I’m the same as you and for a long time have been gambling on and off. You’ve had a lot of stress and it can seem like a wonderful release at the time, only to cause you more stress the day after and wondering how you might pay your bills … then you might move things around a little bit and it can seem a little better, but as sure as anything those losses will keep on coming.
The advise on the AA may not be such a bad idea, you will probably find that amongst the group they all use (or have) used alcohol as a coping mechanism at some point and that’s helped to continue their journey
You aren’t alone, the advice here is very good and you clearly want to change from posting.
Moderators: if an establishment is participating in exclusion can it still take money from some who is excluded? Presumably they wouldn’t pay out under those terms?