Hi Guys

I have been an active sports gambler in the last 26 years. Yesterday once again let down by Manchester United. I have lost 10k a bet which i cannot afford to lose, have to take payday loans to pay it off.

Currently struggling to buy milk and diapers for my 2 sons , including my other financial obligations.

I have decided to forgive myself and move on , this disease destroys my health, relationships and mental well being.

I feel guilty not wanting to bring my family to the Zoo citing how expensive it is to pay 100 for 4 pax , but no qualms placing a 10k bet on a football team that doesn't give 2 shits about me or my family.

My entire 26 years betting record has nothing but loss . And i am sure the money is gone. 350k life time lossess, and the most damaging are all the time i wasted and the friends and relatives that i have lost because of unpaid loans to them.

Have spoke to my spouse and mother so they can hold me accountable. Remove triggers such as livescore.com app , asianbookie.com, sportsmole sites that encourages betting 24/ 7.

Today is day One !

Everyday you choose to abstain from gambling is considered a win. Recovery is not one size fits alls. Everyone’s recovery is going to look different. Do what works for you, don’t do what doesn’t. Find out your triggers, replace them with good habits or hobbies. Talk to others going through similar issues. Build or join a community of humans ( I say humans because we make mistakes, we’re not perfect, nor should we try to be. If anything we should try to be better than we were the day before). Seek out professional help with therapists, specifically gambling addiction specialist. If sports are a trigger, find something more productive to do than sitting around on your phone, watching sports.

I started a discord server few months back for those looking to connect with others struggling with a gambling addiction. You’re not alone. There are plenty of people in this world out there that are with you. If the discord seems of interest, here’s the link: https://discord.gg/cyXEvvFy

DMs open for any and all that want to talk. We can and will get through this together.

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

https://geoffwinningdaily.blogspot.com/2024/10/the-cost-of-secrecy-how-gambling.html

I’m 27 and was granted settlement money last year. 70 big ones. I have 18k in my ira& investments, a little bit of cash in my bank account and i just paid my bills so i’m good. no debt. and i have a decent paying job. but jesus i probably blew 50k ish or more in a year just on sports. i’ve had huge ups and even worse downs and i finally excluded for 3 years in my state and i plan on just dedicating myself to building my bank account back up from scratch. I’m sick to my fucking stomach for blowing my future security away. nobody knows, i told my bestfriend i only blew like 25k and he was like jesus christ bro. the guys at work break my balls for making absurdly large bets. it feels like i’m starting from scratch again and although i have retirement accounts and i’m stable and not completley broke, it a disgusting feeling. i feel so guilty that my long term live in girlfriend and my parents don’t know but i’m glad i excluded before i went completely broke. cheers to day one.

Hey everyone I know 800 dollars might not be a lot to others but I’m 19 and pay for pretty much everything on my own I lost 800 dollars gambling I have 50 dollars left saved I was working hard to save my money and not gamble but I relapsed tonight and do t really know what to do I feel guilty and disgusted with myself any advice?

You know,

You just think you got out of this nightmare, but it won't let you.

Was on my biggest day count, back at day 1.

Feels bad

Hi everyone! Today is my 6 weeks which is the longest I’ve gone, ever. For the past 2 days I’ve found it hard to shake the urges off. Some financial stress, some boredom, some addiction creeping back in I guess.

In my mind, I can rationalise it perfectly - whatever financial stress I’m experiencing right now will be 100x worse and once it’s all over I will be wishing I had the money I have right now.

I’m not going to go back to slots because I know it would ruin me once again (in more ways than just financially), I’m just venting I guess because this sub is the only place where people understand me.

How is everyone feeling?

This is my 3rd day without gambling (one of the million times that I’ve tried to stop).

Every time I check my bank account, I get more and more depressed. I simply can’t understand what drives me to gamble enormous amounts of money. I can't forgive myself. And I don't know If I ever will.

I just want to live peacefully without the fear of failing again.

I want this feeling (I’m currently the biggest anti-gambler) to last so long!

Have a nice day! Stay brave and strong!

Another good day without stress of gambling. Gambling is a long term losing streak with intermittent reinforcement - spikes of winning to keep you hooked. Your losses accumulate over time and your wins will never match that.

ODAAT.

Today:

I am grateful for 24 hours without a bet.

I am grateful for a special day in Baltimore for work and to see the ravens play.

I am grateful my son had the opportunity to play with his band at the finish line at the local 5k today while I was away.

I am grateful to feel a little more comfortable in my own shoes today than yesterday. I’ll take it.

I am grateful for the generosity of my hosts today.

