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[Bamboozler WANTED $23 Outlaw]

I must admit I like to gamble, mostly on poker, and more recently on some slots. My gambling on slots is funded only by my poker winnings and a strict bankroll that I keep really separate from my other money.

My husband never gambles at all and cannot understand the attraction. I only found out the other day that his best friend had become a gambling addict when he was working for a bank and ended up getting fired because he went to a casino and wrote loads of cheques in the casino. The next morning he was called into the manager’s office and suspended from work because he was so overdrawn. After a few weeks he was fired.

He is a lovely guy and as honest and hard working as you could ever imagine. I was playing slots and they both came in and my husband asked to speak to me in private and asked me to turn our computers off whilst we had company. He only told me why afterwards. He was genuinely  frightened that his friend would be put under temptation again despite the fact that the gambling was over fifteen years ago.

This set me to thinking as to whether being a gambling addict is a lifelong condition or not and if you become addicted whether that fatal urge to gamble is ever really under control.

I play for fun and always know how much Ihave won or lost and feel that i am always totally in control. It is similar to having a dispositon that allows me to never tilt whilst playing poker. The whole episode with my husband’s friend has caused me to question whether I could ever become addicted. A year ago I’d never have played a slot at all and it was only by watching some streamers that I ever had the urge to play them. The thing is that i can see my overall bankroll has dropped significantly despite doing well in poker and I would hate to think I am now on a slippery slope.

Has anyone else had similar feelings?

[Biohazard WANTED $675 Outlaw]

I’d say it’s not binary, in the sense that, like any addiction, it’s something that gets worse over prolonged exposure.

A heroin addict will always need more and more heroin to feel that same rush. To say it’s a slippery slope is an understatement!

That being said, I do believe there are plenty of people out there who are able to enjoy a gamble and not be addicted.

Although mine is under control, there is no doubt that I’m addicted. Most members here will be in the same boat.

[backofthenet WANTED $11 Outlaw]

Hard to say I’m not in debt or anything but occasionally I have a mad spend online. I’ve never felt crazy out of control but do regret big losses.  I’ve always been this way and once I have a big loss I’m done for a while. I guess others might keep chasing at that point, but for me once I hit a certain point the attraction to gamble fades.

[Jamie1872 WANTED $6 Outlaw]

I’m pretty much in the enjoy a gamble/addicted bracket. I’m in control of what I’m doing but I enjoy it to much to fully give up.

I went through a bad patch a few years ago. I found it hard to walk away from FOBTS/Slots particularly the fortune spins and almost pushed myself to absolute limit before it would affect my bills. I spent the majority of my disposable income on FOBT when I worked in the City. I bit the bullet and started to track what I was spending on bets including any winnings I had played back.

It shocked me enough that I  stopped going to the bookies and bet purely online with limits. I then found if I didn’t like the look of the football or any horses. I would play the slots and my allowance for the month would disappear and I would open an account on a new site. I would take breaks from others so I didn’t have to many accounts open at one time.

Once Gamstop was available I signed up for 5 years. It was horrible signing up as I enjoy gambling but that’s almost a year in and I’m glad I did.

I purely stick to horses and football in the bookies now and back to the way I worked before keep my winnings in a tin and use that for future bets so I see the money going down when I’m not winning. If the money in the tin gets to a decent will put some in the bank.

I think for me gambling is a mental problem. It can affect anyone but especially if you suffer from boredom gambling creeps in and becomes the habit  you use to break it. It can affect you if you use it as an escape from other problems or if you are competitive and don’t know when to walk away. The slots are designed to draw you in and excite you it works on that part of your brain.

I know that’s a big rant above but look at what I have said and see if you relate to any of it. The fact your worrying about becoming addicted and noticed your bank roll going down is a good thing. It might be an opportunity just now to give it a break for a bit and see the difference in your spending. You could evaluate how your habits have changed.  It could be fine but it could catch it early if it is not. It’s better to be safe than sorry because being addicted is a horrible thing

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