My problems with online and offline gambling

geordiecolin

Banned for being a troll and disrespecting admin
PABnononaccred
Joined
Jun 5, 2015
Location
Near Newcastle
I will be brutally honest with my experiences in here. I have been an addict,controlled and uncontrolled since I was a child.

I am prepared to talk about it if you want to listen or contribute? :eek2: :D
 
OK so I will start this. Yes. Big, ugly part of my life that no one knows anything about. Family or friends have no idea. I have a separate account, separate ecopayz, separate instadebit etc etc.

I hate being like this but it is what it is. I do not go nuts and lose a lot of money that is not my own. I keep the separate account so that it does not affect my family. I know I will never win the big one so just being able to have a wee bit of entertainment for a wee bit of funds is good for me! Somehow it keeps funding itself.

Good post.
 
Everyone who knows me knows I love to gamble...I wrote an entire play on addiction to gambling...this is how I came upon the world of online gambling...I was doing "research"....and I've said it before....the best and the worst thing that happened was I won a lot of money during my research...

My problem with online gambling is that it's very accessible....and for people like me who have a tendency to get addicted to things very quickly it's too easy....I am a gambling junkie....and sometimes I have control and sometimes I don't...most of the time I am in control....but then there are those nights when all goes to hell and well....all my self control goes out the window....

.....a couple of people know I gamble online....however I don't really talk about it....my mom along with a bunch of other friends and colleagues did ask after they saw the play if I had a problem...if that was my story....

I don't think I do....

Wah....
 
31 years of gambling, off and online. Cumulatively, more than 1Mio EUR given to "charity", most of that in the first 20 years.

The last 13odd years i stopped offline, last proper visit to B&M was 2003 with another short one in 2007 when i had to go to Las Vegas for a 3-day conference.

So i am all ears Colin, plenty to talk about.
 
Wow, this will be an interesting thread to read.

When I was younger I think I came close to an addiction to the slots in the local pool center but for some reason I managed to get away from that and actually spent more time and money playing snooker. Right now I can honestly say I am totally in control and I play on a completely separate account with a pretty low frequency. Good friends of mine know I play and that is a good thing for me as they see I am doing fine.

I can imagine it can be tough if you really lose yourself in it. Did have a friend who went completely off track because of an addiction and that is a terrible and emotional thing.
 
Much the same as you, Colin.

Started off on slot machines many many years back as a kid (I blame my nan, many static caravan holidays with grand parents ending up down the arcades!) and many stupid hours down pubs etc playing them later in life when I started work. Used to play Black Jack at Ladbrokes a few years back, but only logging on once every 6 months and ended up in profit over the time of doing this.

Now, all but given up on arcade/pub fruit machines and enjoy (yes, I do enjoy but also feel a little addicted to) online slots. This has really become a 'problem' over the last 3 years or so since I had to give up work for family/illness problems. Boredom sets in and end up playing online slots to pass the time.

I would like to think it is controlled as I have deposit limits in place and can happily make a withdrawal without having to play through until my balance is lost. However, if I win/withdraw, I normally find I log back in during the following couple of days and go daft, thinking I have spare cash to play with and blow a load more money which results in a take a break or SE being put in place as a knee jerk reaction. Certainly more controlled of late and have managed to pay off a fair bit off credit cards in last few months.

Do I have a problem? I honestly don't know! I can enjoy the games, make withdrawals and set deposit limits, but equally get frustrated if I want to play somewhere and can't because I'm up to the limit or on a TAB period, but that is probably because I am bored.

Certainly no plans to give up in near future, but would do if I ever felt it was seriously out of control. I think we all have moments of weakness and lose more than we should, just depends how we bounce back and deal with it I suppose.

I also used to do much bigger bets, but now am more than happy with 30p and 60p wagers.
 
To some extent we all have a gambling addiction, ignoring that fact is just being in denial. The difference being how we think we are managing this addiction and how succesful that method is. Colin's come up and stated he has no control left which is where the problems kick in and gambling has encroached into his personal life.

I shunned slots and only got onto them by accident myself. I had some spare funds from the National Lottery site and noticed this colourful array of games vying for my attention. So I played a couple, was doing all weird things like playing 15 lines (probably not such a bad idea in hindsight) and winning. I actually thought I had discovered some cash cow as these games were paying out pretty well.

