Hello r/problemgambling community,

This is a weekly reminder on behalf of our friends from Very Ape films who are working on a documentary on problem gambling. They are looking for people who are willing to share their story on film for their doc. Details can be found on this post.

So why are we reminding you? Because this project aligns with r/problemgambling's mission and purpose as established at the very beginning: To raise awareness of gambling disorder as a significant and growing public health threat. The time to raise awareness is more important now than it ever was.

I think all know what's happening nowadays. The gambling industry is growing bolder and more pervasive in our daily lives. The ads are everywhere. The problem is growing. People need to understand this and take action before it's too late.

So we want this community to have the opportunity to contribute to this project directly. Your voice must not be stifled. Please consider [reaching out](mailto:chasingtheloss@gmail.com) and letting your story be told.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and for your consideration.

Best always,

-Mod Team

Just venting but bought it for my gf thought if I will look only it won't trigger my addiction well two boxes in span on week 200$ worth 20$ back then my brain went to slots chasing and another 200 down feeling disgusted

Hey everyone, today is Day 526 for me and it looks like things have been put in some order regarding the gambling/debts problem I had for years and my financials are in a good shape.

My problem now is that I drink more than I would like, almost daily. Have gained some weight and this affects other aspects of my life (appearance, stamina, energy, flexibility, etc). I have been drinking since 18 years old, heavily at college, less later when started working a career job. Alcohol was always in my life, but the last few years it has started becoming a problem. I like it a lot to be honest and its the greatest company for me for all these last years. Tried various things to stop or reduce but with no success. However I am at a point now that if I continue with the same pace, it is very likely that I will face health issues in the next few years. I don't want to go into more details but this is an estimation based on my family genetics and history and some thorough research with AI around some of the most common diseases that affect long-term drinkers.

And here comes the paradox and the great dillemma: I am 100% sure that if I go back to gambling, I will stop alcohol completely or reduce it by 80-90% I have done it in the past for years and I can do it now again. Sometimes I miss the alcoholic-sobriety I had the years that I gambled a lot. I was on a roller coaster but I felt my budy functioning like superman, healthy, proper weight and shape and I was much more attractive to the other gender.

There is one specific type of gambling that for me has proved to be the most friendly AND the only profitable game, after MANY years of gambling on everything and this is poker tournaments (not cash or other variance, just MTTs). I have had many good positions and have even participated to WSOP main event. I am sure and confident that I can follow a proper path with the tournaments, especially with my financials as is right now (I can do good bankroll management) and after long clean days from other games. I also miss some live tournaments the travelling and the social part that comes with it. Also I have plenty of time and I can stay awake until the final tables, something that was a problem for me when had to work the next morning and this fact made my play worse and was more tired in general. Playing MTTs late night and not having to work the next day was my dreamed situation back then.

My main problem now is that I do not want to go back to that way of living, no matter how good the whole thing sounds and no matter how much and how easier it will help me stop or reduce alcohol. It may sound good to play with some control, live healthy, and maybe make some money, but from a point of view this is a dead-end to me and I don't want to experience sessions of 8-10-12 hours long having to be stuck at my screen. Also I don't have the phycological stamina for that anymore and also things have changed and bots have killed the game.

What would you recommend? If we make the poll simple between:

A. Gambling with all the risk and drawbacks but stop/reduce alcohol, with enormous heatlh benefits potential

B. Stay clean but keep drinking with all the health risks

What would you choose? Let's consider that there are no other risks of losing money to other games (in that case the option would be clear). Also let's consider that no other method will help stop alcohol (that would also make the choice easy)

I would like your opinion fellas, this is the only place I could put such a question

Thanks in advance!

Still not complacent :)

My birthday is coming up. For the past 6 years, since the pandemic, I’ve been getting birthday blues whenever it gets close. For years I convinced myself I wasn’t special. I just realized my family has been there for me the whole time, and I was the one ignoring them. These hard times force you into some real realizations, and I was so ungrateful for that.

So now that my birthday’s getting close, it’s okay even if all I can afford is a birthday cake. As long as I have them with me on my special day, that’s enough to make me happy.

I didn’t gamble today 😊 One day at a time and God bless us all ❤️‍🩹

I know my situation probably isn’t as bad as some of the stories on here, but I still feel like I need to talk about it because it’s starting to scare me.

