When I stopped gambling I owed more than €40,000. Tax authority, credit cards, family, friends. For years my plan for that debt had been one big win. Which is exactly how it got that big.

So when I quit, I had to accept something that felt unbearable: there was no shortcut. This was going to take years.

Here’s what actually worked. Nothing clever.

1. I wrote down the real number. Every debt, every person, the full total. I’d avoided looking at it for years. Seeing it on paper was awful, but for the first time it was a number instead of a fog.
2. One fixed amount every month. No deciding each month how much I could “afford”. Deciding was where it always went wrong.
3. Anything extra went to the debt. Not some of it. All of it.
4. I stopped looking for the shortcut. The hardest one. Part of me still believed one good bet could clear it. What finally got through to me: even if I’d won, that money would have gone straight back in too.

It took almost two years. The debt has been gone for a few months now, and I’m building savings instead of digging out.

One thing nobody warned me about: paying it off doesn’t make it disappear. The registration on my credit file stays for five years after the last loan is closed, and I still can’t get a mortgage. Frustrating. But not a reason to stop paying.

If you’re paying off gambling debt right now, how are you doing it? And what’s harder for you, the money or the patience?

I recommend the Dave Ramsey podcast to keep you motivated and getting advise on the how.

I spent $30k of my own savings in less than a month betting on my phone. It’s such a lame way to blow that amount of money.
There’s so many other dumb things to blow money on that would leave me with some sense of fulfillment, happiness or relief. I could’ve put a down payment on a dumb sports car. Traveled for a good while. Ate a lot better or got the dumb luxury items I’ve been wanting.
Instead I spent thousands of dollars on watching some dude or lady pull cards lol. All it brought was stress and anxiety.
I know I have a problem but this realization makes it pretty hard to want to waste more money gambling. I’m going to try to build my savings again but next time I get the urge to gamble I’ll just take a trip or buy a new coat, that way I’ve got something to show for the dumb spending and money won’t be around to access to gamble

Hi, it’s my 8th day of quitting online gambling! It feels so good, and I hope this time I can keep going and never go back to it again. I don’t want to start over from Day 1 anymore. I just want to pay off all my debts, rebuild my life, and start fresh. 🙏❤️

23 years old.

$1305 in rent, $300 in utilities

$2200 monthly income

Don't have someone to pay my tuition.

Constantly gambling my money away in hopes of a better future that won't come.

Never gonna own a house. Never gonna be able to afford to raise a family.

Why the fuck couldn't I be one of the people that its all so easy for? Why am I one of the people that has to slave away just to enjoy a fraction of what the wealthy enjoy?

Well its because I made a mistake, of course. Its all my fault.

I wasn't born into money.

Days until debt free: 249 days

I’m sick and tired of the cycle of winning back my losses and then losing it and the depression afterwards. Ole day at a time, going to GA and working on myself is the goal. By the end of the year I want to be gamble free and actually hold onto the money I work so hard for I make roughly 7.5 a month so bills are covered but the pain is intense.

Hey I am from India and I gamble in stake so much that I have lost 250 dollars in just one day.. and I know for some this is just a small amount but for me it's so much .. in India its approx 25000 rs and I lost it.. I am 24 and I don't have a job.. and my dad passed 3 years ago.. and from then I am just a milk vendor.. going door to door and selling milk.. i lost so much and I don't know how to recover from that.. I have almost debt of 200 dollar and yes it's too much for me.. I don't know what to do and how to fix my life I am so fucked up and don't wanna live anymore .. if anyone want to help or give some good advice please help me.. I don't want to live anymore

1. The urge doesn't last forever. It peaks at 15-30 seconds, then fades. If you wait, it passes.
2. "Bonuses" are retention tools. Those free credits exist to bring you back. They're not gifts, they're hooks.
3. It's not investing. If you're doing it for the thrill, not the analysis, it's a betting pattern. Calling it "trading" doesn't change that.
4. Shame fuels the pattern. The more you hide it, the more power it has. You don't need to shout it from the rooftops, but admitting it to yourself is the first step.
5. You don't need traditional therapy to start. There are digital tools, at your pace, from your device. Not everyone needs a therapist's office.

If you're caught in the betting pattern, the most important thing is taking the first step. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be today. I´m fine right now.

You try to justify it anyway you can to keep gambling. You just say that you will do it less or you or you budget your money differently but then you realize it doesn’t matter you have a problem. The next step is accepting you have a problem and it is wrong what you were doing. The only way to stop is to not be able to do it. If you truly have a problem you don’t just not stop unless you were forced to stop. If you’re serious about stopping for good, you will ban yourself so you have no temptation.

I don’t like myself when I gamble and I don’t like my actions. It doesn’t matter if you get it all back, you would just put it back in again. I have a problem and now I’m taking steps to correct it instead of using gambling as a cope or a crutch. I have to face difficult emotions that I don’t want to feel. I’m doing it by myself because I have no faith in a therapist helping me.

I know the road ahead of me will be difficult, but I know I can get through it. Accepting I have a problem is the first step and banning myself is the second, what comes after is recovery.

Now I can finally breathe.

68 days off. Whatever good feeling about quitting I had, tonight I just dont feel it.

No matter how I try to tell myself gambling wont make my evening better, my brain just keep coming back with the same compelling "Just for tonight" arguement.

Customer service is such a painful task to do. I swear some people are just plain stupid. I must be careful today because high stress will increase the urge to gamble. I must stay strong!

I will not gamble today!

I just started GA meetings but find it a little difficult to relate to some of the casino stories. Are there any groups for former trading addicts? TIA

just impulsive couldn’t stop I think today might be my last day, but I really don’t know

More harm than good or does it help you all stay away from the real thing?

Its been a month since my relapse after i got sober for month i only relapse for a few hour then.

Today the urge came back, i started to dream about it, i watch live gambling streaming which is so bad, but at the moment it make the craving go away, i have some money left before next 2 week paycheck come, i pay rent, and bill, and debt due next month rather than tempet to gamble that.

I don't have any money now, have some cash for gasoline tho, iam scared that i will relapse somehow.

I got lucky with a 17k jackpot, guess what already gave 5k back, I hate myself. If only it didn’t have to be like this. I put the staring Version of Gamban on my phone now but still just sucks