Immediate help

i've been gambling on poker machines for about 12 years and have lost more money than i even want to think about. i have a good job and always thought it was my enjoyment, even though i was running my credit card debts up to the sky to cover what i was losing. i told my 18y.o daughter that i was addicted and had a problem 6 months ago and she was wonderful and so supportive and got lots of information for me but i said i didn't need counselling, i could do it myself - and i did, but 3 months ago i went on sick leave from work due to a problem with my vision. i couldn't go anywhere, except locally, and i coudln't do the normal things i enjoy, so i went to the pokies, thought i could control it, couldn't, went every day even though i knew i was betraying the person who loved me the most. i've lost everyhting, have only a couple of hundred dollars left in the bank, with bills due in less than one week. i finally got the guts to tell my daughter that i was doing it again, she had suspected, but she is my angel and i know if i didn't have her i couldn't survive. i feel so ashamed and worthless that i can't even get on a phone to get help, my daughter has done it for me, isn't that pathetic. now we are waiting for a coulselling appointment, but we have been waiting for 3 days and i know there are other people who are worse off than me, but i desperately need help and everything on the internet says immediate help, but it isn't. it's so hard to admit to having a problem and needing help and then you have to wait. i can't tell my husband as he is super conservative and i know he would leave me and luckily he's away on business at the moment. please, i'm desperate and i'm scared, i need help to stop this help to sort out my financial mess

I started going to the TAB to play this computer generated, animated horse race called Trackside. It was for fun at first, that winning feeling is so great. I kept losing and losing. I lost lots and lots. Everyone knows that you can't beat a COMPUTER. So why do we keep throwing our money away? EVERYONE who doesn't gamble KNOWS YOU CAN'T BEAT A COMPUTER. AM I that stupid?

But I am seeking help now and that is going to help me. I know that money don't come easy. You have to work and earn it. Have you ever heard of a happy gambler? Someone who keeps winning and is always smiling? I don't think so because at night, they will be thinking of that next hit, that next big bet
and the next sports games schedule. And that's not healthy to the body and mind.

i'm a 31 year old professional with a good job and supportive partner today i gambled away my rent and utility money then tried to get it back by dipping into my partners bank account.
before moving to australia i used to have a major drug habbit which i managed to succesfully kick and have been clean for the last 18 months i used to have a few drinks and a bit of a punt on the pokies when i quit my other addiction.
i guess this is where my new one started it only used to take a 20 dollar punt on the pokies and a 10 dollar win to feel like i was a winner and the high that goes with it could best be described at times as euphoric.
this week being the anniversary of the end of my other addiction i decided to have a few drinks and dinner with a few close friends to celerbrate i never had any intention to go and play the pokies but found myself at a club after i'd left my friends and had dropped about a grand before i realised the sun was coming up.
this week i lost 4500 dollars trying to win back the money i lost that night always with the hope or expectation that this spin might be the one. i am now at a loss as what to tell my girl friend as to where 5800 dollars of our hard earned money has gone i have spent more money this week on gambling then i ever did in the same period as a drug addict i havn't told my girl friend yet nor does she know about my prior addiction as we've been together for the last 12 months and i feared what she might think of me had she known the truth.
i guess i'm writing this because i never had any formal help with my drug problem and hope the call to the hotline can help me with what would seem to be a hopeless addiction to anything that would make me feel anything other then the person i know i can be or to be truthfull to the people that really matter in life

Im only 19 and started gambling with online poker and started of with small amounts and was winning a little bit but then i began to lose. Then i started to play with larger amounts until i ended up losing about 2 grand. I couldnt believe i did it and was in complete shock and vowed i would never play again but about a week later i lost 1 grand which was the remainder in my bank. I was able to stop playing for awhile but recently have been playing again however i seem to be able to stop myself from playing with large amounts but i still do end up losing. Ive recently only just started going to the casino as well and i lost 150 in my first outing but then i returned the next day to win it back and won 350 but then i gambled and lost 200 so i broke even. Im not currently in any financial trouble but i just wish to solve this issue before i do end up in trouble and because i think it is going to effect my life because all i seem to think about is trying to win money. I want to stop this at a young age as well. I still enjoy gambling and wish to do so however i want to do it resposibly but i dont know if i will be able to continue and be responsible at the same time

Im 21 years old, i started gambling when i was 18. I started off winning small amounts from placing small bets on roulette and blackjack. And everytime i won i thought it was easy to win and i felt as if i can always beat the system. I started off winning a few hundred then i started making larger bets because i thought it was easy. So what happens next was very obvious, i lost all my money which i had won around 2k-3k. I made money so quick i couldnt believe it. So then came the day where i lost it all back, and i was very angry and upset about losing the money because it felt like it was mine, i was greedy and selfish so i wanted to win the money back. This was my mistake, i ended up losing 10k in 1day, all this was money that i had saved up since i was working at the age of 16. I decided to stop gambling from that big lost, but it was only a few months until i got back into it again, so i won small amounts of money again and then ended up losing more money that i had worked my tears and sweat for. I just wished i can take it all back and start with what was mine, but i know that this will never be the case. My life feels so stressed and miserable, i just don't know what to do with it anymore. Every day and night i can't stop thinking about how i have ruined my life because of gambling. My total lost in gambling would be close to 25k. This is a mistake that will burden me for the rest of my life.

