u/WorkerAgile

I’m 21 years old and this year alone I’ve lost over $15k CAD gambling. Mostly sports betting and online/live casino stuff.

I started off thinking I could make quick money or recover losses and now I feel completely trapped in the cycle. Every time I lose, I chase harder trying to get back to even, and it just keeps getting worse.

Part of the money was OSAP/student funding that should’ve gone toward school and living expenses, which honestly makes me feel sick thinking about it.

I haven’t fully told my family because I’m embarrassed and ashamed of how bad it got. I keep replaying the losses in my head every day.

I’m posting here because I genuinely want to stop before this destroys my future even more. If anyone here recovered after losing a lot at a young age, I’d really appreciate hearing how you got out of the cycle.

I've had multiple posts here btw and it's gotten worse ever since. So sorry for the amount of posts.

I’m 21 from Ontario and this year alone I’ve lost over $15k CAD gambling.

It started with sports betting and online casino/live dealer stuff thinking I could make quick money or recover losses, but it slowly turned into constantly chasing. Every time I lose, I convince myself I can win it back, and then I end up even deeper.

A portion of the money was OSAP/student funding that was meant for school and living expenses, which honestly makes me feel even worse about the situation. I know how irresponsible that sounds and I’ve been beating myself up over it constantly.

I haven’t fully told my family because I’m embarrassed and ashamed of how bad it got. I feel stressed almost every day thinking about the money I lost and how badly I messed up at my age.

Ontario making gambling/apps so accessible definitely didn’t help either. It feels impossible to escape when there are ads and apps everywhere.

I’m posting because I genuinely want to stop before this ruins my future even more. If anyone here has gone through something similar and managed to recover financially or mentally, I’d really appreciate hearing your story or any advice. Right now I honestly just feel lost.

I’ve called multiple times over the last few days and nobody picks up. I’m genuinely struggling right now with a gambling addiction and my mental health has been getting worse, so finally trying to reach out for help and hearing nothing back has honestly been making me feel even worse.

I know they’re probably busy/understaffed, but it’s frustrating when students are trying to get support and can’t even get through to someone.

If anyone knows better ways to access help through Laurier or outside resources that actually respond, please let me know.

This year I’ve lost over $10,000. In the last 2 days alone, I lost another $2,200. I recently got my OSAP money for school and had around $6,200 in my account. Now I’m down to about $2,800 because I kept chasing losses thinking I could win it back.

I’m a university student studying Computer Science. I’m in good academic standing and I’m trying to build a future for myself, but gambling has completely messed with my head.

I cry over this. I panic. I feel sick to my stomach. I lose sleep thinking about every bet and every stupid decision I made. I keep thinking about what that money could have gone toward. Tuition, rent, food, helping my family, saving for my future. Instead I threw so much of it away.

What hurts the most is the shame. I feel embarrassed and honestly disgusted with myself. I know better, but I still keep going back trying to chase it.

I’m posting this because I genuinely need help. If you were in this deep and got out, how did you stop? How did you finally break the cycle?

I do not want this to be my life.