Gambling - help, turn into something else

in casinos?

yeppers mister man! you called it. I'm beginning to get it! Its a bit like train spotting, yes?

Gamblers anonymous. Perfect fit.

SPAM Link at the word "go".

HOUNDS - PLEASE.

Hello Juliet Pace, I am Number.  It is nice to meet you.  Thank you for posting here and now.  May I ask you this question please.....why did you decide to write your help here, at this time?  I look forward to hearing from you.  Thank you.

Try investing

I'm not a gambler. I don't even do the lottery. But some years ago i had a go at Matched Betting. It's not betting in the way that you know it, 'cos if you do it properly, you can't lose, you're betting with the free bets that the bookies offer. I read about it on 'The Money Shed' which is a sort of money saving ideas website.

That's not just spam, that's harmful spam, on a historic post about the harm caused by things like your spam

What's all this for? Take the data as a basis and use it as a starting point. 

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yes chess is very addictive

there's chess. blitz, fast, tournament... it's intense, focused, stress. walter brown, us chess champion and one of the greats (died a couple years ago) made his living gambling... i know he frequented card rooms, etc. some other chess guys love gambling. so there's a connection between those addictions. some get addicted to chess.

thank you very much for sharing your story.

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I am fighting this every day and now have been just over a year bet free! It’s very tough and I find I have moments that are easier than others but I’m very aware how much a problem it gets for me. I play lot lots of other games to try and fill that gap and it just about works but I have moments where I am close to really wanting to go again.

i enjoyed betting on sports and justified how much I would spend as I don’t really go out or spend money on things other people would .. it was when I got the free spins or bets for other games I would then end up down that dangerous path. I got into lots of debt and had to permanently ban myself from any form of online gambling. 

it’s been particularly tough the last few weeks with sport starting again and feeling the itch to want to bet. I know it’s a slippery slope when I do look to make a bet so I’m doing my upmost to stay away.

any other ideas I’d be keen to hear as the games do tick a box in some sense but it isn’t quite the same and I have to keep very busy to keep my mind off it.

Huh... I work in a casino and see gambling addicts frequently, it's not an easy one to break as it's legal. What's worse is the governmemt have relaxed all the laws restricting us from advertising etc so it's a free for all. I have my own addiction to drugs which has come about due to struggling with Asperger's, so I get the size of the problem, once we're focussed, it's a tough one to get us to move on.

I am actually trying to deal with mine, but I had to get to a very very low point before I could admit to myself that I needed to deal with it. I fear that may be the same for your friend, if he/she does not want to change they won't.

I used to have an addiction to an online MMPORG, I couldn't stop but it didn't hurt me financially or mentally (in my case). Could you maybe try shifting your friend to onine gambling, rather than in the casino and then maybe get to get them to play some sort of competetive (that's important for the rush) online game ? How old are they ? Not that it matters really, I was playing eve online until 18 months ago and I am 44.

There are organisations like gamcare and gambler's anonymous but that would require your friend to admit they have a problem. I wouldn't normally suggest trying to move someone away from there "aspie focus" but I understand the focus is potentially very damaging, so maybe try incrementally moving him/her to something else competetive, but I don't know how much success you'll have with that.

Competitive pokemon on Pokemon Showdown.

No, really. It works.