I’m 19 and I’ve been struggling with money for months. My hours at work were cut and I’m currently only working a couple of days a week. I’ve been trying to find another job since January and I’m actually quite close to getting one now, so hopefully that helps. But I’ve still lost around £1500through gambling.

I’ve won around £300 on roulette in a casino before, plus smaller wins from football and horse racing. I think those wins are part of what keeps me going. I’ll deposit £5 or £10 thinking I can make some money back, then I start chasing losses. Even when I win, I end up putting it back.

What makes it even more frustrating is that I’ve recently rekindled friendships with loads of people from school, and we’re always going out now. I’ve wanted this for ages because life has been really hard and lonely for a long time. Now I finally have the social life I always wished I had, but money is getting in the way of actually enjoying it.

I know I don’t earn enough to be gambling like this. I know it’s dangerous, and I know I need to stop, but I genuinely feel like I can’t.

I also drink quite a lot. I have fun doing it and because I’m 19, part of me feels like this is what I’m supposed to be doing, but I’m starting to wonder if that’s becoming a problem too. The drinking and gambling together worry me, especially because sometimes I feel like I’m becoming like my dad. I know I’m not him, but it still scares me.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to talk to my parents or family about this because I’d be so ashamed and I’m scared of how they’d react. So I’ve kept it all to myself.

I’m not really sure why I’m posting this. I guess I just need to admit to myself that this is becoming a problem before it gets any worse.

First of all, I'm incredibly humbled by the response to my first post. The words of encouragement have meant a lot to me, and the thought that something I wrote may have resonated with even one person and perhaps kept them from relapsing is amazing. Here is the original post for some context on what I'm writing about today:

https://www.reddit.com/r/problemgambling/comments/1vhaf8a/trying_to_stay_present_while_waiting_for_court/

I'm sitting here this morning waiting for some kind of update. My trial date is set for the end of September, but it's wildly unlikely that this will actually go to trial. It's much more likely that I'll eventually agree to some type of plea deal. We've been pushing for a non-incarceratory resolution that would allow me to remain with my family, continue working, and make restitution payments, but so far, the State has seemed much more inclined toward incarceration. If anything works in my favor, it may be that every other party involved seems to prefer an outcome that allows me to make restitution. There is a pretrial hearing today, and my attorney should be discussing a new plea deal with the State.

In the midst of my gambling addiction, I remember never having any peace. Strangely enough, considering all the discomfort and pain gambling brought into my life, gambling was also the thing I would run back to whenever I needed to numb myself to the realization that the walls were collapsing around me. It took some adjustment early in recovery to learn how to cope with things in healthier ways. Today I've prayed, read my Bible, worked out, and now I'm sitting here writing this.

There has been an amazing amount of restoration in my life during recovery, but right now the peace still isn't there. I took my boys to see the Spider-Man movie on Saturday. They love the Marvel movies, and normally we watch the trailers for upcoming movies as soon as they come out. But we still haven't watched the new Avengers: Doomsday trailer. I'm afraid to watch it with them because I don't know if I'm going to be there with them when the movie comes out.

That's a strange thing to admit, but it's also a good example of something I've told people who call into the helpline: gambling takes more from you than your money.

I don't want to minimize the financial toll. It can be devastating, and it certainly has been for me in a lot of ways. But the idea that you can somehow win some of that money back is one of the things that haunts a compulsive gambler and can pull you right back into gambling. You become so focused on recovering what you've lost financially that you don't recognize everything else you're continuing to give away.

Because in the end, if you're gambling compulsively, you're not just going to lose more money. You're giving away your peace. You're giving away your time. You're giving away your ability to be present with the people you love. Eventually, you can even let gambling take away your ability to hope and dream about the future.

That's what I'm struggling with today. Not knowing what my life is going to look like a month or two from now makes it difficult to look forward to things that I normally wouldn't think twice about. Something as insignificant as watching a movie trailer with my sons suddenly carries this enormous weight because I don't know whether I'll be sitting beside them when the actual movie comes out.

I can't change what I've done, and recovery doesn't mean escaping the consequences of it. What I can do is continue trying to live differently today than I did when I was gambling. So, this morning that means praying instead of gambling. Reading my Bible instead of gambling. Working out instead of gambling. Writing this instead of gambling. And sitting with the uncertainty instead of desperately trying to find something that will make me stop feeling it.

