r/problemgambling

Major relapse on Saturday, lost the most I have ever lost in a single session, woke up the nedt morning and knew to a certainty that I needed to make a change (though I have known that many times before).

I am actually very fortunate because through savings and investments I built up a huge safety net for myself, but I realize now I mostly built that safety net in the single five year period where I couldnt gamble. Ever since I started gambling again I've just been treading water, staying afloat but wasting time.

There are so many things to look forward to, even I am getting married next year, and despite everything I still have the resources and opportunities to have a comfortable life.

It is not a financial problem it is a mental or spiritual one. Ive spent years lighting up parts of my brain that are unsafe to light up, and now I need reprogramming. I will never be able to get back my brain but I have to try.

Steps taken -

Self-excluded from all platforms

Installed Gamban on all decives with subscription until 2029

Uninstalled apps and brokerages

Going to try really hard this time

So, I'm a few days away from having to face the consequences of my actions. And as you fellow gambling addicts know, we can always scrap together a hundred dollars to gamble.

I'm $15k in debt with some of those debts being payday loans and some of it being money I've stolen, that is, it is from an account I'm in charge of and you know the drill, you "borrow" some money intended to pay it back with your winnings before anyone ever knows it's missing or gone.

Yeah, I'm beyond fucked and beyond hate myself yada yada yada you know how the self loathing goes.

So, I scrape together that hundred and I go online and I run it up to $3k which is enough to put the money back that I "borrowed" and it is also enough for me to put out some immediate fires and figure out a solution to my bullshit.

And of course, I slowly lose it and now I'm down to $20. FML. And then of course the gambling gods decide to have some fun and I go on another heater, run it up to $4k inside of an hour but...

I'm well into the fugue state. That state of being where I'm just one with the gambling and can't think beyond the next bet. I tell myself "You need to cash out" and like a Twilight Zone episode that thought falls down a deep dark well never to see the light again until 6 hours later I am completed busted.

What is the point of gambling if I can't stop when I win? I know this, and yet I do it again and again promising that if I can only win enough I'll never gamble again.

Well, I hope this sad and sorry story helps someone with their quitting and/or abstinence.

I had over ten years of sobriety and then I took advantage of a free gambling coupon for some new online game and of course I won some money and that was that, a decade of sobriety thrown away into the trash and all the money I've managed to save and my 740 credit rating ruined.

Hi guys, my brother's been dealing with a gambling problem for a couple years now.

Back in like February he finally seemed to turn a corner, was doing really well for months, then a few days ago he relapsed hard and lost a big chunk of savings in one night.

what's been messing with me since is I genuinely thought whatever he was doing was working, but it seems like a switch just flipped inside him.

for those who have managed to get OUT of gambling, what made you stop?

and for those that are still currently suffering with the addiction (im sorry) but what is still keeping you going?

I really want my brother back, i miss the old him.

I self excluded off all the sites but made the mistake of doing a 4 week times out on one of the sites. Can you guess what happened when that 4 weeks was up? Yep, I got an email saying my time out ended and was “curious” and “thought i had a handle on it”. Deposited $100 first and 24 hours later my savings is nearly depleted. To be fair I had $8k in my savings total, which isn’t a lot to some, but for me it was. I self excluded with about 1k left in it so i’ll take that win. I’m still able to pay the bills and continually save each month from my paycheck… but DAMN. 7k gone like that. I told my husband to be accountable, he doesn’t really care, but I just feel icky. This feeling will pass and i’ll rebuild my savings once again.

All this to say.. JUST SELF EXCLUDE TODAY BEFORE IT GETS ANY WORSE!!!

Jusy saying.

I genuinely cannot stop gambling. There’s $15 in my bank account and I’m just lying and borrowing money from my friends just to gamble it away. I have a 150k debt and I just somehow keep gambling. I don’t know what to do.

quiting is not that hard what it seems if you havent realize couple things. money is a drug so is gambling both are dangerous so if you value money more than anything you will always value material more than you and your inner world. stop chasing something outside of you because everything you need is already there your true self that you only may have forgotten. take the dollar signs out of your eyes and start living again. cant serve two master its god or money. not both

A friend introduced me to wk betting. Put in 2k euro yesterday. Lost it all. Started playing slots and xxxtreme lightning roulette this morning. Out of frustration. No hits, over 300 plays, they obviously were collecting $$$. Once every 20 or 30 rounds a measely 50x.

Lost over 7k this past week. I only make 2k a month.

Iam so stupid.

If I didnt put deposot limits om my 4 casino accounts and bank account otherwise I would I would have lost my last 1k also.

So no vacation for me. My parents went overseas last week. I would come over later. Now iam screwed, cant go.

Just a rant. Iam so out of touch, feeling down. I Feel like a complete loser. Cant think straight now. Just laying in bed right now its 17:00 0'clock.

I feel like crying.

What have I done.

Last week I was happy I had some money.

Gambling is no joke.

Last week I saw some streamers, neon and mo vlogs, they were srtreaming with a rich kid, his father made a casino game, aviator.

Kid has all the money in the world bugattis koenigses etc, ovef 100 mill watches. People praising him, but he is buying that from gamblers like us.

We always lose, it if it isnt today, it will be tomorrow.

Hey everyone, been playing for about 3 years now and trying to quit, which brings me to a question. The biggest issue I've run into is this complete dopamine burnout (sorry if I'm calling it wrong, I'm no expert). I'm so depleted that sometimes I end up playing in demo mode just to keep myself occupied—I literally don't have the energy for anything else. When I try doing something besides gambling, I just zone out and switch back within 5 minutes. And if I somehow find a tiny bit of willpower to not play, I just endlessly scroll through feeds. Right now I'm drowning in debt and have absolutely zero money for therapy, so can anyone give me some advice? Are there any self-help methods that actually worked for you in this situation?

