If there is anybody here that has quit gambling please share how long you’ve been in recovery in the comments no matter how long it’s been also if you want to share your story you free to do so. This is a post for people who need hope. Thanks.

Specifically on iPhone.

It’s always an ad that pulls me back in.

I know they’re targeted, but 99% of my ads are for gambling. It’s so tempting and makes me want to gamble. I keep clicking “not interested” or similar but it hasn’t seemed to do anything.

Additionally, the site that I racked up $25K debt on the other day won’t stop emailing me with “VIP offers” AKA deposit X get an extra amount of funds with the deposit. These kill me because I can easily meet the play-through requirement, still be ahead, but then I can’t stop betting and end up losing it before the withdrawal processes. I’ve unsubscribed from their email list several times, but they won’t stop sending me stuff. It’s so tempting. :(

Edit: I’ve also asked them to close my account several times, but they keep saying there’s not an account with my email. This makes no sense as they keep sending ads to this email and they got the email from my registration

I have been gambling on and off since I turned 18 but ever since I downloaded fanduel, draft kings, and bet mgm things have changed. I feel trapped in these apps with all the promotions they have. Anytime I lose I feel like I can’t quit because I’m missing out on “free money” by not gambling and putting more money in to get the promos. I thought I could outsmart the system but now I’m down $8000 and to make matters worse I was up over $10000 about a month ago. I have now deleted the apps and I’m trying to fight the urge to re download them and start the cycle again.

I’m 17, I make around 4.5k-12k per month depending on how my work goes, but somehow I find myself broke at the end for every month, living paycheck to paycheck, i live with my parents. i have no bills to pay for, so i know all the money is either going to poker or food. I hate this cycle, i know i have so much going on but I just can’t rid of this addiction. I just want it all to stop, Im considering therapy yet I can’t afford to pay for it. I only have 250 left in my bank account until the start of the month again, I think I’ve lost over 60k in poker, even though I believe I am a relatively decent player it’s just terrible bankroll management and tilt that gets me here. And i just realise this sounds like a terrible rant. Anyways, I’m not at the point where I’m borrowing and stealing yet, but I’m afraid i’ll get there one day and I am very wary of that. I want to quit before I become a degen. I feeel like I need someone to help me. I have no idea how and where to start, everytime I try to stop, I just cycle back and punt it all off again

I swear gambling did something to my emotions, lately I've barely felt anything at all, feelings I had just a couple of months ago seem to be gone, like my brain changed.

I struggle to feel the same level of joy and excitement as before, it doesn't matter if I win or lose. Like I've become dead inside. Everything starts looking pointless to me, even gambling.

Yet I still feel the urge to sometimes play. But kinda feels like a chore now, almost like I'm forced to do it.

At least I somehow managed for now to not keep too much money in my bank account, every time I got an amount transferred to my cards I literally run to the ATM to get cash.

I hate having cash but I decided for now that is the only way to minimise gambling online as that fucking destroyed me. Money in my bank means danger!

Now lets get back to talking about emotions again. After an insane month I recently had, gambling almost non stop - most of the time not sober, including gambling drunk and high on stimulants.

I started that month with ~6-7k euro winnings and ended losing it all plus all my money and a 10k debt. That shit fucked me up good, devoured me, consumed my sanity, made me empty, numb, not being able to feel as before.

I'm fucking scared that I may not go back to normal. I don't even think my main problem are the losses and the 10k debt I now have, I'm afraid about the way I feel, nothing I've experienced before.

As a person who's unfortunately battling a few other addictions like drinking and stimulants abuse (mainly meth) I can very much relate my gambling addiction (online slots) to the rest.

With time I stopped feeling any joy from drinking and getting high, yet I struggle to completely quit and still do it. It's absolutely the same with slots - I started hating playing, I don't feel the same adrenaline and dopamine rush as I did, yet I keep getting back to it.

An absolute maddness I'd say, an illness. I just don't feel the same anymore, I think I'm damaged. I want to get back to normal again so fucking much. I don't wish anyone to go trough all this!

28 male I just lost so much $ gambling on the UFC I am down to my last $900 no car no credit still live with my parents this is absolutely insanity why did I waste so much time? If I didn’t gamble impulsively I would have so much money saved I would be in such a great position while still in my 20s but now it’s looking like I gotta wait till my 30s to finally live and hopefully be free I just dk why I reached this point. I’m working 2 jobs I woke up today with my back hurting my knee from all the standing I do between both of my jobs. Man god why have you let this demon take over me? Why am I in so much pain inside and out? Idk where my life is headed I need a second wind feel like I’ve lost my spark. Idk anymore. If you guys are young quit now. I started late and it has ruined me. So much potential am I’m wasting it I could have put this money in a school to learn a skill fuck man.