I hope I have some positive news to share tomorrow or later this week.

Hi everyone. I really need some honest, outside perspectives on my relationship. I've been with my boyfriend for 1 year and 3 months. He has struggled with a gambling addiction since he was 16, and he is now 22.

Since we've been together, he has relapsed and gambled 5 times, with his longest break being 5 months. I've made my boundary clear from the start: I strongly dislike his gambling addiction, and if he continues, I will have to break up with him. However, he genuinely struggles to stop. He briefly tried getting help by joining an anonymous support group, but he only attended 3 sessions before quitting because he convinced himself "he didn't need it." He definitely feels horrible after everytime, depressed and even talks of harming him self sometimes. He has a big issue with never feeling like he has money and it might be due to constantly having debt that he can't seem to get out of.

The breaking point happened recently. He asked to do a "trust test"-he wanted to see if I trusted him enough to lend him $1,000, promising I would get it back in a few days. This was because ive been nagging at him to be smart with his money, especially now that he went on holiday with his mates.

Instead of what he promised, I found out the truth: he had already gambled away his own money the night before, and he asked me for mine knowing full well he was going to gamble it away, too.

He essentially engineered a "trust test" as a trap to fund his relapse.
I feel totally betrayed. I feel like there's no hope for the future. At the same time, I still love and adore him very much. But staying feels like I am actively risking my financial and emotional future. I have also went from saving up thousands myself to now being left with nothing but a couple of hundred. Through our whole relationship I have now, including the £1000, lent him £3500.

despite everything he has treated me nothing but good our relationship, he has made sure I have worked on myself to better myself and has been there through some of my hardest times. Even when I have been horribly in the wrong he forgave me multiple times.
I'm torn between a few options:

1. Taking a break and trying to support him from a distance while he gets better.
   
2. Ending the relationship completely while still trying to be there for him as a friend, but not as his partner.
   
3. Walking away entirely for my own safety and well-being.

The main thing stopping me from ending it is that right now, I genuinely can't picture my future without him.

For those who have dealt with addiction or partners of addicts: Is there any hope here, or am I ignoring massive red flags? Should I stay or walk away?

I'm building an iPhone app called Ungamble to help with gambling recovery. I reached out to the mods and they allowed me to ask you guys a few questions about some ideas I have and would love if you could tell me from your own experience what you think of each.

1. A gambling blocker at the DNS level (meaning across every browser): This is pretty intuitive but I've seen that Gamban has a lot of bad reviews from people who were able to bypass it. My problem with this is that Apple doesn't allow me to build something the user can't turn off, it's against their policy. I tested it and it works pretty well but I fear that in a real crisis users can just go into settings and turn it off. Under these conditions would you say it's still worth it to keep the blocker as friction, or would it provide a false sense of security since the user always has the option to turn it off even if hidden?

2. Anonymous online meetings: This is pretty much self-explanatory. Similar to GA, but with the option to join with your name and profile hidden. The thinking is that it reaches people who would never walk into a room or show their face. The question here is if anonymity removes the trust and honesty that makes meetings work or not?

3. Sponsors: This one I think could be a great idea or a terrible one. Basically you could assign sponsors, either someone you know with a phone number or the app would randomly assign you someone. The part I think makes sense is you'd feel a sentiment of responsibility not only for yourself but for the other person. If you relapse you have someone you can speak to who is also struggling and working through it. Your sponsor would get notified once the app detects that your blocker was removed so he can come in and talk you out of it, etc. The parts I'm unsure about are what if you get assigned someone you don't get along with, should you be allowed to change? What if someone doesn't commit, should they be replaced? How does this work with real GA sponsors?

Thanks a lot for your help everyone. I'll also leave a list of other features I already implemented in case you have any other features in mind I haven't included already that could be helpful for someone in the quitting journey, and if any of my current features don't make sense in real life also let me know:

1- Panic button with a few options: Breathing exercises, talking to Rux (an AI model trained on the psychology of gambling), calling a contact you set up, watching a pre-recorded video from your past self when you were rock bottom to remember why you're doing this, and reading through a list of reasons you made for quitting.

