is this a gambling addiction?

Hello, going to try and keep this as short as possible and hopefully some people can give me some advice if they feel similar.

For the past 2-3 years, I've had what I assume is a gambling addiction (though I struggle to acknowledge it as this). This is prominently from betting on soccer, or football as we non-yanks call it. It isn't the amount of money I've lost or anything since I bet relatively small (10$-20$) but it's the associated feelings of depression, sadness, unfulfilment etc when I don't have a bet on.

backstory: I started putting 'football coupons' or a 'line' on after turning 18, because I love football and follow it all over the world. seriously I could tell you about any player and any club from Europe to Peru. It started as a weekend thing when the big games were on but has escalated to me betting on literally any football that's being played every single day. I wake up and feel like I 'need' to put a line on incase I miss any early kick-offs.

It's kind of went from me doing it for a nice win now and then (300-400$ etc) to for the 'feel' of having a bet on. I love when 2-3 results have gone correctly and i'm only waiting on say 2 more. It seems to be that feeling of excitement I crave rather than actually winning money. If/when I lose, I feel pretty pissy and 'unfulfilled'. I do struggle with what I assume is undiagnosed depression and this is probably a major factor in my life that doesn't help.

I do love football and having a weekend accumulator on is most enjoyable because I can actually watch the games I'm interested in. I just wish I could cut out this mid-week crap where I spend 15-20$ a day on bets. I am currently unemployed and live off a university allowance monthly. It does put a degree of financial strain on me because I'd probably have an extra 200$ a month if I didn't throw it away. When I think about the amount of money i've pissed away on football without even a hope of winning (i.e 6 teams, 300/1 5$ kind of lines) it depresses me more actually..

This was probably longer than intended so cheers for reading, anyone had similar feelings?

 

relax, when i stake rsgp or rsps gold, i make bank and continue on until i'm completely satisfied; which is never. Then to a point where i get cleaned and i shrug it off at that moment. Then i go to sleep and realize what the fuck did i just do.

 

Sounds like it, here are the criteria:

(If you exhibit 4 or more of the following)

• Needs to gamble with increasing amounts of money in order to achieve the desired excitement.
• Is restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop gambling.
• Has made repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop gambling.
• Is often preoccupied with gambling (e.g., having persistent thoughts of reliving past gambling experiences, handicapping or planning the next venture, thinking of ways to get money with which to gamble).
• Often gambles when feeling distressed (e.g., helpless, guilty, anxious, depressed).
• After losing money gambling, often returns another day to get even (“chasing” one’s losses).
• Lies to conceal the extent of involvement with gambling.
  Has jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job, or educational or career opportunity because of gambling.
• Relies on others to provide money to relieve desperate financial situations caused by gambling.
  

My suggestion would be to just take a break. Don't do it for 30 days. You don't need to. You aren't trying to make money with this, chances are you've come out behind overall. Just bank the money you would have spent and watch it grow. Just watch the games for your own excitement or bet under ~$5 just for the amusement.

 

Yea sounds a bit like an addiction, keep yourself away from it for awhile

 

This is definitely a gambling addiction, very small term, but it has the potential to grow into something bigger. All those emotions you get is really what hooks you to gambling. I suggest you stay away from it for a while. I used to be addicted to gambling as well, but I've used google to look up ways to "get away from gambling"

 

Ill give it a google.

forgot to mention, last year I played blackjack heavily aswell and have managed to kick this sheerly because I don't have the money.

I don't know if leaving it for a few weeks is an option, because I'll just end up in the same pattern. Idealy i'm looking to be able to gamble weekends for pure enjoyment but is this even an option without the associated feelings and mid-week gambling coming through?

 

I wouldn't necessarily say that this is a gambling addiction, but more so as you find gambling "fun". In Runescape and you stake GP you get a thrill out of staking, but even more of an adrenaline rush when you win. You win, and win until you have so much, but then it's time to break away so you don't lose everything.

Moral of the story: It's better to find something else to do than just gamble for money. I don't know if you bet with your friends or do a legitimate bet with people you've never seen before, but try to find something else that you can bet on rather than money.

 

I thought this was the help section? take your moronic post whoring elsewhere

 

Honestly I'd suggest you stay away from it completely. Sure you can do it once in a while, but not every weekend You're making it sound like youre going to do or on a weekly basis.