It’s my 7th day (one full week) of quitting online gambling! 🙏🏻❤️
Actually, earlier, I heard that little voice in my head telling me to gamble again, but I fought it so hard. It’s really difficult, but I know that someday, all of this will be worth it.
My mood has been so much better since I stopped gambling, and I’ve been getting so many new ideas for my business. It feels good to have a clearer mind and to start thinking about my future again.
I will truly do my very best to quit gambling for good. I know it won’t always be easy, but I’m determined to break this cycle and never go back to the life I had before.
With the help of the Holy Spirit, I pray for strength, guidance, and the courage to keep going. 🙏🏻
One day at a time. One battle at a time. 🤍

[Posted with moderator approval.]

Hi everyone,

I’m exploring an idea for a tool where you deposit money and it stays locked until a date you choose. It’s paid back in one go or in equal amounts on set days, and can’t be withdrawn early. The aim is to protect money you need, like rent, bills and savings, from urges.

I’d like to learn from people who know this firsthand:

1. What have you done to keep money out of your own reach, and did it work? For example, someone holding your card, a separate bank, cash with family. Did you ever find a way around it?
2. What would make a tool like this helpful, or harmful?

Thank you!

Hey guys. I am Radu, a psychologist who also struggled with gambling addiction (sports betting), and wanted to share a recent clip I made on the topic, because for me this was one of the most difficult things to wrap my head around.

It's so difficult to quit when we are under the impression that the very thing which is ruining us is also the only chance for salvation. And it's difficult to accept it's not - because it often makes sense. But it's the addiction speaking.

If we have debt, we may think gambling is the only way out ... but we've been telling ourselves this for months ... and the debt is still there, and maybe more debt on top of it ... when if we had more patience and tolerance to discomfort, we would have probably raised the money by this point.

I had to drill this thinking into my brain every time I had the urge ... until my brain finally understood. Tell yourself this every time you feel like gambling.

It is not easy to break this cycle, to accept what happened ... but we as gamblers actually have incredible tolerance to discomfort, always faking happiness when we are in fact completely broken ... but we use that tolerance in service of the addiction instead of using it for our benefit.

I hope you find the video useful and if you are interested in more content on addictions, anxiety and stuff like this, please subscribe. ♥️

I am doing my best to grow my channel and reach as many people as I can, because I believe I can genuinely help ... as somebody who is not just a psychologist, but also went through these things. 🙏

I can win money even if win in a matter of days I will lose it all . But every time I relapse gambling hijacks my brain I can never stop playing the right time . I constantly close and reopen the app . Every time you tell your self that you will gamble not so much , think twice or three or four times . REMEMBER with gambling you may lose everything , when the brain casually want it . And also the sad part is that my car got robbed yesterday , my jacket got stolen

Days until debt free: 250 days

Also renewed my self exclusion today bec i shouldnt be complacent

I have my first therapy appointment today - have never gone to therapy, but it was a request from my fiancée after losing $33K the last two weeks, much on credit.

Urges are strong today.

One day at a time.

So I just had some kind of freeing thought today ; Yesterday I won quite a lot of money sportbetting, only to tilt after a small loss, and ending up losing everything in minutes. I realised I just can't handle that feeling of losing, even a small amount, because I just want to get back to the original amount I had. However, losing is litteraly the biggest part of gambling, so what is the point ? If every loss brings that feeling, and it will always eventually happen, then why continue ? Why continue If I can't handle the biggest part of gambling ? Anyways, I thought maybe this could also help some of you, it looks very simple put like that but I feel like this is the view I needed to stop convincing myself betting is the way to get money and pay back any debts (from..betting lol)

Gamban beta doesn’t work

My last relapse started in early October 2024 and lasted for 5 months. I had managed to stay clean for 645 days before that. It ended on 03 March 2025 and since then I am away from all forms of gambling with only exception being a buy of an ETF in April this year that profited 1K approx but made me feel like gambling (daily ups and downs, anxiety, etc) and a stock that I bought earlier this month that posted 300 USD approx and again made me feel like gambling.

I decided to never buy a stock again in my life or any other asset that has a daily chart. I will only get involved with bonds, savings, real estate and business.

My grandfather made it fine without him having bought any stock in his entire life

The same with my father

I really wonder what the fuck is that drives me to even look at buying stocks and look for "easy" ways to make money. I would understand if I was someone lazy that tries to make money without working, but instead I am really hard working person since kid, so it doesn't make sense at all.

So Day 600 for me today

I will never issue a credit card for the rest of my life

I will never buy a stock for the rest of my life

I will never gamble for the rest of my life

Amen

I wish a great weekend to everyone. Stay strong!

After being 1 month clean, I relapsed. A colleague showed his winning on polycards.gg, registered an account and tried. Never pulled any good cards. End up losing 100bucks. This is dumb how i just went back into gambling and pulling cards.

Day 0 again

I never thought I’d be someone that relapsed so many times, I almost lost once every 2 months or so since I started in April, not big amount like the beginning but 300-500$ every time, literally feel sick right now i couldn’t afford to lose another 450 like this right now

I’e probably lost around 5k if I count everything

I don’t even have no urge to gamble and sometimes I’ll get an ad for something and then next thing you know I’m typing this.