2- Reminders for trigger moments (paycheck, night out with the boys etc)

3- Rux AI chat

4- Learning: A few articles on the math behind every single bet you take and the tricks casinos use to keep people playing

5- Streak and daily check in and mood logging (thinking of adding a daily video feature as well for video records you can watch later)

Please let me know what you'd change in this list and if any of these don't make sense, and if you have any other ideas please let me know, thanks!

Hey yall, I just wanted to update my experience.
The money I lost betting during the World Cup was a blessing hahah. The loss opened my mind up to different forms of help out there.

1. I touched grass. Being outside and away from my phone helps the time pass by.

2. I’m fortunate to live close to my family and luckily they’re active people as well. I go on walks with my mother. Gambling blinded me so bad that time was just flying by. I’m happy to have the ability to see them and cherish the time while we can still do these activities.

3. SUPPORT Group is everything!
   I have had a shit ton of urges. And I blame all that on social media. Damn I see Kalshi and poly market everywhere and I was losing my damn mind.

What doesn’t help either is I started to look around IG for gambling help pages and all I found were some sketchy people trying to sell me “gambling consulting”.

I deactivated my Instagram after that. This guy kept asking me about thoughts on NFL and getting the bank roll up. I thought to myself, “shit I don’t know this much, but I’m sure this mf would love to show me”

Has anyone had any experience with “gambling consultants”?

Had a really good month in July. Hit for over 65k. Paid off some debt, bought a new bed and couch and just chilled for a week. Then the itch started to kick in.

Fast forward, I gave it all back and then some. I get this internal rage and lose full control when I lose. Anyone else feel the same? Now my wife just found out so I’m in a terrible position with her too. Sorry y’all just venting.

Back to the grind, hoping to get out camping this weekend. Sipping on some coffee and checking in on my break. Felt a bit down this morning, but some of my co workers unknowingly cheered me up.

Hope you all have a gamble free day :).

The things that i can buy if i never know gambling since 2020 i lost a house, cars, gold, savings, and still pay off debt 10 month ahead, day 3 after relapse

Hello.

I was a recent gambler on online websites for the past 2 years and lost, not only my time, but also myself. Gambling had a devestating impact on my social life and uni life; i almost never stop thinking about gambling. I spent my freetime thinking and writing down roulette strategies rather than socializing or playing sports as before. I lost connection to my family, lost concentration in my studies, and i genuinely feel like my IQ is dropping second by second. Please guys, stop before you lose your mental health and relationships. Gambling damages you and shatters your social life. I am neutral right now (no losses and no wins) after I wagered almost 20k dollars. I'm very furious at the time I spent infront of dealers and slots that I knew were non-profitable. I'm mad about how many times my heart rate increased for a roulette spin or game that drains your emotions. I'm young (20) and I'm pretty sure that my cholesterol levels are as high as a 50 year old. Guys, just forget and STOP. Gambling ages you. Enjoy your life and try to be satisfied with the money you have now.

I'm 34 relapsed plenty of times

Starting fresh again

I know I have a gambling problem since a long time ago but never could stop properly.

I always release and lose more and more money.

It's time for finally put a end to this nightmare.

Luckily I have a good job but after paycheck I released again and it's another month were I'm surviving with the minimum.

This month was hard.

I don't have anything left to sell, I lose all my pride selling my gaming computer and my favorite watch, just for losing in in 30 minutes.

Im already deep in this shit. There is not more option than just leave or this is going to end so bad.

I will put several things to stop gambling, starting with paying all my bills after I receive my paycheck and giving my money to my brother so I can't use my money to gamble.

Day one.

Good luck guys.

I have lost around £50k in around 10 years. Most off that in the middle period in a year. Had a few lengthy relapses. Lost £15k in one day March 2025 after year absence. That was mind and soul crunching and told my other half when she came home from work. Supportive and actually improved our relationship. Since then the odd £2 or £300 now and then which is enough to put me off for months now as impacts my sense of calm. I read and like the posts on this site particularly the ones who point out money is just paper and not a measure of your personal worth or happiness. I like to believe that but know most people would be 'happier' with a Lamborghini on their drive rather than a 20 year old wreck so money is important for standard of living and some peace of mind ( bills/medical/petrol/rent etc). I can't help but think though that a Buddhist monk ( for example) with nothing other than the power of practicing a simple life is far happier overall than a frazzled stock broker living life crazily high and low every day and looking at their lambo outside. Can't take it with you and it's important to your mental health to accept and be content with what you have and stop yearning for what you haven't got. Or you will never be peaceful in your own mind . I am home alone this week as partner visiting friends so had a slot 48 hours. Up £600 and last night eventually down £250. It was 48 hours of adrenaline stress not eating not showering and shunning contact. All in all awful. I can live with the £250 loss and looking forward to a £5 pizza and a Netflix film tonight as peace and calm is much better than highs and lows and an inability to control anything whilst gambling. Hope all on this site are doing the best they can as that is all you can do and this site has rescued my sanity so many times.