Ho letteralmente un problema con il crazy Time. ho 27 anni maschio, italiano. gioco d’azzardo da 4 anni, precisamente da quando mi sono trasferito in un altro paese per lavoro.(Credo mi abbiainfluenzato molto).
Come ho detto dal titolo , il mio problema principale è con il Crazy time , mi ha letteralmente fottuto il cervello, non gioco ad altro. Perso stipendi da 4 anni , e , quello che mi ha fottuto di più è stata la mia più grande vincita di 10k e passa, ridati nel giro di qualche giorno. Negli ultimi 6 ho perso 8k di risparmi, che avevo accumulato facendo 6 mesi di terapia e vivendo con le massime restrizioni. Eccomi qui, ricaduto , e con 5k di prestito tramite finanziamento. Giocati 4 giorni fa . Non sono arrivato a zero questo mese , ho un buon stipendio di circa 2.2k mensile , qui in Italia non è male . Vorrei solo un consiglio per sentirmi meglio.. e non controllare nemmeno più i risultati .
e così letteralmente schifoso il fatto che , guardi la live del crazy time facendo finta di star giocando, sono letteralmente malato. non mi piace altro.
spero che mi capiate, voglio uscire da questo circolo vizioso, è brutale.
LOVE ❤️

I dont really know how to start this so ill just say it. i ruined my own life and i did it to myself , nobody forced me. grew up with a good family , good upbringing, my parents gave me basically everything i needed growing up. i was the "smart one" supposedly. Moved to a different state for a job that paid really well and thats when it started , first trip out with coworkers to a casino and something just clicked in my brain that i still dont fully understand. I started small , like $10 bets here and there just for fun , nothing crazy. but it crept up so slow you dont even notice its happening til your already in it.

The next day I came back and then again and again, within like 2 years i was putting down $1500 on a single bet like it was nothing. I had a couple different bookies too and heres the thing nobody tells you, when you lose big they dont cut you off they give you free bets to "get back in the game." its not generosity its just bait and it works every single time. I lost around $70k total when i actually added it up , which i avoided doing for as long as possible bc i already knew id hate the number. Thats my entire savings, then i borrowed against my retirement account , blew through that too , then started asking family for "just a short term loan" more times then im proud to admit. credit cards are maxed. I genuinely dont know how im gonna dig out of this , the worst part isnt even the money honestly. its who I became. I started snapping at people i love for no reason , missed stuff at work , lied about where money was going , burned bridges with people who had zero clue what was actually happening behind closed doors.

Everyone around me still thinks im doing fine bc thats the mask i got good at wearing , and that is the dangerous thing about gambling YOUR ADDICTION IS NOT NOTICEABLE. I heard someone describe it once as feeling like the next bet is always the one that fixes everything, and thats exactly it , thats the whole trap. IT NEVER IS. It wasnt for me and it won’t be for you either. N that’s pretty much everything. Anyone else been through something similar?

tldr: Had a great life, got hooked on sports betting in my late 20s, lost $70k+ between savings/retirement/loans , wrecked relationships and my mental health chasing losses that never came back. still not out of it. if this sounds like you , don’t wait as long as I did to say something.

Im 19 10k in debt and just got fired from my job. My job paid $33 an hour which was pretty good. I am screwed! Im selling stuff and im still gambling! What am i doing! This is insane i cant stop everyday im back

last year in december i lost around 9k gambling and im 18 and told myself to never gamble again.. 2 days later i couldn’t handle it and won back 8k and stopped and havent gambled since. Just got back on with a fast $50 deposit which quickly turned into $200 into and now im down $500 which may not seem like a lot but i just feel so ashamed and have hit rock bottom again im just a uni student and i feel terrible losing this money because its from my mum and now i have no money to eat or do anything for the month and its only the fifth day.

I’m sick to my stomach I’m lightheaded while doing uber deliveries. I woke up today only needed 250 to make rent today is last day. I usually make that on uber but it’s slow today my dumbass opened the app lost 50, 150, 280 and finally 220 I lost $700 in 2 hours. Now I’m down to 300 still need 1250 only have $100 on uber so far. Why am I so stupid bro. I swear I don’t want to live anymore last week I lost 1200 took a loan for $750 too which I owe soon. Like bro I can’t believe how dumb I am. Damm man. I literally don’t know what to do. I can ask my mom and cousin for help but $750 is crazy because ik I can make another 100 on uber I’ll have $500 Damm bro. I literally don’t know what to say. I’m a disappointment and don’t deserve to be here

Here I am in bed. Fourth of July. Listening to my family laugh and make memories downstairs. I told them I am sick but I am really too depressed to get out of bed and look them in the eyes. I just want my fucking money back

just lost $500 and went over my financial record over 2 years there was a point where i was up 7k and overall im down $183.90 i know it’s not a lot of money but it just feels like it sucks and it feels like i lost more even though i didnt

My cousin, who I don’t talk to very often but grew up very close to called me to borrow. Saying he was going to lose eveything if I didn’t lend. It went very dark, was crying and even threatened me with suicide.

Turns out he owes everyone money. Grandma, parents, siblings, sibling’s in laws, a lot of friends so many more.

I didn’t lend and called his parents and they explained to me that I will never see my money again and I absolutely am not helping him with giving money.

So i didn’t…

what advice would you give me? I am very shocked by this and would like to help him in some way. He’s super broke and makes over 6 figures but blows it all on gambling.