Gambling addiction stories are lessons to be learned and not just stories. Here we provide you with some interesting gambling addiction stories.
Highlights
- Gambling addiction is real and should be taken seriously.
- Always see a therapist if you notice you have an addiction.
The stories we’re about to tell you are about harrowing gambling addictions. These stories symbolize that people can have good intentions to make money from a venture like gambling but weren’t successful and became addicted.
These gambling addiction stories are great reminders that gambling comes with significant risks other than losing money. We must seek therapy when we feel like we can’t control our urge to gamble.
Robert. 31 Years and Online Poker Addict
Here is one of our gambling addiction stories. He had just entered the army, at the age of 24, because of his degree in computer science – he could not find a job. “At first, I played poker regularly because I liked it, but it was not a necessity. I read strategy books, watched tutorials from professional players, got into forums. I started having problems with my partner and playing more. The more I played, the more problems I had with my girlfriend, and the more problems I had with my girlfriend, the more I played”, recalls Roberto, 31 years old.
He also played online tournaments. “Sometimes, up to 7,000 people. Ten hours in a row with five-minute breaks. The most I lost in a day was 5,000 euros. In total, about 45,000. I melted my payroll and then asked for quick loans.”
Roberto always played at PokerStars, the company that Rafa Nadal advertises. “They choose that kind of sports icon to catch young people. I think he is not aware of what is behind it, but seeing him announcing this has been a disappointment for me.”
David. 26 Years. Electronic Bingo. “I Took The Pension Envelope From My Grandmother”
One of the touching gambling addiction stories we’ve heard. On his 18th birthday, he went to bingo with 10 friends. “We got a pot of 170 euros.” The following week, he returned with another friend. “And we did not touch anything.” A few days later, he went, alone, to a game room. “I put 10 euros in the electronic bingo machine, and I took 300. Totally hooked”. David spent 70,000 euros on these machines for five years. He is now 26, attends therapy for young gamblers, and has not played for two and a half months.
Before getting hooked on electronic bingo, David played sports, coached a soccer team for eight-year-olds, worked as a commercial, prepared for exams, and had a girlfriend. The game swept everything away. “On the 3rd of each month, I had already melted all my payroll. They ended up firing me because I stopped going to work. I got up in the morning, went to the gym, and then to the game room. I ate and dined there. They always invited me because I was spending a lot of money. I could spend 14 or 15 hours in a row playing. I spent all my savings from my card, I pawned everything I had, and I stole. I went to see my parents and took their money from the house. My grandmother had an envelope with the pension money. At first, I took 50 euros from her. One day I took the whole envelope. In total, I stole about 1,500 euros.”
In the game room where David played electronic bingo, he was not only invited to lunch and dinner. “The owners of the premises came to lend me 3,000 euros, which I have been paying back little by little.” I could not stop, not even when he was making a lot of money. “Once, I made 700 euros in an hour, I did not enjoy it, and it did last an hour and a half.”
Chema, 26 Years. Lost 20,000 Euros On Electronic Roulette.
Here’s the last of our gambling addiction stories. Chema got hooked on the electronic roulette of the arcades, where he left 20,000 euros in six years: from 18 to 24. “At first, I played with my money. When it was finished, I started stealing at home: I took my mother’s jewelry, my brother’s stuff, the neighbors’ bikes in the garage, a fan, an electric radiator, and I pawned them. At the place where they bought them from me, they even told me that if I kept bringing so many things to them, the police would come to for me”.
His parents never told him anything. “Obviously, they realized that things were missing, but they did not want to see the problem. We have discussed it in therapy, but they were afraid to know what it was,” he explains. “I clashed with them a lot. I have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), and studying has always cost me more than others. That has caused me a lot of frustration: people think you are stupid. With gambling, when you win, you feel euphoria; you don’t think of anything else. “
Chema has been punctual and faithful to therapy for two and a half years. But he is still afraid, saying, “This is a disease for life.”
There you have it, the gambling addiction stories. Gambling addiction has serious issues which consistently surpass the loss of money. Being a gambling addict, just like other forms of addiction, can destroy family, friends, and work relationships.
Are you a gambler? Do you have your gambling addiction stories? You can with us.