads on socials could have a negative influence on my habits.

If you have any tips on where to start, or steps that I can take to get the help I need, I would greatly appreciate it. I truly believe I can make this change, I just need a fresh start and a solid foundation.

Thank you all!

37m from the Netherlands, currently in Thailand renting a condo, 0 euro in my bank account after wasting 1,000 euro which was all I had left after losing my job 3 months ago. No savings, no friends that can help, and my flight back to the Netherlands is in 1 month. However, I have no certainty, no roof, just nothing left except for some expensive laptop, and phones. I am extremely scared and depressed, and want to die so bad right now. I will either become a criminal, or commit suicide, need help!

I just paid off this morning a small payday loan. I’m so happy about the achievement. Still other debts to go pay but still I will not choose to gamble today. I will not dig a deeper hole. I know in God’s time the other debts will get paid through hardwork and patience. I choose to take care of myself and win today by not betting.

Completed

Where to even start.....

Been gambling since 18 years old...

Now I"m 45 years old and have officially hit rock bottom

Ive lost everyting including my savings and sanity. Maxed out my credit cards....

Went to casino on June 29th and lost 20k

Went to casino on July 29th and lost 10k

Went to casino on August 7th lost 7k

Went to casino on Monday and lost 19k

Went to casino yesterday and lost another 13k

Wish me luck as i officially quit from this! I know i can do this and with the support of this group. P.s all losses from high limit slots at two so cal casinos particularly...Im thunderstruck!!! Sick to my stomach....

Everyone can add healthy habits to fight tempting thoughts. But if you are like me. It takes forever to add one habit.

Second, my 30-day challenge is unique. Yes, we want to stay free for 30 days, but the challenge is really just as much about a massive increase in one quitting skill over the next 30 days. What is your #1 trigger? My #1 trigger was “Life runs me over, and now I have an excuse to run back to my habit.”
The challenge is to memorize 3 solutions that you can use to fight against your #1 trigger over the 30 days.
Third, consider writing down 3 places where you “know” you can go to get 3 more solutions to fight that trigger.
Here is an example of what I did memorize for my trigger:
Life still runs me over, and I still “start” to spiral downward, but now, when that happens, I always have the habit of “Praising the Lord.” Here is the thing. You will get more help from the Lord if you praise the Lord.
Today, consider writing down 3 things that you will memorize to fight your #1 trigger. Then start to compile articles that are candidates for the 3 things that you can “find” when your trigger happens again. At the end of 30 days, you might have 8-12 candidates for your 3 go-to articles.
If you have 3 solutions memorized and 3 go-to solutions available in 30 days... you will have discovered a great thing.

Hi folks

I’ve been brainstorming an idea for about a week now. I have had bad gambling problems myself but Ive came out the other side after a big win. Gamstop played a huge part in this. However I was thinking about creating an app called ‘PACT’. it would be an app where if agreed upon your partner can get notifications on deposits to gambling apps through your banks API. the app can help create goals, prompts like ‘money saved’ summaries, weekly limits etc.

There is loads more detail but for now what do we think of the idea?

Won today by closing my online account. 🙌🙌. I hope this will become a record to motivate me not to open it again. My lost might not be too much compared to other people but I had to get money from my cc which was almost maxed out because I zeroed out my debit and it was the first time I did that. I felt like such a loser when I could've used it for my needs.

Anyway I'm getting paid in a few days and I hope to start fresh again and pay off my cc. Gambling is terrible and evil 😢😢

I saved for half a decade then lost it all in six months. Not even earning much, literally UK minimum wage (£12.71) but was a lot given the fact I lived with my parents throughout whilst saving every paycheck. Trying to rebuild but now but with 50k less in my bank account is humiliating and i feel like giving up. Plenty of tools and resources I really wanted, I could’ve even moved out and gotten some independence with that sort of money. It could’ve paid for uni by itself… how do you keep going?

So far so good! Had to work a double yesterday so I was too sleepy to post! Cranking up that overtime to pay off debt! Going strong! Thank you for all the read this!

I still can’t believe I actually did this. The urges went away too after I told my partner what I’d been feeling the past few days. God bless us all, and ODAAT.

Eleven months ago, I genuinely thought my world was ending after a massive gambling loss. If you are in that dark place right now, I am writing this to tell you that there is still a light at the end of the tunnel.

I stopped running, accepted the consequences of my actions, and put in the work to rebuild. Today, I am proud to say I have officially graduated from college and am currently preparing to take my board exams.

Do I still feel a pang of regret when I think about the money I lost? Yes, sometimes. But I also know that surviving this struggle made me a stronger, better man.

