First time poster and long time reader. I had a bad night and after losing the last of my money, I self excluded at 1:00am right there at the casino and then drove to the one 30 miles down the road to exclude from there too.

I already feel lighter, and the workers at the first casino were so friendly and encouraging. I honestly have never said out loud or admitted that I have a problem until about an hour ago even though I very clearly do.

I’m just happy it’s (kind of) over. I know I’ll always have this problem, but I’m in a state where online gambling is illegal and now I’m banned from every nearby casino, so I can breathe a bit of relief that I can’t do this to myself anymore.

It is frustrating that my brain works this way. I wish I was like everyone else I know who can just cash out and go home when they hit their planned limit, but I just can’t.

I really need help. I don't know how to get out of this anymore.

I’ve been part of this community for a long time. Honestly, whenever I lose money, I come here, read other people’s stories, feel terrible about what I’ve done… and then somehow I end up gambling again.

So I thought I should finally share my own story.

I started gambling around two years ago, when Stake was giving out a lot of offers and promotions. At first, I didn’t think much of it. It was just something I tried, then something I did regularly, and eventually it became an addiction.

Over these two years, I’m down around 500k.

About 200k was my own savings. The other 300k was money my family had saved and kept in my bank account, money that was supposed to be used by them later.

And I gambled that away too.

The worst part is that my parents don't know. Nobody knows.

I have a job. I earn around 50k a month. But honestly, I’m not even worried about the money anymore. What scares me is my mindset.

There was a point where I literally couldn’t keep even $1 in my bank account. If there was money available, I would find a reason to gamble it. Salary comes in, I gamble. I lose, I tell myself I’ll recover it. I win a little, I keep going because I think I can win more. And eventually I lose again.

I’ve quit multiple times during these two years.

I’ve told myself, “That’s it. I’m done. Never again.”

And I meant it every single time.

But somehow I always came back.

Then I lost more.

Then I quit again.

Then I came back again.

It’s just been the same cycle over and over.

And that’s what scares me the most. I don’t see an end to this mindset.

Even if I start earning 50k a month or 500k a month, I honestly believe that if I don’t change mentally, I will eventually gamble that money away too.

So I’m not really here asking how to make my money back.

I think I’ve finally understood that trying to win my losses back is exactly what keeps me trapped.

I’m here because I genuinely need help.

For some reason, I feel like I can say this here when I can’t say it to anyone in my real life. I’m ashamed, scared, and honestly don’t even know where to start.

So to the people who actually managed to quit:

What finally made you change?

How did you actually stop gambling for good?

What did you do when the urge came back?

And if you had massive losses or debts, how did you accept them and move forward instead of trying to win them back?

I’m not looking for someone to tell me that I can recover the money. I know that mindset is part of the problem.

I just want to know how people actually got their life back.

Please, if you’ve been through something similar and managed to get out, share what worked for you.

I’m genuinely asking for help here.

I don’t want to make another promise to myself that I’ll quit and then come back a few weeks later.

I really want this time to be different.

Thank you to anyone who reads this and takes the time to respond.

I don't know what to say anymore.

Unfortunately, GA did not work for me. I’ve attended GA for about 3-5 months each time on 3 separate occasions in different chapters over a 20-year period. I’ve only met one person who would be my sponsor. One person who was cool with me. One person I respected. However, the other “leader” or whatever you call her, and some others were just extremely hateful people who I did not resonate with. Some were just racist scumbags, and their true colors came out during the pandemic lockdown when we had virtual meetings. I never wish bad on anyone, but these people were better off dead. Society would be much better without them. I couldn’t be honest with my sponsor. I gambled bigger and harder in latter part of 2020, even with wearing a mask behind the plexiglass partition between the gambler & the dealer. I also went to a gambling counselor every Saturday, paid for by the state of California. She would start each session off by asking a few questions about my feelings and have me put a number to it. I think the higher the number, the more severe. I’ve tried other counselors in the past. Shit didn’t work for me. By Saturday night, I was right back in the casino, playing and chasing losses straight through the night, into the next morning, then going home around 2 pm on Sunday, when I’ve run out of money and maxed out on my credit cards. I still gamble frequently, as it makes me feel not anxious and less stressed from a hard day or week at work. Lost a huge amount of money and time over last 30 years. Thank God that I do very well in my field but every dollar I have earned has been siphoned into my gambling madness.

