My first attempt at treatment, I turned all my finances over to a professional payee. I brought in my paychecks, we agreed on an amount for my spending money for two weeks and he issued me a allowance. I paid about 105 of my income for him to manage my money. He paid all my bills, and saved money for me for a year. This situation is nice because he was a business in good standing and had insurance, and because he was a professional payee, I had recourse if he tried to cheat me. It got all my payday loans paid off and a savings accumulated.
However, I did not stay away, once I got out of the hole I was in I started digging again.


I have a friend that because of a settlement of some kind an got several thousand dollars after three years abstinence. She put the cash in a metal lock box that required two keys to open, she gave the second key to her counselor who was willing to participate. When she needed money from it she made an appointment and brought the lock box with her.
Other people have been able to be successful just by finding a sponsor in GA that they make themselves report all their financial dealings to. Just having someone to be accountable to can make a huge difference for folks. Someone that says: why do you need this?
At one time I also just left my checkbook and debit and credit cards with a trusted friend, there were no questions if I wanted to come get them, but it gave me a minute to think and ultimately helped me curtail my gambling.
Another friend of mine, simply got her bank to lower the cash withdrawal amount to less than $20. She could only make purchases with her card.
I have also in the past and still do limit myself to $19 cash on me at any given time. Somehow, for me a $20 is a trigger to gamble but not fives, tens and ones. That's just me.
It does not have to be forever, and it does not have to be any more constrictive than you are willing to make it. Be creative, find something that works for you.

Oops, 10 % of my income is what I paid for the professional payee.

Thank you for these suggestions. I don't have access to credit cards, which is good. I only have access to my debit card. I am going to see if the bank can lower the amount that I can take out per day and cancel my cash advances. I also think a professional payee is a good thing, I am just worried about the fees that are charged. You have some really good ideas and thank you for commenting on my previous post and this post.

Do you think the payee's fees could possibly be higher that what you give the casino on a regular basis? I'm betting that even if the payee charged 25% or 30% of your income, you will come out ahead. I could have paid off two houses with the amount that I gambled in the last decade of my action.

That is a good thought... I can't believe how much I have gambled in a few short years. I will look up payees in my area and see if this will work. Thanks again for the advice.