Four years later I've yet to hit a 'big one' but do still spend more of my disposable income than I'd like. I've had some decent cashouts, sometimes from nothing, reversed to high heaven and still have a fondness for slots. I tend to share my wins with my partner more than my losses of course, but like I said it's always my disposable income. She thinks I'm really 'good' at slots which is amusing to me of course.

I do draw the line and don't venture into using utility bills and household money to satisfy my gambling lust. Thankfully the lines are still pretty clear and I hope it remains that way, but I don't kid myself into thinking that I'm not addicted in some form.

Just my £0.02 contribution :thumbsup:
 
15 years (almost half my life) spent gambling... up until two years ago I just did a few horses a week small bets and maybe a fit of fotball, it was not a huge part of my life but in the last 2 years it has gotten worse - I gamble too much that's for sure.

To the OP I think of course we should be able to talk about it, there is a dark side to gambling... A very good friend of mine built up an online sports betting account from a £50 double to £34,000 in the space of two months, a great run of luck but he was out of control putting £1500 bets on football matches that he hadn't even looked into. Anyway in the end it took him 2 days for the £34,000 to disappear - and he's not a rich guy, it would have been more than a years income to him.. so that was really shocking for me to be honest.
 
To some extent we all have a gambling addiction, ignoring that fact is just being in denial. The difference being how we think we are managing this addiction and how succesful that method is. Colin's come up and stated he has no control left which is where the problems kick in and gambling has encroached into his personal life.

I shunned slots and only got onto them by accident myself. I had some spare funds from the National Lottery site and noticed this colourful array of games vying for my attention. So I played a couple, was doing all weird things like playing 15 lines (probably not such a bad idea in hindsight) and winning. I actually thought I had discovered some cash cow as these games were paying out pretty well.

Four years later I've yet to hit a 'big one' but do still spend more of my disposable income than I'd like. I've had some decent cashouts, sometimes from nothing, reversed to high heaven and still have a fondness for slots. I tend to share my wins with my partner more than my losses of course, but like I said it's always my disposable income. She thinks I'm really 'good' at slots which is amusing to me of course.

I do draw the line and don't venture into using utility bills and household money to satisfy my gambling lust. Thankfully the lines are still pretty clear and I hope it remains that way, but I don't kid myself into thinking that I'm not addicted in some form.

Just my £0.02 contribution :thumbsup:

I would say I am in almost exactly this kind of situation (minus the beautiful partner :( ).. got into video slots by accident, well I was enticed onto FOBTs by a staff member of Corals (which I think is totally immoral) whereas I had only done sports betting beforehand. When I get my wages I pay me rent and essentials but I don't have any savings really due to my gambling - but then again I never had savings, whether down to drink, partying, buying too much clothes.. gambling is just another vice
 
I would say I am in almost exactly this kind of situation (minus the beautiful partner :( ).. got into video slots by accident, well I was enticed onto FOBTs by a staff member of Corals (which I think is totally immoral) whereas I had only done sports betting beforehand. When I get my wages I pay me rent and essentials but I don't have any savings really due to my gambling - but then again I never had savings, whether down to drink, partying, buying too much clothes.. gambling is just another vice

I never said she was beautiful :(
 
Could have some good, interesting and educational stories to share also :)

Been gambling of one form or another since I was 18 and am now 44, so either I will come across as very experienced or a total mug, your call (discuss the decision via PM please :oops:)

Started as many of us do on ye olde slots back in the arcades when jackpot was £2 cash and £4 tokens, enjoying the increase to £4.80, £6.00, £8.00 before they changed to £10.00 all cash JP's WOW!

Have worked and played in B&M casinos, bet of horse, footy, dogs etc.

Played Black Jack, roulette, poker and had mixed results of all.

When I first 'started out' (late teens, early 20's) I did almost lose control for a brief period, never doing anything illegal to get funds to gamble but sailing pretty darn close on the odd occasion.

Luckily for me I had strict(ish) parenting which helped get me back on the rails pretty sharpish and after going on the wagon for a while, returned to gambling with much better control.

These days I feel 90% in control, I have a weekly budget which never changes for any reason unless I hit a winning roll then I will have the odd extra session but still never change playing strategy (ie: bigger bets etc) never change deposit amounts or chase losses.