I am grateful that I can appreciate today for what it is and let it go when the days over.

I am grateful for today’s blessings.

👏

Yet another crypto gambling story, I imagine you read this daily on this sub.

I got into crypto in 2017 right before the ICO mania. I made some gains and when I hit my first 10k euros it was a feeling out of this world since I came from a poor family. in 2017 my portfolio grew to 100k USD with just 1k euros invested initially. Of course than the bubble popped and my portfolio collapsed to 15k.

Throughout 2018/2019 I wasn't really bothered by this because I was filling my days with studying for my masters degree in uni. I graduated in 2020, which was right before the first DeFi boom (defi summer). My portfolio grew to 7 figs value. Of course, I felt like a genius, like you might have felt yourself. I decided not to look for a job because I had enough money to take time off after uni and just travel and relax.

However, I didn't travel nor did I use the money. I was obsessed with it growing more. Because I was convinced by cult leaders that my bag was the next big thing in tech. In 2021 because of the covid stimulus in the world crypto took off even more. Of course I didn't take profit. However I got the first taste of leverage.

I ended up losing 30% of my coins. Things got worse in 2022 when a defi project went bankrupt and I lost even more coins. Furthermore the market took a big hit after FTX collapsed. My portfolio was back to low 6 figs.

Not a day went by without regret. I had many sleepless nights and anxiety filled days. I now feel that this was my last chance of ever making it. I was severally depressed throughout 2022/2023.

And today in 2024, I am still stuck in a rut. Worst of all, I haven't worked since graduating at age 26, so there is a huge gap in my resume. Additionally, I am 30 yrs old now having lost the last 4 years with nothing to show for it. My 20s are gone because of this. It all feels like a dark black hole.

I honestly have an immense hatred of everything crypto related. I now know that crypto is 100% vaporware and filled with the slimiest and greediest people you can imagine. I guess I am just rambling now, but I have to type this story out for myself. I am just interested in hearing some stories of people who managed to get back to work and leave all of this behind.

I have tried deleted everything web3 related but I keep coming back because a part of me still believes the moon is ''right around the corner''.

Those are some of the things i’ve had before starting to gamble and never considered, things that i’ve forfeited for more than 1/3 of my life to fuel my addiction. Things I’m grateful to have recovered by now and will cherish every single day.

1. Mental aspect :

• peace of mind. !!
• self esteem
• freedom of choice.
• ability to be crudely honest.
• ambition.
• purpose.

2. emotional aspect :

• peace of heart. !!
• no more emotional rollercoaster.
• great sleep overall.
• empathy/sympathy for self and others.
• social.
• respect/consideration for self and others.
• relatives.

3. physical aspect :

• healthy (again). The direct consequence of what’s mentionned above.

There is still things i haven’t recovered yet, and others i haven’t developped altogether.

Life since, hasn’t been perfect BUT never has it been miserable!! it feels like through quitting gambling a new dimension of life has been unlocked. And I’m grateful to have (now) the time, the curiosity and the willingness to dig every new aspects.

Posted before here.. and been 2 weeks but I been thinking how to recover the loses, finding ways to pay off the debts incurred through credit cards is just really hard honestly. No one knows what I am going through as I am scared to come clean to anyone at home so been finding ways to pay off bills that are due.. I didn’t missed any payments yet but I am afraid I will be missing payment to my bills the coming months now..

Eat, sleep, work; repeat.

Go to the gym or for a swim to break the daily grind.

Healthier alternatives for time for yourself instead of gambling.

25 - M, Living here in the Philippines.
I've been in serious gambling for around 2 - 3 months before shit happens and realized that I fucked up big time.
I lost around 13k$ in just one night (yes very stupid of me) for chasing losses because I think the win for me to reset and get back to my normal life is in the next bet.
That loss is years' worth of my salary and savings.
I accepted that I wouldn't make money gambling and it would just ruin my life.
The desire to gamble is now out of my mind, but the losses are the ones that is stopping me from moving forward completely.
I am 8 days clean now but still I can't forgive myself for that stupid decision to bet that night.
I could have just slept that night and life could be whole lot different than now.
I should have quit when I was ahead.
I can only forgive myself once I earned back that money which will take years.
I don't want to live life like this.
fml.

I was up $1000 lifetime with $400 in my FD account, I was on a bit of a high and I was playing blackjack on FD to get a few more bucks here or there and then I started losing. Well of course I had to make back what I lost and it kept getting lower and lower.

So I deposited $300 more.

Than another $300.

