Update so far

[u/Thick-Big-3435]

Hello everyone, I made this post some time ago https://www.reddit.com/r/problemgambling/comments/1thvs2s/again_and_again_and_again/

TLDR: I lost everything I had earned in 2025, saved up, paid off my debts. By March/April 2026, I had lost everything and had several thousand GBP in debt.

How's it been so far?

Not amazing, to be honest...

I am fortunate enough that I didn't keep digging my hole back in April, as I could have easily reached 5 figures in debt. Fortunately, I capped out at £5.5k. This second climb out of my hole is much easier than the first.

I would say I truly started to battle this issue 3 months ago, when I decided to send about 80% of my salary to a family member. To this day, my situation looks like this:

£10k savings

£5k debt

The other 20% I have gambled like clockwork. The only reason why I have £10k set aside is because I don't have access to it. I've taken out payday loans (nothing huge, approximately £300), and I've taken loans from friends just to keep going a little bit more.

I would like to leave some important, self-learned advice to help everyone here. My situation is improving only because of these rules. This has nothing to do with my willpower being strong enough to stop, because I haven't.

Rule 1: Send the majority of what you make to someone you trust. This has to be non-negotiable.

Money is the substance; the casino is the syringe. Unfortunately, the syringe is digital and in your pocket at all times.

Rule 2: If you have debts, make sure your credit cards are not able to make deposits.

If you have an overdraft that can be utilised once you pay some of it off, set up a repayment plan that reduces the overdraft limit as you pay it down.

The goal here is to be able to pay your debts off slowly, while also making sure you can't use these cards to spend on bullshit as you pay them off.

Rule 3: Forget your losses, your close wins, and your wins. Forget it all. Thinking about the past is a common route into relapsing.

Rule 4: Self-exclude from everything. Disable your cards from making payments to crypto sites, casinos, etc. Any physical barrier you can create will make a difference.

Rule 5: Relapses will probably happen. Make sure they aren't painful. Learn to recognise what's happening. Remember what happened when you lost it all last time. If you're able to stop halfway through a deposit, you're making the right step forward.

But do not use the excuse of "oh my bad I relapsed" as a reason to gamble.

I hope you're able to implement some of these rules into your own path. Wishing everyone the best!

[u/Flaky-Leopard2952]

That 'money is the substance, the casino is the syringe' line is the truest thing I've read on here. You figured out the access problem before most people do, and the savings prove the structure works even when willpower doesn't.

[u/Thick-Big-3435 → u/Flaky-Leopard2952]

This is exactly why I thought to leave some advice.

Countless times I see people relapse and destroy all of their progress. Which is why a bullet proof system is needed to keep your money safe. I've taken out loans, re-maxed out overdrafts after making a monthly payment etc, I'm sure you know how it goes when you've lost what you had and start scrambling for whatever scraps you have left just to keep going.

But even then, I still have a surplus of cash that can cover all my current debts and still leave with me money to survive a couple months. I'm going to continue to play the recovery game like this as I do not trust myself or believe I have enough willpower to just stop.

These losses of 400-500 put me through the same emotions as when I was losing 10,000's. The madness will end soon I'm sure of it.