I love an online slotting session as much as the next man but also I like having money in my pocket so after my budget is shot, I won't go giving the bastards any more :p as bored as I get, that being said online slotting is really starting to bore me now which also helps with the self control side of things.

As I say some great stories to share for years of gambling experience, some humorous, some close shaves, including threats to physical safety and some mad crazy endeavours.

Maybe we could use this thread to share some and as well as having a trip down memory lane, learn from each other.

Your call :thumbsup:
 
I'm 28, been gambling since i was 13, always on sports betting mostly horse racing for many years, adapted to boxing and odd bit of football, but i took btting serious, spent mny years learning about horses and how they act on different conditions. I found it a hobby and interested to study form. When i was 13 i would get like £5 every so often and do 50p wins on all the live races on channel and watch them excited :oops:

In terms of addiction i don't feel addicted and can go long spells without gambling, in terms of slots I have always mocked people who played it in the past, but until 2 years ago I had never touched one. To be honest i didn't understand them either, I remember losing £10 on FOBT in betfred shop and getting annoyed it's fixed. Then i had online friend who was a addict to slots and after talking for ages with him out of interest i played odd time for free.

2 years on, I will gamble the odd £10 or £20 which at the moment I can't afford and regret. I control what I lose but I still have the moments I will chase but in small sums.

Do I enjoy slots? Probably not anymore it bores me, but of course the thrill of winning I enjoy and we all dream of landing a big win(in the thousands), like those DOA screenshots, if i win few pounds i'll chase it on DOA nowadays. Of course like most I will never hit it.

In past I had alot of money free but didn't gamble as much, now I have little money I tend to gamble more but atm I'm going through a spell of mostly playing free spins and not depositing.

Like most though boredom is what makes me gamble.
 
Yup- got the taste for gambling as a child as I didn't like rides at the seaside on the pier. Mum used to give me money to play the 2p pusher machines whilst everyone else went on rides. Loved them. Then at 18 someone introduced me to fruities and that was that. Played them all the time as a student and couldn't relax in a pub if one was near. Used to take all my cash wages and put it straight in.

I remember the times around 20 years ago when I used to get the tube on my own down to the slot arcade. When my cash ran out I would put a chair in front of the machine and run across the road to the cash point. Once I was so tense that I accidentally snapped my debit card in my hand on the way to the machine! If I lost at the arcade I would get the bus home. If I won it would be a taxi!

Been playing online slots and bingo since 2002. Vowed to stop many times. Had a couple of bigish wins for a low roller (bet up to £1 regardless of bankroll except one time where I got a bonus o £10 and withdrew £1200 and still had £600 to play with. Then it went to up £2 lol.

Joined too many casinos. Put deposit limits in place at all of them and taken a break or SE from a couple.
Next goal is to narrow it down to 3 or 4 only. Video slots is my personal fave.
 
To some extent we all have a gambling addiction, ignoring that fact is just being in denial. The difference being how we think we are managing this addiction and how succesful that method is. Colin's come up and stated he has no control left which is where the problems kick in and gambling has encroached into his personal life.

I shunned slots and only got onto them by accident myself. I had some spare funds from the National Lottery site and noticed this colourful array of games vying for my attention. So I played a couple, was doing all weird things like playing 15 lines (probably not such a bad idea in hindsight) and winning. I actually thought I had discovered some cash cow as these games were paying out pretty well.

Four years later I've yet to hit a 'big one' but do still spend more of my disposable income than I'd like. I've had some decent cashouts, sometimes from nothing, reversed to high heaven and still have a fondness for slots. I tend to share my wins with my partner more than my losses of course, but like I said it's always my disposable income. She thinks I'm really 'good' at slots which is amusing to me of course.

I do draw the line and don't venture into using utility bills and household money to satisfy my gambling lust. Thankfully the lines are still pretty clear and I hope it remains that way, but I don't kid myself into thinking that I'm not addicted in some form.

Just my £0.02 contribution :thumbsup:

This is spot on...
 
Started gambling with 16. Was addicted with 22. Had a good friend who helped me in these times. Now I`m 45, like to play but never feel an addiction to gamble.