12 hours later I'm down 1700 lifetime. I want to cry, I want to scream. I don't even know what to do anymore. I tried to take out a personal loan but I have too many out. I've ruined my fucking life and can't even finish paying rent this month. First thing in the morning I'm getting myself banned from all the sportsbooks and signing up for gamblers anonymous.

I've tried cigarettes and weed and all kinds of things and never gotten addicted before. I've finally found my fucking addiction and I hate myself so much for it.

I wanna just be done with gambling but i lose control

I don’t want to act like I’ve overcome this by any means, but I do hope I can help people stuck in the endless month to month cycle of paycheck, pay some bills, gamble, take a loan you can’t afford to stay afloat, gamble, live on nothing for 2 weeks, repeat.

I struggled with the cycle above for years and have about 25k in debt (keep in mind this is my current debt after paying thousands a month off in loans every month throughout these years). I finally hit a wall where I legitimately couldn’t borrow any more money and I also couldn’t take the emotional rollercoaster any longer.

Now, I’m 24 days gambling free and I’m absolutely shocked with how night and day things already are. Even after 2 weeks my serious urges subsided and I started to see the greener grass. I have been sleeping like a normal person because I don’t fall asleep and wake up with crippling anxiety about my gambling the previous day or week. Also, the days are SOOOO much longer now that I’m not staring at a screen for a few hours all the time. It’s wild how much life passes us by with these games.

I just got my first paycheck and it all went towards bills with a little left over for myself to enjoy. I’m telling you once you feel this side of things it’ll change your outlook no matter how down you are.

Just make it 2 weeks, you can do it. You’ll feel so much better. I know I’m not out of the woods and I’m one bad day from a small mistake erasing the small amount of progress I’ve made. But I’m really fucking happy. I feel like my life isn’t over and I can see a path out of this.

If anyone needs to talk my messages are open. I know how low this can take us and I’m hoping together we can all find the joys in life again.

God bless, stay strong.

This is not my normal account for obvious reasons.

I am in an enormous pickle that has snowballed very badly in the last two months. I'd correctly call it gambling because it is.

Years ago, from 2017-2020 I was a very successful trader and investor. I mean I made a million dollars during that time. I felt great. I felt happy. My life was going well.

Covid was a downer, but there were so many opportunities. I recognized the potential in gamestop. I exited early, but with no regret. I wasn't going to be a hodl on a shit stock.

Unfortunately, things gradually got bad after covid. My father got cancer. Very bad. I felt like I needed to make more money to impress him before he died . So I started going way outside of my risk zone and used options, and much more carelessly.

My million profit got cut down to 700k. But the real problem developed after his death. Due to some gifts from my dad that were unreported, the irs said I had to pay well into the six figures for his transgression .thafs when things got crazy.

I felt this was unfair and I needed to make the money back overnight. So I gambled big with index options on economic reports. Good or bad, I just guessed based on what the cnbc pundits said. Needless to say they were all wrong every time almost. Inflation cooled when they said it was getting worse, and got worse when the "experts" said it was fine.

I lost 400k more. Still was up slightly.

Then it got worse. Since I felt I needed to make money back quickly I continued to guess on options (up day, down day, big trades before the close). My profit turned negative. My account want to zero. I got 700k from my mom and lost it because I was desperate to repay her and make the money back. Still no slow and steady strategy unlike prior. She is obviously pissed, though I have no siblings. And I do feel horribly guilty-I never intended for this.

The I started taking out balance transfers and loans on ccs. I lost another 80k. I could have taken out more loans for trading but wouldnt. I did something else instead.

I have contemplated suicide too and one day gave away 60000 to my best friends just thanking them for their friendship. This was in the last of my credit available. I got so much credit because of my years of high income. I used to trade diligently, assidously, and carefully. I wouldn't aim to double my money in a day. I was averaging 3 percent a month, quick to cut losses, it worked...

But when the gambling came around it became that. I refused to take losses. I traded in much riskier instruments. I would cry when I was losing instead of taking a loss. Bang the table. You name it. My wife kept asking what was wrong, I made up various stories. Since I still provide, I do not think she knows I've royally screwed myself.

When I was successful, I would go on vacation and forget trading. Then it seemed to turn into a mindless addiction. It was ruining my life.

I have told my broker to cut off all margin and they did. I am seeing a psychologist. I have no income currently.

I am so guilty about lying to my mom. I almost killed myself when I gave all that money to my friends but did not.. And I still wake up with guilt everyday. Sometimes I have no energy too so I use illegal drugs to perk me up from my depression. Maybe it was the dopamine I got from trading.

I saw a bankruptcy attorney and he said my friends would be on the hook for the money I gave them. It is too soon to file anyways.