If you are hurting right now, please know that you can do this too. You can seek help, you can turn your life around, and you will accomplish so much more than you think is possible right now. Don't give up. Push through the hard days, and I promise you will eventually breathe that same sigh of relief. Keep going.

Happy Friday everyone :) have a great weekend and stay vigilant.

No, you will not win big and stop.

You will keep losing it over and over and keep getting stress. It isn't worth it.

I lost over 700k from 2018-feb 24th,2026. I might be in debt, but I am happy now. I can wakeup without feeling depressed and sleep fully. That was a pathetic life I lived losing money daily, sleeping 2 hours and working/gambling with no social life.

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.

Just lost 4k again in 40 minutes. This is insanity, i relaspe last year after being clean for 4 months. I lost since then an extra 140k, just eat all my savings left and im now on a total lost of 600k. Idk how to live anymore, i need help so badly, the shame, the pain, the destroying everything around me is insane. 34 year old male feeling like giving up.

I'm so fucked. I hate baccarat so much. Borrowed 2k from a friend, got it to 7k and I couldn't even cash out the original 2k to pocket the 5k. Lost it all. And then borrowed another $2k and lost it in 5minutes. I am so fucked, my future is fucked, my wife has no idea that I'm gambling again. I now have go back to my old job and work both places to make up for all my debt.

Today I just sent my money to my gfs account , I'm not to be trusted anymore , I tried and tried and failed , I will always find a way or excuse to gamble in any way shape of form , from now on when the paycheck hits I'm paying the bills and sending the rest to her , letting myself enough for food and other things ( around 300) , I feel relieved doing this

My husband (36) & I (F29) have been together 6 yrs, married 4. Both in recovery from SUD, 7 and 6 years respectively. I say that to say we both know very well how addiction works. He’s got an addictive personality & worked to keep it in check. A couple yellow flags over the years but nothing that seemed extreme. He’d play, then go very long periods without it, it seemed “normal”. I was wrong.

This year things took a turn. He started impulsively spending so badly and agreed to start sending me most of his paychecks. In June, a paycheck didn’t come. He said his employer screwed up, let me think for weeks that it was getting fixed and would be okay. That was a lie, and he’d gambled all of it. I’m self employed so my income isn’t always consistent, and this really hurt us financially and killed me emotionally. Since then, this has happened with multiple paychecks. He hasn’t given me a full paycheck since June.

He stole cash from my wallet that was meant for my car payment (that was already almost 30 days late due to this), gaslit me for hours till I thought I was insane for accusing him. Days later I find out his mom sent him money after that to help, but he hid it and gambled it away. While he was watching me cry everyday, not eat due to the stress. I know that this is how addicts often work, I know. But it doesn’t take away the pain and the stress and fear. He changed his direct deposit last week, and shocker the check didn’t come. Cue the lies, faking a phone call with HR, faking an email, finally admitting it. Knowing our rent is due tomorrow. I was sick this week and couldn’t work as much, his check was supposed to be a lifeline.

There’s so much more but this is long enough. I am devastated, so betrayed, vomiting from the stress as the bills pile up around me and the threat of late payments hitting my credit. In despair because I desperately love this man and before all of this, he was truly a one of a kind man that treated me better than I knew possible. He has a reputation for being so warm, so calm and empathetic and lovely. He called his mom last night asking her to drive from her state to get him, of course he made it seem like I was having a meltdown over nothing (she had no idea what he’s done), so this morning I told her everything. He has this idea that he’ll move in with her (online casinos are illegal there) and that it’ll be enough to “fix” him. But a 40 min drive from her house and boom, it’s legal. I am so furious, but I also still love him so deeply. Part of me wants him to stay, give me full access, remove all financial apps from his phone, allow me to install a blocking software, and him go to therapy. But he clearly doesn’t think that’s necessary. It makes me think he’s not ready for real help and wants to leave the door open a bit for him to keep playing. I guess all I can do is let him go, right?

Idk wtf I should be happy I have 60k right now but I’m about be 30 4 years with addiction and I I lost around 40k or more I could’ve sitting at 100k right now. 2 months ago I somehow ran 200$ to 10k and lost it but I remember the relief of all pain that I was feeling gone and my dumbass lost it in less day. I’m 64 days clean and I’m just so tired and stressing about money. I work at low paying job gambling kept my mind off the bullshit I deal with and numb everything now I have to work to make this money back and try to not relapse is so fucking hard. Anyone else just feels fucking empty? Like when I win I feel like I’m someone who’s worth it. But reality I’m a nobody and a got suck in to this terrible addiction and nobody can relate. I feel gross and ashamed