[latburn]

Morning everyone, My name is Pete and I’ve started this new thread after being away from here for quite a while. The truth is, I never really made a decent attempt at recovery before and used the site on and off between relapses. I could have just dug out my old journal from the forum but thought it might be beneficial to leave that where it is as although what I wrote about my experience with gambling was true, the things I wrote about my will to recover and my efforts doing that were for the most part not. I’m back today with the true admission that I have a serious gambling addiction. I may have typed that before on my last journal but now I really do believe it and unlike before I now admit that I can never gamble again. For those who weren’t around when I was last here, basically I have a specific type of problem. I am addicted to slot machines but not just any slots. I can walk past the ones in pubs all day long. The slots I’m powerless over are the type you find in a casino or online casinos. I choose not to but I could if I wanted to have a bet on the Grand National and think nothing more of it regardless of the outcome. Betting on horses does not interest me, nor does any form of card based gambling or roulette. I can play the national lottery without desperately clutching my ticket when the numbers are drawn and can do this once and not bother for months. I cannot remember the last time I actually bought a ticket. So my problem is simply slots and my lack of interest in any other forms of gambling is made up for with them. When I first came to the site a few years ago, I think it was at the point that I’d lost just over £35,000. I had to take out an IVA and I was financially ruined. My problem stopped for a while as I physically no longer had the money to gamble. I swore I’d never do it again and this lasted about 18 months until one day I re-visited an online casino with about £30 and won a jackpot on a slot that enabled me to wipe out my debt. By some fluke I managed to keep the money and saw it as me giving the finger to the casino who in my head had destroyed me. Since then, I became debt free but needles to say my problem remained and my addiction has been funded with cash as opposed to credit…or at least it was up until a few months ago. I’ve now started on that slippery slope again and hopefully I’ve arrived back here just in time. I have built up some debt again but it is under control as long as I stop right now. I want to update this journal daily and would be really glad of your input too. I will do my best again to contribute to the groups and hopefully stop myself from once again destroying my life. Pete

[janey1]

Hi Latburn

Thank you for posting on the Gambling Therapy forum. Things have changed in terms of who Gambling Therapy support since you last accessed the site. As you are a GB resident you are entitled to free online support through the Gamcare website at http://www.gamcare.org.uk/ .

You could also consider residential treatment which you can find out more about by following the below link:

Home

As Gambling Therapy are unable to support people from Great Britain can I suggest that you now copy and paste your post into one of the Gamcare forums where you will receive responses from others in a similar situation to you from all over Great Britain.

You can also access online or face to face group support through Gamblers Anonymous:
http://www.gamblersanonymous.org.uk/

We wish you well in your recovery.

Kind Regards

The Gambling Therapy Team

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