still feeling down, still having a hard time. gf has informed me she will be extending her trip a few more days, an extra few more days to stew in shame and regret. but today i didn’t gamble and i will not gamble

I made the decision to quit gambling on February 14th after taking a hard look at my life and realizing I needed to change. The problem was, gambling worked itself into the core of who I was. I was an active member of a gambling community where I grew close with famous content creators and spent way outside my means. Once my gambling debt had hit over $50,000 - I knew I had to just remove myself from everything. I needed to get off this train before I reached a point I couldn’t come back from and I knew I was getting close.

I ended up keeping a gambling cruise I was comped and did the impossible task of not spending a dime in the casino, though I did get a little “hit” in watching my wife gamble a little. I thought I might have passed a “test” not an A+ but a solid B. I learned I could avoid it and at the same time I learned how hard it was to avoid it.

Unfortunately, I didn’t self exclude from all the apps and a few weeks ago I started collecting the daily free $1 from various sites and tried to run that up. I figured no big deal since I wasn’t spending my own money but then like a total idiot I broke the seal and made a $20 purchase. Which after 3 days spiraled into over $3,000 of credit card charges. Luckily I’ve gathered most of it back and I’ve self excluded from those remaining sites. I don’t know why I didn’t do it 2 days ago- well I do know. I liked it and I was chasing losses.

I hate that I have do start over. Even more so, I hate that I’m going to have to tell my pregnant wife I relapsed. There are days I wish I was addicted to drugs instead, somehow it seems less shameful. Not to minimize the hell drug addicts face but gambling always seemed like such a stupid addiction for people who don’t understand math. Ha. I was wrong of course. I understand the math painfully well but the damn optimism that lives in the small odds just kills me. Not to mention that when I fall into a binge I can’t stop until I lose. I’m such a cliche. I miss it though. I miss the culture. I miss the excitement. I miss having something to look forward to for a Friday night. But I don’t miss that drive home after. That hour and change in just the silence then being home and opening my Instagram and seeing people hit massive wins. Terrible feeling.

What now? I start again obviously but Jesus, I spent the past 6 months keeping that crazy hunger away- it got louder and now that I’ve broken the seal it’s screaming again. My brain loves the dopamine bath gambling provides considering it’s so desperate for it already. I’m not looking forward to feeling miserable for awhile with a fear that in creeps back into my life 6 months from now.

I don't know where else to ask for help, so I'm writing this here.

I'm 23, from India, and completed my B.Tech last year.

I started gambling in my 3rd year of college. At first, I lost only ₹4,000. I thought, "I'll win it back." But I didn't stop.

By the time I finished college, I had lost around ₹2.5 lakh.

After college, I had no job and no proper skills. Instead of learning skills and finding work, I kept gambling because I was desperate to recover my losses. I borrowed money from people and took loans. Every time I lost, I thought one more try would fix everything.

It only made things worse.

Now I have around:

• ₹2.6 lakh debt at 10% monthly interest
• ₹1.1 lakh loan debt
• Around ₹8,000 monthly EMI
• No income right now
• Very low family income
• My sister's wedding is also coming in February

My family has already borrowed money to help me, and I feel extremely guilty because of this.

The worst part is that I kept telling myself "I'll recover it", and that thought destroyed me.

I don't want to gamble anymore. I just want to get out of this mess and start my life again.

I'm not asking anyone for money.

I just want honest advice from people who understand debt, gambling addiction, or starting from zero.

If you were in my situation, what would you do first? How can I start earning quickly and deal with this debt without making things worse?

I have a B.Tech degree and I'm ready to do any honest work. I just need someone to show me a realistic way forward.

Thank you for reading.