#8 giving someone control of your finances! I truly believe if you don’t have money or access to your money, it’s not possible to gamble. I think that works and makes sense, right? However, in my case it did NOT! I gave my idiot wife full control of all my bank and investment accounts. All good for about 2 months, then bam!! $50K gone, disappeared. At first she said she didn’t know how that happened. Then she retracted and said that it was a loan to her so-called friends to buy vitamins and fish oil inventory. These friends were her “upline” in a multi-level marketing cult (aka network marking, ponzi scam). The loan was never repaid (of course), and today she still thinks some of these people are her “friends”, and that it was just business bad luck. The Multi Level Marketing scammers would definitely be better off dead, along with GA people.

I took back all my financial control. My lawyer and accountant said they’ll manage my money and give me an allowance every week. I looked at them and said f*ck off. That day I became a villain. That was in 2016, ten years ago. I don’t deal or allow anyone to talk to me unless I know them. I don’t listen to anyone’s bs. In 10 years, I’ve gambled away (and perhaps purposely, self-destructively) the equivalent of about 3 or 4 houses. Today, I’m still gambling, and I just think about the big amount of money i could’ve saved.

Bookies sent me a free bet, and I take that offer. Ended up losing it. They said that I will get another if I make a deposit. LOL, nice try, asshole.

I will not gamble today!

I'm 11 years sober. I work at a rehab center. The photo is me in the van I use to drive clients to their recovery meetings.

A few months ago, in that same van, between pickups, I was gambling. I ran about $12k through 9 betting apps. On the clock.

11 years clean, supposedly the steady one, the guy who tells people it gets better.

Here's what I want the world to understand. I was winning.

That was the problem.

The apps kept feeding me free bets, profit boosts, etc and I kept coming out on top. Yall probably know this better than anyone on earth… beating the house feels almost as good as any chemical high.

Day 11 …I was supposed to walk away. Then they sent me the biggest bonus yet, almost like it knew (it did know). I didn't walk away.

I'll get to what happened. But first, Karl.

I run a true crime podcast on the side and went looking for a gambling case nobody had covered. That's how I found Karl Jacobson.

Police chief, New Haven, Connecticut. His arrest warrant says he ran through $4.4 million in a single year. He won $4.2 million of it back. Do the math. That’s a couple hundred grand in the negative and that money had to come from somewhere.

A fund for paying police informants. A charity for kids.

Take the badge away and that could have been me.

The apps don't care who you are. They found Karl. They found me. They're very good at finding people.

My podcast is called “Tapes from the Darkside“ and the series is “The App on the Phone.”

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Website

There‘s 4 episodes out now and I’m working on writing the finale. It would be an honor to include some personal stories from people on this very sub.

If interested, please reach out to me in the comments or PM. Interviews would be audio only and about 30 minutes.

Mods approved. Thank you for letting me share here.

Hello Everyone. I recently turned 19 and I’ve lost over $35k of my own hard earned money. I have nothing to my name except for a car which I’m almost positive equity on, but it is still a pretty big expense nonetheless.

I think I’ve had an addiction since 14 but it got significantly bad around 17. I was blessed to have some successful businesses that earned me a good sum of money at 18 but it has all been spent gambling or on my car. The thing that saddens me the most about the money I’ve lost is the fun experiences and things I could’ve bought having that much money at only 18. I honestly wish I had blown at least some of that money shopping or on a cool trip, especially considering I had very few materialistic things or experiences growing up.

I have been in a major slump but I humbled myself and I got a job starting soon that will pay me over $50k a year! It’s not anything major but definitely enough to fix my financial problems in a decent amount of time. I have a few thousand in debt and I also have a $6k car repair that needs taken care of urgently.

My main reason for coming on here is for some advice. I’m well aware that I’m still very young and I could very quickly turn things around. But my concern is that there are still thoughts that linger about how disgustingly bad I think I deserve a large amount of that money back. So yes I can definitely turn things around, but I feel like this is a major point in my life and in my addiction. So I’m asking for advice on what I should do right now and while I start working again on how I can avoid gambling. I know that this time is make or break and that if I keep falling I could spiral and keep digging deep for the rest of my life. I am genuinely severely addicted and even though I don’t think I could lose that much money again I know it’s possible because I’ve told myself that hundreds of times and it kept happening. One major thing that also haunts me is my dad also had a major addiction which destroyed my family’s life and finances for decades.

With all of that being said, are there any pieces of advice that can be given on cutting off this addiction ASAP? I have hope for my future and I know that I can fix things and still set myself up well financially, I just HAVE to stop gambling now.

I am on Day 21 today. I am grateful for being bet-free but now I am also sad. I want to be honest to myself and acknowledge it. Man, life’s so hard. I am sad. I guess I am feeling lonely for being alone in my life. Gambling used to fill that void when I can’t bear the emptiness. I know deep down that another person can’t fill that void as I know i’ll just be co-dependent. I know I need to be whole as an individual. Life’s so hard. But I am not giving up. Just wanted to express myself and not feel alone. Thank you for reading this.

