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[sportsbetpunk WANTED $24 Outlaw]

This is not a post to gain sympathy or a warning or me telling you what to do. I just thought it could be of interest to this community.

My first memories of gambling are in the seaside arcades, Cleethorpes more specifically. On Fitties caravan site (now Thorpe Park) there was an old slot hut, I remember a Joker game with £1 jackpot that me and my Dad used to play. My Dad was a gambler, Both my Grandad’s were big gamblers, (one was arrested by the C.I.D in a bookies betting scam) and I think Gambling is in the DNA somewhere because I caught the bug very young.

Fast forward to 16 (2000 ish) when I first started going to the pubs, 25p a play £25 jackpots. I was never balls deep in those days but I liked a punt, one night I did £60 in one which didn’t leave me money for a beer.

When I was 18 I discovered you could gamble on the internet a new website Bet 365 came up in my search. I registered deposited £10 and withdrew it, I had no idea what I was doing and it scared me.

When I was 20 I landed my first ‘real’ job, I then forayed back in to the world of online gambling when the adverts and sports sponsorship deals started. I lived near a Coral bookmakers but I was just a Lazy shit and couldn’t be arsed to walk there.

My first self-exclusion was from Bet 365, I lost £120 on a credit card playing Blackjack and I was gutted, couldn’t even speak to my parents about it. I joined SkyBet shortly after and set a £20 a day limit, horses and football. It was deposited and lost every single day 70% of my wage was going on online gambling and I loved it. I then progressed into what I call the rock and roll years 21 – 25 I must have joined a hundred online casino and bookmakers, lost a shitload then self excluded, most of my massive losses were coming when I was bladdered so sometimes i’d wake up having a vague recollection of gambling and then check my bank account or credit card or overdraft and die inside. Some nights it was £100 some £300. I ran up £12,000 worth of Debt in this period.

Then the worst thing happened, I met my future wife (that was a joke) we met in 2010 and married in 2012. She knew I gambled, she let me Gamble in her name she had no idea the amount of money I was pissing away. She also thought I’d run my debts up by reckless spending (rather than gambling). I came clean to her after a short period of time and she was very understanding, I set limits and things were fine so she thought.

Over the first 6 years of our marriage I gambled in secret online and in the bookies, below are some of the low points from that time;

-Lost £900 in savings on a FOBT (told my wife I had loaned the money to my Dad (what a cock)

-Had several loans to consolidate gambling debt (and then ran up more debt)

-Lost £500 from our wedding account on FOBT’s

-Created a Bet365 account in a false name with the wrong address and deposited (why in the world)

-Lost hundreds a month online and made up excuses to the wife why we were skint

-lost £3000 from our joint overdraft Christmas eve 2013, whilst pissed on Blackjack (this one hurts the most) I had suicidal thoughts and had to sort another loan on Christmas pissing day. It still hurts.to this day

I came clean to my wife about it all 2 years ago, just after our daughter was born. I knew I couldn’t control it and I didn’t want to drag them all into the shit with me. By then I’d taken all the debts into my name and shortly after I was made insolvent. My wife has been absolutely amazing as have Stepchange who supported me, they knew all my debts were gambling related and were not judgemental.

Last year I signed up to both GAMSTOP (thank you bandit for the link) and MOSES. Using both of these I haven’t been able to place a bet online or in my local bookmaker. I’m a year clear of any big deposits. Don’t get me wrong I’ll have a punt on the \blueprint in the pub and get my Dad to get me some football slips so I can have a tenner on the odd Saturday.

But with MOSES and GAMSTOP that temptation to do my bollocks when drunk or otherwise is gone and i’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Without sounding too much like a cock I realise I was living under a dark cloud for 15 years, one step away from losing it all or worse losing myself. (that sounded very cock like)

Do you know what the scary thing is after all this is? I still love Gambling. I love watching people online, I love playing within reason and I love free playing. I watch the horses with no money on them.

This is the first time I’ve ever wrote this down. Don’t think i’m preaching, do whatever gets you off, just thought it’d be nice to share. If you have any questions on MOSES, GAMSTOP or STEPCHANGE I’d be happy to answer them.

[Haz40 WANTED $1,167 Outlaw]

Mine was in cleggy too pal. Started about the age of 7 or 8 over thirty years ago. I think the arcade was called Savoy used to go in.

[sportsbetpunk WANTED $24 Outlaw]

Always just seemed a normal part of the holiday, as I got older looked forward to the slots the most of all. Still like Cleggy every now and again. Still some decent ones on the front

[Haz40 WANTED $1,167 Outlaw]

Yeah I go once in a while even if it’s just to play red gamings line up 10p play £5 jackpot it’s in arcade pier side. Years ago id be given a quid ( mid 80’s) to play with. If I played arcade games it could last couple of hours playing hyper sports green beret or kung fu master but if on slots it would go in rat race 2p a go £1.50 and last 10 minutes

[sportsbetpunk WANTED $24 Outlaw]

Haz40 wrote:

Yeah I go once in a while even if it’s just to play red gamings line up 10p play £5 jackpot it’s in arcade pier side. Years ago id be given a quid ( mid 80’s) to play with. If I played arcade games it could last couple of hours playing hyper sports green beret or kung fu master but if on slots it would go in rat race 2p a go £1.50 and last 10 minutes

Slots were always a big draw, I remember the horse or race car one 10p a go with the outsider paying £2 I think. I once went to the camp shop for my mum and put the change in there without her permission. Was bricking myself.

[Haz40 WANTED $1,167 Outlaw]

2 quid was the pink horse. 10p was the red lol

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