You just walked away from a casino or closed the gambling / sports betting app on your device as a feeling of dread washes over you. You went from being a few hundred in the hole, to a few thousand, to tens of thousands. It can happen over a span of months, weeks, days, hours, or minutes. In either case, you find yourself sitting in a $50K pit and it stings.
While you’re running a calculus on how you will recover this loss (or even pay this month’s rent) you now realize that there’s more to the situation than finances. The fact that you entered “Lost 50000 gambling” into your online search browser indicates that you’re reaching out for answers about what it may mean for your overall wellness. Further, it infers that you want some sort of guidance in how to move forward.
You’ve come to the right place.
As the nation’s preeminent support provider for people who struggle with problematic gambling behavior we have counseled a large number of individuals who have been in your exact shoes. More importantly, we have successfully intervened to help those with mild, moderate, and severe issues with habitual or compulsive gambling to get them back on track to a healthier life. Please read for your next steps.
What You Need to Know, Consider, and Do After Sustaining a Large Financial Loss from Gambling (while asking for help)
A. How Your Loss Relates to Average Gambling Addict Debt
According to recent statistics, the average gambling “addict” debt is between $55,000 and $90,000. This places you right below the average. It’s a little too close for comfort. Of course, what debt level means is entirely relative to one’s wealth. But as someone who has exclaimed to Google search that they just lost $50,000 it’s clear that it is having and will continue to have a detrimental impact on your life. It is already causing (or inflating) feelings of anxiety and stress and may elevate symptoms of other mental health concerns (i.e. depression) that you may already live with.
Get Help for Gambling Debt
While Kindbridge is a behavioral health resource, we are happy to provide advice on how to correct financial situations while concurrently getting help. Review the resource linked below for tips:
B. Important Questions to Consider
Can You Afford to Keep Losing?
Considering that you came here for help, we’re about 99% sure that we know the answer. However, it’s important to ask it of yourself. When answering in the negative, you may come to terms with the fact that intervention is required to get your life back on track. But first, let’s consider a few more things below.
Are You Following High-Rollers on Social Media?
“I lost $50,000 on the blackjack table tonight. I need you all to go stream Lonely Road and make that money back.”
As it just so happens, musician Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) just came off of a $50,000 loss as well, although judging by his post-admission chuckles it’s probably just another day in Vegas for the celebrity. The problem, however, is that an unfortunate number of celebrities with millions of social media followers incessantly promote gambling (yes, laughing off a $50K loss is a manner of promotion). Famous gamblers such as Drake, Dana White, Floyd Mayweather, 50 Cent, and a slew of others influence the behaviors of their 18-34 year old fan demographic; a demographic that directly aligns with the population most impacted by the sports betting crisis in America.
As someone who may consciously or subconsciously aspire to a similar lifestyle being broadcast by the influencers (and the media that reports on them) you must become aware of how it may guide your behavior. When they publish an Instagram reel or TikTok post that features themselves in a casino, making a sports wager, or advertising a gambling operator, you could be triggered to gamble when you otherwise may not have. Of course, these influencers are “high-rollers” who have more financial resources that you do, which places you in a precarious position to lose an amount that is not a laughing matter.
Take a break from social media’s influence to gamble by unfollowing these gambling celebrities (where applicable). You may even consider a temporary social media blackout if your profile is connected to gambling content and if you follow anyone who shares this content, peers included. We explore more on the latter below.
Are You Trying to Keep Up with High-Rolling Peers?
More influential on your behavior than social influencers, are your peers. Do your friends, family members, or even business associates have a high-rolling gambling habit? To them, dropping a few (or fifty) thousand dollars may be a pill they can swallow without it being life altering. But for you, it is.
Young elite athletes experience this phenomenon when joining the big leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL). They enter a literal and proverbial arena of peers with larger contracts who are living an extravagant life. These young athletes feel as if they have to keep up or get left out of social situations. Being left out of these social situations may reverberate right back on to the court or field and impact teammate relationships. Keeping up with their peers involves luxury cars and high mortgages, but also spending on entertainment such as gambling. While this is a more extreme example, it is relatively comparable to what you may be experiencing in your peer group.
If you can relate to this in your own proportionate way, you may have to abstain from gatherings where friends, family, coworkers, or associates will be gambling. If comfortable telling your peer group about your situation you can ask that they be more mindful about your struggle when conversing or suggesting activities.
Do You Exhibit Other Signs of Problem Gambling?
Financial loss is one of the primary symptoms of problem gambling, but debt on its own does not a problem gambler make. The existence of other signs and symptoms on the other hand, may indicate an issue.
Consider your current predicament as a time for a behavioral health inventory. If you exhibit any combination of the following (in addition to debt) you require intervention that spans beyond financial assistance.
| You constantly talk about casino gaming or sports betting (including DFS) |
| You experience elevated emotions with increases (value and/or frequency) of wagers |
| You have tried to control, cut down on, or stop gambling, without success |
| You get sad, irritable, restless or anxious when not gambling |
| You gamble to escape problems or relieve feelings of stress, anxiety or depression |
| You gamble more to recover losses |
| You neglect education or career opportunities because of time and energy spent gambling |
| You miss important occasions (birthdays, etc.) because of time and energy spent gambling |
| You have become distant from friends and family |
| You have resorted to theft or fraud to support gambling (at least once) |
| You have lied to others about your gambling habit |
| You ask others for financial help because of money have been lost through gambling (like MGK) |
Do you recognize yourself in any combination of the above, in addition to your $50,000 loss? Then it’s time to get help from America’s leading provider of problem gambling support. All that’s left to do is schedule your first session with a Kindbridge care coordinator and we’ll walk you through the rest.
Let’s Talk About Your Gambling Behavior
CALL +1 (877) 426-4258
OR
Email [email protected]