The good news though is my mother is very wealthy with six million in liquid assets and real estate, and another five in venture businesses. One is looking extremely good. My dad always invested big in his life, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. He took losses in stride and I guess like me, he never sold his bad investments before they got worse. But his saving grace was buying apple during the tech bubble. Most of the rest of the stocks except Microsoft went to shit, but Apple eventually made up. Seven figures were lost each on Nortel and sub microsystems. I am too young to remember the 2000 bubble but I guess it did drive my mom crazy, my dad refused to sell and let gains totally evaporate.

The private venture may pay out seven figures soon, before taxes but it was stepped up when my dad died.. There are several much larger firms now that are interested. But they can't agree on a price (even though I would be VERY happy you must consider there are much bigger fish who own more than two percent.)

My mom said she will help me get out of this debt so long as I have my accounts monitored and continue therapy for my addiction. And have an allowance. Of course this makes me feel like a child and a loser, not a successful man.

My psychologist is good, she listens well but doesn't really give advice I don't already know. She has not really provided advice that works for me on how to stay out of the compulsion.

My psychiatrist gave me a cocktail of medicine that quite frankly made me feel worse, completely apathetic and more suicidal because I didn't care about anything... So I stopped it. It was really vile.

So at this point, what should I do? I feel I have self destructed too much of My families estate. But having no siblings means I don't have to answer my wrongdoing to them. In dollars a lot, but percentage not completely horrible, but not good. Nothing in return. I don't want my friends to get in trouble so im thinking bankruptcy chapter 7 isn't the right option due to what my mom said. She knows how terrible my mental health is.

I am so disgusted in myself that I turned a profitable, steady profession into a mindless casino. My strategies went out the window, I refused to accept losses, I became more glued to the screen, I couldn't sleep, I lost a lot of muscle from not working out(which I had when I had a totally different mindset, due to the stress and lack of sleep) I can't stop smoking pot and would sometimes be drinking alcohol. I used to never ever ever drink. And now I use other uppers to replace the dopamine from trading. I don't think this is good either. I wouldn't call it a total addiction but needing something every morning can't be normal.

I do not have any family other than my mother really, though I am married. I have kept all of this a secret from her. My psychologist says if my mom will help me get out of the mess, perhaps it would be best not to tell her. We have no children (yet at least.) im 34.

But even if she does, I'm way too ashamed, I feel like a failure in life. I've learned when you do well you continue doing well. When you do bad you continue to do poorly and everything becomes against your better judgment. It's vile that doing well leads to more of the same, and being desperate leads to more losses, more debt, more depression, more guilt, more suicidal thoughts.

And if I'm not going to trade, what do I do? I require mental stimulation. I cannot do nothing. I can't go back to it now. I like mental work that is challenging. Not until I understand myself better at least. I still look back in this and even I don't understand. That's the really weird part.

Regardless, please let my tale be one of caution. You can easily turn something good into something completely mindless when you get into revenge mode. It's not completely like a casino, but revenge mode is. You'll look for opportunities that do not exist, you'll trick yourself into thinking "it can't possibly get worse" - all of these things I was acutely aware of when I was making money. It can always get worse and you must exist when the loss is still small. All of this goes to shit when you become desperate. More debt will lead to more debt, and I'm at the point of Ernest hemming way "one goes bankrupt slowly then suddenly" were it not for my mom. But if I disappoint her one more time, I can't live with myself. Maybe that's a good enough reason to stay away. To keep my wife, and not make my mother worse than she is.

I can promise everyone none of this was intentional. Why would I lose ALL of my hard earned money? What kind of re wiring needs to happen to my brain?

Do you remember it? It had friends, laughter, nights out. It was care free, silly at times but that's what created the unforgettable memories.

Now we are glued to our phone looking for the next spin, score or stock update. Thinking happiness can possibly be achieved this way.

Give gambling a hard push to the side. Connect with that old friend you lost touch with. Be amazed at how soon that connection can be re-established.

Leave all the isolating, self-absorbed, emotionally vapid activities such as gambling in your rear view mirror as a mistake learned, an expensive education and a growth experience.

I got this, you got this, let's get though this together!

ODAAT! 💪

What made you stopped gambling?

Been sleeping all day since this morning, being awake it’s too painful

i know its not a reason to do this

but i lose 4k$ just now , and still have 7k$ but its my office money

please please plase my self dont do this

I had self excluded on a bunch of apps for as long as they allow, or deleted all together. But my mind just kept wandering to other apps over the last few months every time I try to quit. And I cannot gamble, all I do is chase, deposit, chase, deposit. There is never anything good that comes out of gambling. This was a huge step for me, and a sad one. I don’t want to lose everything. I’ve already lost enough.