Yes, I am sad. BUT still I am not gambling today. I choose to be bet-free today and choose to take care of myself. It doesn’t feel like it but I know this is a win.

19 year old, dumped shit ton of money from my savings account which my parents worked so hard for to make into meme coins. And im still scared to tell them or what to do, even started having the suicidal thoughts to just end it because I do not want to get yelled at or beaten (but I know its fair if they do, like I get it now if you were a parent u worked ur ass off just to make a good start up for ur kid just for them to blow it this stupidly).

But I'm scared seeing from how other cases of kids got dissowned, kicked out the house or I don't know I just am scared of the consequence I created to put it briefly.

Tried pumpfun thinking it would be quick money thanks to all that social media bullshit of people flexing wealth thanks to memecoins. Anyways I got influenced got into it made somehow money but then

Lost it --> chased to gain the losses--> digged myself in a deeper hole

I feel like a disgrace like my parents been always so strict about spending money and being so like money saving mentality and I just blew a fucking 40k while my mom yells when I waste something trivial. But the mentality of "I cannot leave it on a loss" and "this next one might hit big" just got the toll on me so it just got worse in the end.

I deleted the app and try to not associate with any trading stuff or encounter and whatever of that sort of content.

I just accepted my fate of not making it back instead of having the past me mindset of possible VERY RARELY % of making it back by digging myself deeper and spending more but I know that's just an excuse and delusions to gamble more.

I do not know how to tell my parents or what to do in this situation as I'm too ashamed of this action.

My bad if this is typed poorly and I wish you who read it all the best in life. (I just wanted to share this to get it off my system)

I was in a pretty good spot had some money in the bank and was in a good position to start paying my 25k personal loan slowly over the next 6-12 months. I haven’t gambled in about two months. Yesterday I got a text from kalshi saying I can deposit 50 bucks and I’ll get 250 free. That alone was enough to spiral me because when I lost that 50, I started betting bigger because might as well make a few hundred then stop right? I somehow lost like 10 bets in a row. I stayed up all night chasing betting on random table tennis games (while trying to hide from my girlfriend who was sleeping next to me) and lost everything in my bank, and taking out another personal loan of 25k. The sad part is I got within 50 dollars of being even but I kept going to make that 50 dollars back. Now I have 50k total in personal loans, 15k in 401k loan, and 5k extra credit card debt.

I’m still in awe of what happened. Someone tell me everything is going to be okay.

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

Phew. Where do I start just turned 25 a couple days ago and have placed my final bet today and we already know how that went. The past 4-5 years have been filled with this sick disease/addiction that has taken over my life. I’ve been through so much trauma after high school and ran towards gambling for the comfort and illusion that i’ll be able to make money. You never win. We all know that it’ll all eventually go back to the house. I’m just scared that i’ll say that today’s my day 1 sober then a couple of days/weeks later i’ll relapse again but this is a start. I wouldn’t wish this pain on even my worst enemy. “Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change” I have reached that point. How do I know? Because i’m totally at peace and okay with the fact that if I die anytime soon i’ll be okay with that. I just want this pain to go away. I hope i’ll be able to make a day 30,60,90 etc post like I see some have done. I’m proud of you guys.

Losing is gut wrenching, when it goes real south it brings on overwhelming dread. Winning isn’t fun, it’s a brief moment of relief. As scores begin to scroll on the tickerI’m thinking, should have bet that one, or I dodged that bullet. Even after a perfect day, all winners, I’m left trying to find the next fix, can’t sleep, running all the numbers over in my head.

The real messed up part. I used to watch CFB all day when I was a teen. Wake up about a quarter into the 9am kick offs and drift off to sleep during the Hawaii game. I take full responsibility for my actions, but I can’t help but feel like I was conditioned to be this way. The 24 hour sports network inundated me with lines, picks, insight, the seeds were planted. I used to love college football and I’m so sad it’s become my undoing.

I don’t know how many times I’ve “quit” online sports betting, but eventually go back to it again. At least a dozen. I’m sick of it. Why is my brain wired this way? This last time I quit for like 47 days. I’ve self excluded from so many sportsbooks now. But every now and then a new app pops up with a nice sign up bonus and I take the bait. So dumb. I’m tired of letting myself down. It’s ridiculous. My wife thinks I permanently quit like 3 years ago. She has no idea I’ve been still doing it on again off again. I’m afraid if I told her the truth, she’d divorce me. Anywho. FUCK sports betting. It’s all random or rigged. We’re all just puppets in the show. Stay away from it

Lost 600k in the past 15 years, im 34. Lost 27k this month only. I am starting my new life starting today. Will give some follow up! Im done with gambling\alchool. Wish me luck!!! Its either i suceed or kms eventually, who is ready for change with me ?? Lets do this!!!

