Hubbie messed up everything

broke_student111

Hi,

I have been reading your thread with interest as I am/was a problem gambler myself (quit three weeks ago). I can say from experience that your husband is probibly going through a very rough time at the moment. You have done the right thing by taking his cards and looking after his salary - by removing access to money, he will not be able to gamble. (I did a similar thing myself by opening another bank account for my wages and shredded the card as soon as I recieved it. If I wanted a significant amount of money I would have to transfer it and wait three days before I could withdraw it - by which time the urge would have worn off).

Online gambling sites have a self-exclusion option where you can send an email to the operator to lock the account so that no bets can be placed. Another thing you can try is to make a note in a safe place of the security numbers on the back of your cards and then scratch off the numbers. No gambling website will let you deposit money without the csv number. There is a software package called GamBlock that someone else mentioned. It is actually a very-well written piece of software that is almost impossible to remove without re-installing Windows - well worth the price. Occasionally it will block a legitimate website, but this is a small price to pay.

I wish you and your husband the best of luck, you are doing the right thing by supporting him - going 'cold turkey' and quitting is no easy task but if your husband truly loves you he will make the effort. You have been put in a very difficult position but you have been doing a brilliant job so far!