The stories on here are sad and only remind me of my own gambling addiction. The last time I posted here over 2 months ago I had lost $1,750 playing online poker and I never vowed to play again. Well after 2 months and playing online poker almost continuously for 4 days I have lost all of my savings totalling $2,800. I guess I always think that I can win and/or at least win back some of the money I have lost. My gambling habit is driving me crazy, I always seem to be able to stop for a 2-3 month period and then I go on another gambling bingem, which is bigger and worse than the previous binges. I really want to stop as I owe alot of money to people and everytime I reach a point where I can start paying them back I go and gamble the money. To be honest I hate everything that I have become through gambling.

i am a gambler for 3 weeks in a row ive spent my rent ,i love my wife and kids i have 5 of them im 38 years old ,i lost 700 last night i only went to the bank to get my paycheck 5hrs later bang empty pockets the stress the guilt i love my wife family so much and I need to get help soon to stop putting them thru this i just want to give them a future witch they deserve i cant put them thru this anymore

My elder brother spends a lot of time playing poker and blackjack. At times he loses really big and he is really hard to make ends meet, and has to borrow money from us. My mother is tired from attempts to talk to him seriously as he wouldn't listen, and shows no wish to change his life. I feel I have no right to interfere in my brother's life but as times goes by I become very concerned about this problem..

I have lost around 20,000 dollars this year... all on poker, internet and casino. I have had to sell my car, and now my master card have are demanding full payment of 12000. I donn't have a cent left. I can't pay them. I settled the claim for 5g they accepted and before I could pay, I ended up loosing it all... Now I'm just waiting for the phone calls... I don't know what to do, this has ruined my life.

Man i wanna stop the dam pokies.. since i turned 18 now 24 just been a constant pay packet chewer. ive won 6 grand about 3 times and with in the next day ive blown the lot. Its so crazy how when you have no money you hate the things but as soon as you get cash the little voice starts telling you then you get the feeling for features and all these tactics on how ur gonna win this time. It sucks coz you know if they wernt in your life how good your life would actually be. Really wanna beat the pokie habit as i know we all do. Once again its christmas and now ive gotta come up with a solution on how im gonna pay for presents this year. Cant believe what these machines put people through. Sad but thats what it does to you...

I am a 26 year old professional and have been gambling on the pokies for around 7 years. I dont want to know how much money I have lost. I feel like I cant tell anyone because I dont have anyone who I know will not judge. I have run up so much debt that I do not know how to manage it any more. After paying the minimums on each of my loans and credit cards I am left with not enough money to get by... though strangely I still manage to use what little I have on the pokies. To make matters worse for me I work in a field where I should know better as I am surrounded each and every day by addiction of various sorts. This has made it difficult for me to ask for professional help. I just dont know what to do any more. I need help but do not know where to start. Please god, help me to be strong and stop the madness.

I want to stop gambling when I start but I can't stop .

hi, i have been gambling for 5 years and within this time i have had 2 children. in these 5 years i have managed to double our mortgage and get an additional 20000 in debt. it has wrecked my life. i cannot seem to bring myself to talk to my family anymore as i am constantly feel shaky and sick. my husband has to look after our children when he comes in from work while i disappear upstairs for hours as i cant even look at my children without feeling sick. also i have cut myself from all my "friends" as i feel beneath them and i know if the ever found out what i had done they would all hate me for it. yesterday it all came to a head for me. i emailed a site who had taken my money off me in a non to legal way( not excluding me when i had asked them) i was so desperate for my 2000 back that i said i was going to kill myself. the company then phoned the police and they arrived non to pleased with me. as i have never been in trouble with the police you can only imagine how i absolutely panicked. unfortunately it has now made me feell even worse and is affecting my sleep and i am now not getting my kids to school on time.

I have just started pokies in the last few months but I'm sick of this. I loose everything, every single pay I get each week. I wanna quit and I'm trying it. Whenever I get my pay I think like to play with limited money but I couldn't control and loose all.