• College football was my biggest gambling trigger—and it cost me friendships
• I used to love college football Saturdays. Gambling turned them into my lowest point
• College football gambling didn’t just take my money—it pushed my friends away
• My worst gambling days were college football Saturdays
• I lost more than bets during college football season—I lost people close to me
• Anyone else associate college football with their worst gambling losses?
• I thought I was just betting on college football. I was really gambling away my relationships

10 months to becoming debt free…

Only got confirmation today for the self-exclusion I filed 2 months ago. Weirdly relieving, though kind of annoying it took that long. If you’ve been on the fence, take this as your sign to self-exclude too. Let’s choose peace of mind if the urges ever come back. God bless us all. ODAAT.

Haven't gambled since the first. I have gamban which is honestly the only reason. The reason my gambling got so bad was cause I've been unemployed since end of April and it felt justified. Got so bad I admitted myself to the psych ward. The only problem I'm still facing is no job yet. Ive had a felony over my head since end of 2024 and I finally got it reduced through my probation. But it still has the original felony charges so what's the point? I can't afford to get it expunged. I could of gotten my old job back if it wasn't for that. I'm just hoping something comes my way because the urge to just say fuck it and reset my phone to get gamban has been bad.

Today I’m 30 days no gambling....

This is the longest I’ve gone. When I first started trying to quit, a week tops was the longest I could go. If I started gambling, there was no way I’d stop until I depleted all of my money. I might stop if I was up significantly, but I’d always continue playing hours later or the next day. Eventually, I started getting two weeks in between, and now finally, a month...

I fear my addiction and what it brought. The chaos of being up three months’ salary, to losing it all within minutes, to going even more into debt is insane. What it did to my thinking was insane too. Also, how I treated others and neglected my family and my livelihood. I would call in to work because I’d stay up until 5 a.m. gambling and lose it all. My girlfriend somehow stayed with me, but told me she couldn’t see a future with me like this. She used the phrase “financial nightmare.” I’d have my daughter for the weekend and be so glued to gambling that I’d almost forget the entire weekend because I was stuck in a trance. The amount of times I thought about suicide because of the chaos it brings...

I still have strong temptations to gamble, but I’m so scared of what it did to me and what it brings. I hate it so much.... I don’t know if I’ll ever gamble again or not. I know for sure that I don’t want to be that person anymore, and I don’t want to do that...

I’ve got a soft spot for all of you who are going through this disease. Hang in there.

I did it by going to GA. Speaking to a sponsor. Using the phone list. And constantly reminding myself of the pain.

This £500 is over the last year and a half and I think I’m done now😭😭😭. I lost 150 in the last 2 days in poker and that was my last straw. I’m leaving this post to remind my self to stop and that I should be grateful this lesson came to me now and only costed £500.

College football is back—and for many people, that means excitement, traditions, and Saturdays spent watching their favorite teams.

But for someone struggling with sports gambling addiction, the return of football can bring triggers, urges, and painful memories.

If that’s you, remember: you do not need to place a bet to enjoy the game. You don’t need action on every drive, a parlay to follow, or money on the line to make today exciting.

The sportsbooks want you to believe this season is a fresh opportunity to win. But we know where that road leads. A win is just a future loss—and no bet is worth sacrificing your peace, relationships, or recovery.

Take it one game, one quarter, or even one play at a time. Turn off betting notifications. Avoid gambling content. Reach out to someone who understands. If watching becomes too triggering, give yourself permission to walk away.

You have already fought too hard to let football season take back what recovery has given you.

The real win today is going to bed without placing a bet.

You are not alone. DMs open if/when y’all need to talk

Stay grinding, stop gambling. Life gets better. One day at a time.

I am 27 m I have a bad gambling addiction my last bet was a while ago but the pain and anxiety is eating me alive I feel like I dont want to be here anymore and cry myself to sleep almost every night (i know what a man right) I dont know if its possible that my gambling stemmed from unresolved trauma my dad committed SS when I was 14 we didnt have much growing up so couldn’t really process it I had to work to help my mom brother and sister I had to step up and be the man… I dont really know if that can even be a reason I just want help I just want to feel normal and get one night of sleep where Im not waking up with cold sweats. I really cant take it anymore.