Say you lost some money that weekend, you're definitely not gona wait for the next weekend to gamble again. Instead, you're going to continue gambling throughout the week...and bam, the gambling addiction

 

Hy
I'm going to tell you my story and how i "managed" my addiction on gambling.
I discovered betting in 99-2000 when a betting agency just opened in my town.
I didn't exagerate very much then. Once in 5-6 months i put a ticket with 3-4 matches with high stakes. Than a agency just opened in the building next to me. I was betting on everything they got. Then this agency next to me closed and i discovered online betting. This was 6-7 years ago. With online betting i escalated. I was betting on everything was live. football, handball, basketball, tenis... all was live.. did'n care where was played. I remember one time i put a bet on a live cricket match. I didn't know anything on cricket. The game lasted 3 days... and i lost...I was trying to win back what i lost in time...
Then in 2011 i had enough... i realized i was going nowere. The urge was there... so i still betting... than i got an idea...I'm betting the minimum bet on 100, 200 odds, correct scores, goal scorers, etc. I still watch football and still betting on it but very rarely.
Hope you get over this.
Tonight are european qualifiers...i'll find a bet with 100 odd.

If you have the will... you'll overcome this. Stay strong. Bet less.

 

I deal with Gambling addictions daily irl. If you need any help - PM me. I'd be happy to help.

 

similar to me. I only follow other sports vaguely but will bet on them if there isn't enough football on.

I also have the problem with odds. I'll put $20 on a bet at 130/1 or something for example that has realistically a tiny chance of winning. I never bet safe odds because the idea of 'winning big' is the only one I have. I would probably be a decent football gambler if I bet odds of 6/1 5/1 etc but it just doesn't appeal to me.

 

Thanks for willing to give me a bit of your time to chat. I'm going to the pub to watch the Scotland game now but will be back tomorrow. I'll hit you up then.

 

Sounds like a bit of an addiction.

Myself, I used to gamble a lot and ended up taking classes at a university on gambling, it was mostly like therapy though.

Don't let yourself get to the point where you need therapy, stop yourself now and you'll feel better about yourself I promise you.

 

This does sound like an addiction, providing you are not going to start spending more money on gambling, it will not be too bad to carry on.

Do what you want.

Myself personally i will easily put £500 on a spin on roulette, but ill only do it when i have well thought the chances and expectations.

Why don't you try something different?

Get a folder on your desktop, name it Football bets, find out the the next games up and each odds for the teams to win and pretend you have placed a bet, put in how much you gamble (£5 for instance) BUT DO NOT GAMBLE PRETEND!
Then type in how much you can potentially win.

Keep doing this everytime you would place a real life bet, but with your money place it into a pot, bank or somewhere its not going on football bets.

/ By doing this you have successfully avoided gambling real money, and also potentially looked at the real odds of 6 teams winning, even 6 favourites will not win every week.

Using this method of pretending to gamble will maybe make you look deeper into the fixtures, and the potentials of each team winning, then one day you may be able to predict pretty damn close the results.

There is another thing you could do if you place a bet, for instance when i bet on football i will not bet on 1 6 fold accumulator, i will pick around 12 teams, and bet on trebles, you then only need 3 of your teams to win to potentially win back your money, you could also put on maybe a couple of 6 folds out of this too, if your doing it online its better though because you can see how much your overall bet will cost because it will be alot higher, so its advisable to do either 0.05, 0.10, 0.20 per line of stake.

If you are interested in anymore advice pm me

 

i would definitely chill out for a little bit. I used to have a problem with buying gold and staking it and normally losing

 

Exactly me before. Human is never totally satisfied (atleast not for long)

 

Believe me, if all your betting is $10-$20, you don't have a serious gambling addiction. If you haven't felt the need to put higher serious amounts on, I wouldn't worry too much. It's very easy to get addicted to gambling, I lost my whole bank (£3500) in one day because I was an idiot, I was full-blown addicted. I have since deleted the app and I will never gamble again

 

It sounds like you've developed a habit for gambling. Has it become part of your morning/afternoon ritual? If so, try to focus on your mindset and find something else that gives you the same thrill that gambling does.

Try to eliminate all the "poor man" beliefs in regards to money. All this "If I won $1 Million today, I'd do this and that". It's just an insecurity past down through generations. The host ALWAYS wins. It's a business for them, and like all successful businesses, they invest in something which is going to be a profit for them in the long run.

 

try to lay it off for a bit.