I lost a lot of money with gambling but I lost more with smoking.

I stop when I lose and I stop when I win. So my 100 euros per month are enough to satisfy my gambling demons.
 
After 20 years of trying, I finally got completely clean and sober at the age of 55. I am now 57.

My last round of debauchery was drinking gallons of beer and gambling online. When I decided I'd had enough, I realized the two went hand in hand so I had to quit both at once. It was very difficult.

This past January I decided in my infinite wisdom to try i-gaming sober. I have dropped 15,000 dollars since then. I am damn lucky I did not drink over it.


Colin, right now it has been 3 weeks since my last deposit
. Here are some things that led to my decision to quit:

-I realized that it was not fun anymore - I was playing to recover my losses.

-The huge mess RTG casinos have had with payouts, and their circular and evasive way of dealing with it.

-I read through general T&C's of several online casinos and thought, "F** these people." (I'll not get in to that right now.)

-I started to monitor responses to complaints on this forum very closely and began to ask myself, "Cui Bono?"

The final decision came when I read this comment by that nice lady Jasmine :) :

"I play to play not play to win."

That simple statement changed my whole way of looking at online gambling and forced me to have some very tough discussions with myself.

Remember, casino operators have one goal, and one goal only - to transfer your money into their pockets. All their talk of fair play, integrity, accredited/non-accredited, RNG/RTP/WTF-ever is just that; Talk. Bullshit.

As it stands, my apartment is clean. I restrung my guitars and have resumed songwriting. My g/f isn't pissed at me. My dog isn't pissed at me. My bank account has stabilized.

I am cautious NOT to say, "I've quit gambling." I would say it as, "I'm not gambling right now."

Please please PLEASE, sit down and have an honest talk with yourself.

GL. P.M. me anytime.

"Play to play, not play to win"
You changed my life Jazzy.
 
One other thing from my part: I have the feeling that sports betting is more accepted than casino. If I tell friends that I bet on football, they all find that ok and sometimes pretty cool. And quite a few of my friends also bet on football. Casino is another thing and is more associated with addiction maybe also because it is less a group thing to talk about and more individual?
 
One other thing from my part: I have the feeling that sports betting is more accepted than casino. If I tell friends that I bet on football, they all find that ok and sometimes pretty cool. And quite a few of my friends also bet on football. Casino is another thing and is more associated with addiction maybe also because it is less a group thing to talk about and more individual?

Hi Timmy..

Good point, because any way you slice it, gambling is an extremely selfish activity. I have shied away from discussing it with anybody because, as was earlier mentioned by another poster, it is my little "secret."

I found myself lying about how much I've lost, how much I've been playing etc. because deep down, I know that it is not a noble activity. I have tried to fool myself with rationalizations about how, if I won, I would help out other folks financially - g/f, family members, friends having a tough time in this economy.

I was just bullshitting myself. It was all about ME, and how much *I* could win, and how *I* got the rush.

The people in my life who have their lives together and are reasonably happy and well-adjusted - that is, the people I admire the most (and am a little jealous of), hold that gambling in any form is absolutely foolish. They view i-gaming in particular as something along the lines of the ol' Nigerian lottery...heh. So obviously I'm going to want to hide my gambling from them in fear of what they would think of me.

EXACTLY the same behavior that any alcoholic or drug addict exhibits.

I don't have anything to hide anymore and what a relief that is. Anytime I am tempted, I get on this forum and read all the problems folks are having. It is (this forum) a huge help to me.

I have seen advice given to folks to stay away from the forum because it will serve as a sort of trigger. That is fine, but for me, I like to look the problem right in the face and this forum allows me to do that.

I may be an argumentative, loud-mouth d**k and tend to point rash, paranoid fingers at everything and everyone, and yes, I reserve the right to question the veracity of anything posted by anybody, BUT, the decision to play or not play is ultimately MINE and I have to take responsibility for that.

Plus, well...I'm just kinda weird...:p
 
Well my story is rather short and for me still quite painful.

Due to my gambling habit/addiction i went from an A+ student, already accepted to a special college for students with very high IQ only, from solving at the age of 15/16 the most complex mathematical calculations/equations in a group of scientists --> to being a sales man, a bloody rep :rolleyes:

'nuff said! :oops:
 

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