I’m so so so tired to be in this situation when I thought I had kicked it

Hi

I am 42. I am getting too old for it but I’ve had so many gambling losses over the years. I actually like poker sometimes win sometimes break even. Finished a 6 hour poker session yesterday and then I clicked on the casino page.

I thought just have 3 or 4 spins turned into a ridiculous session where it was loss after loss. Made some back to be only 100 down that was the time to quit but was intoxicated. Anyway more gambling and most everything the 500 I had on the site and the next 500 chasing. It actually gets worse every time I have no control of slots. Anyway I didn’t sleep and thoughts of suicide come into my mind. I just want at least 500 back to feel better.

To make the long story short, I’ve been gambling for 4–5 years, and 35 days ago, I finally broke the cycle.
Money-wise, things have changed a little. I’m still in debt, and I still have a long way to go. But at least, for the first time in years, I actually have money left. Money that I didn’t gamble away.
The biggest difference, however, is in my mental health. I used to be nervous, angry and depressed all the time.
Since quitting, I feel a huge difference. I finally have some peace of mind, even though my problems are still there and I haven’t managed to fix everything.
The truth is, you can’t solve five years’ worth of problems in just one month. I know I still have a long way to go, especially financially, but at least I’m moving in the right direction.
It’s only been 35 days, but I can already see the difference. And honestly, feeling at peace again is worth so much more than I expected.

23M: this goes back to around 2022 when I was freshly legal gambling age and got introduced to it through friends/media. It started off pretty harmless for about 2 years just doing $5 bets here and there and when I lost a bit I could easily take a month break etc. and then 2024 it started to spiral a bit those $5 bets turned into $50. Fast forward to 2025/2026 I’ve probably gone 3 days without gambling in the past 2 years. Drained every dollar I’ve saved from working and feel hopeless. It’s just an endless spiral of getting paid and either blowing it all away or making some back just to lose it all before the next pay cycle. I know this is so bad for me and I’m self aware that’ll it only get worse and I’ll never be able to have a good financially stable life unless I quit for good. I just can’t seem to pull the plug and quit. The thought of just banning myself and quitting genuinely scares me. I’m so sucked in and addicted to this problem that I can’t even imagine going a few weeks without it.

I am one of those losers. 3 years trying to curb this addiction that started at a ripe age of 19 only to keep bringing myself back and going deep in the hole again. gambling was my drug of choice. ya go up, ya go down, but then you go further then you have ever been before and you end back in the same place where ya started, with nothing. the only way things will look better for any of us is if we resist our temptations and compulsive behaviour. for me that has been a difficult situation as the feeling of needing to make a lil extra then what you have turns into a spiral within a matter of minutes. the casinos hold you by a chokehold every time you return with a brand new pay check, it feels like every time im just crashing and burning and im all out of fuel to put in the fire. unfortunately casinos will likely be open till the end of time and i must make use of the short time on earth that i have been given. life is a blessing and a curse at the same time but we all have demons we have to defend ourselves from, the casino is one of them. this is only my story but there are a lot of people who have likely experienced just the same. quit giving these crooks your hard earned money, they only want it to benefit their shareholders not you. the only upside of all of this is a lesson and i learnt my lesson the hard way. i hope everyone in here is able to resist every single urge and keep striving for something they actually have a chance then “rolling the dice” or “taking their luck” because there is millions of better things you could be doing then gambling. i want my peaceful nights back, i want the financial struggles long gone, i want the life i had before these expensive dopamine hits, i want the person i was before i ever gambled but i have some changes i have to make now if i want to change. good luck to you all on your recovery journeys people, you’re stronger then me.

It’s been about a week since my worst gambling session losing $10k in a single day. About 35k lifetime. My parents finally found out after they noticed all the charges on my credit card. I confessed everything. They were extremely disappointed but they didn’t yell at me.

Honestly the biggest wake up call I had. They now restricted my credit cards to not allow gambling related deposits. I was spending more time with my family and they made sure I was no longer alone in my room to get those temptations.

Fast forward to today, I relapsed after one week clean when I got in bed and got tempted by those apps. Despite all the efforts and promises and trust they had in me I did it yet again. Since I couldn’t use my credit card I used my PayPal account. Lost everything in there as well which was about $2k.

Now my debit card and PayPal are emptied out. I have credit card debt, a line of credit and student loans to pay off. I don’t know what got into me. When I was up money I still didn’t feel happy. I felt shame for relapsing. When I was down money I felt empty. Betting bigger and bigger to make it back until it was all gone.

The last words my dad told me replayed in my head. He told me he will help me. He told me how our financial situation looked very bad and he couldn’t bail me out if this happened again. He set barriers to help me. I looked him in the eyes with tears not to do it again. How did I end up back in this situation after all that… it’s shameless and disrespectful what I done after that talk. Nothing in my life compares to how devastating this addiction is.