Sarah, you said that when he runs out of money to visit the casino, he scratches
instant lottery tickets, on an almost daily basis. If he has no money for the
casino, where on earth does he get money to buy scratch off tickets?

I had to take over all access to money from my husband. His name is off of all
bank accounts and I hand him cash to get by each day. He gets maybe 20.00. If
he spent it on scratch off tickets he would have NOTHING for coffee, tolls, misc
expenses.

Gambling addicts cannot handle having access to money. Access to money turns
into addictive gambling behavior, period.

Have you taken over control and access to all money in your household? direct
deposit of his pay into your own account is a great starting point. Also,
getting your own job with your own income deposited into your own account is a
great idea. That way your home and living are not in jeopardy from gambling.




--- In gamanonsupportgroup@yahoogroups.com, "Sarah" <sjmault@...> wrote:
>
> My husband and I have been married for almost 6 years, but we've been together
since the 9th grade. We're only 26 and 25 years old, respectively. I love him
dearly, but he's a compulsive gambler. When he has no access to the nearest
casino (e.g. usually no money), he scratches instant lottery tickets. The
tickets are an almost daily occurrence. I find them hidden everywhere. I can't
even remember a time that this hasn't been a problem. He is fully aware and
admits to being a compulsive gambler and to the fact that it is ruining his
life. He recently initiated treatment for himself, and I'm holding my breath to
see if it helps at all. Intellectually, I know that this is his problem, and I
have no control over it. Emotionally, though, I'm a wreck. I don't want to leave
him, and I can't financially afford to leave him either (at least right now). I
guess my biggest question is whether or not divorce is inevitable in situations
in which one spouse is a compulsive gambler. Do any couples in this situation
stay together?
>