I’m down over 40K since April when I started. Probably more, if I include all the work $ I’ve lost, and all the $ I’ve lost from jackpots. I don’t even care. My new life starts NOW.

Please message me if you feel alone, if you feel like this is impossible. In no way could I do this by myself with out support, so please don’t isolate yourself in this awfully lonely addiction. I’m here for you. And there has to be life ahead of this right?

I am 22M. So it’s been a really hard week. I am an Active Duty military and things just have not been going well this past week. I’m usually pretty good at being able to compress and work through my problems without relying on unhealthy coping mechanisms but it’s just been particularly hard the past couple days. Where I’m at I’m currently not allowed to drink, to be out past 9 PM, where civilian (normal) clothes, to leave base, have any “intimacy” with anyone, and constantly on call for whatever reason they need me for.

When I was a civilian, usually I would have a beer after work, go to the bars and clubs and dance, hang out with my friends, have “intimate” encounters, and just do things I would take the edge off. Now there’s not a lot I can do. This week I spent a couple hundred in losses on gambling because it’s one of the only thing I can do that is fun and exciting to me (that’s if I win). Now I’m realizing that, even though I feel isolated and limited, I cannot let this be the vice that I use to feel something. That isn’t a crippling amount, but it’s definitely a sign that I need to either get this under control or find another way to relieve my stress because I can easily see the signs that I have a problem.

Wish me luck. thank you all for who have told stories because it has really helped me realize that I might have a problem and that I need to stop before it becomes a problem. I know it’s only a week but one step at a time

I lost again tonight. Yesterday, I checked my accounts and saw that I’m already in the negative, yet I added more.

After losing, I thought again about all that I had lost before. I’ve been working for five years with a good salary, but I haven’t built up anything. Everyone I know seems to be leveling up their lifestyle. I can’t even manage the basics of giving back to my parents. I’ve even been a burden because they keep having to bail me out repeatedly.

I’m about to get married soon, and I’ll be leaving my duties to my parents behind. I wasted so much time. Because of my mistakes in the past, even my future married life is already affected. If only I had lived responsibly, we’d have a place to stay by now. We’d have a car. I wouldn’t have to split wedding costs with my future spouse. But here I am, losing again today.

Now, as I talk to the Lord, I ask Him to save me from this problem that I caused myself. Honestly, I just want a quick fix. If that doesn’t happen, then maybe winning the jackpot in gambling. A quick escape would be nice. Sometimes I wish I wouldn’t wake up tomorrow. I feel too weak to hurt myself because I don’t want to be judged by those around me, even if I were dead. I also don’t want them to say anything bad about me to my family. I just wish the Lord would take care of me instead. I keep finding myself in this situation, but here I am, losing again today.

I know this may a dangerous place to ask for advice on the internet… but I have no one I know who’s gone through this before.

My boyfriend of 6 years just gambled away $13,000 over the last 9 months. We moved to a state about 1 1/2 year ago that allows online casinos. He’s never had “issues” before going to them in person or sports betting. But he’s told me he thinks it’s always been inside of him and now there’s unfortunately a new outlet. Over the course of the last two months he’s gambled away $4,000 of our money and $6,000 total which we use to pay all our bills.

Part of me isn’t sure if I should leave now. We have a house (in my name,) a dog, a joint bank account, which he cleaned out last month. He’s now moved 100% of his income into the joint account but fortunately I have my own bank account and savings that is untouched well cause it’s only mine. He also has kept up on all his payments for car and student loans then went and gambled everything else away.

He wants me to stay give him a chance, says I can leave if it happens again. He’s planning on going to meetings every week and I’ve asked him to go to therapy. It’s only been 72 hours since I’ve learned everything and have already reached out to a therapist who can help me in my process through this. I don’t want to tell my family for fear of judgement and them wanting me to leave him.

He says he needs support and he loves me and never wants to lose me. We had a good life. Granted we’ve had pretty horrible last few months not between us but outside factors that has drained the both of us mentally. I’ve asked him if he can tell his parents whom I’m close and comfortable with because I can’t do this alone.

Is there any advice for me? I’m scared, heartbroken, and I just really never thought this could have ever happened. My trust and life has just completely flipped upside down. I thought he’d propose in the next couple months we had a future planned. We both have good jobs, we’ve always helped each other through everything. I just can’t believe it.

Passed by a casino today. Didn’t have any urges to gamble. Thought about my losses, accepted them. No need to dig the hole deeper. Enjoyed good food outside. ODAAT.