What to do the day after a big gambling loss

6 November 2026 · From someone who quit after 8 years of betting

Don't try to win it back. In the next 24 hours, close and self-exclude from every betting account, put a block on your bank card, work out what you need to get to payday, and tell one person the full truth. The loss has already happened; these steps stop it turning into a bigger one.

The morning after a big loss has a feeling all of its own. The pit in your stomach. Opening the banking app with one eye closed. Running the numbers again and again, as if they might change.

I know that morning well. I spent 8 years betting on horses and sport, and plenty of those years included a morning like this. Once I was down to my last $7. I withdrew $5 at the supermarket to bet with, and tried to work out how much food the other $2 would buy.

If that's where you are today, here's what I wish someone had told me. Not a lecture. Just what to do, in order.

1. Don't chase it

The first thought is always "I can get it back". That thought cost me more than any single bet ever did.

Chasing is how one bad day becomes a bad month. The money you lost yesterday is gone. The only thing you still control is whether today adds to it.

2. Close every account and self-exclude, today

Do this before anything else, while the regret is strongest. Your willpower will come and go over the next few weeks. The barriers you put up today protect you when it's low.

• Australia: register with BetStop, the national self-exclusion register. It blocks you from every licensed online and phone bookmaker at once.
• New Zealand: ask the TAB and every site you use to close your account and exclude you. You can also ask pubs, clubs and the casino you go to for an exclusion order.
• United Kingdom: register with GAMSTOP.
• United States: search "[your state] gambling self-exclusion" and sign up.

When they ask why, say you have a gambling problem. Don't say you "need a break". A break leaves the door open, and the door is how it gets you again.

Then delete the apps, and install a blocker such as Gamban or BetBlocker on your phone and computer.

3. Put a block on your money

Many banks in Australia and New Zealand now let you block gambling transactions on your card, usually in the app under card settings. If yours doesn't show it, call and ask. Turn it on today.

While you're there:

• move bill money into a separate account, or set bills to come out on payday
• carry less cash for a while
• if you have a credit card you've been betting with, ask the bank to lower the limit

4. Work out what you need to get to payday

Write down two things: when you next get paid, and exactly what has to be paid before then. Rent, food, power, petrol, loan repayments.

If it doesn't add up, don't hide from it. Call your landlord or lender and tell them you're in hardship and what your plan is. In my experience, people and companies are far more reasonable when you're honest and early than when you go quiet.

If you need help with debts, free financial counsellors do exactly this:

• Australia: National Debt Helpline, 1800 007 007
• New Zealand: MoneyTalks, 0800 345 123

5. Tell one person the whole truth

This is the step everyone wants to skip, and it's the one that changed everything for me.

Pick one person who cares about you, a partner, a parent or a close friend, and tell them:

• you have a gambling problem and you're struggling to stop on your own
• how much you've lost and how much you owe, and to whom
• that you've closed your accounts and self-excluded
• how you're feeling
• that you're not asking them to bail you out

You can do it face to face, on the phone, or in a message. When I finally told my family, I wrote it as an email to four of them. It took me four hours and I cried the whole way through. It was the hardest thing I've done, and the turning point.

6. Just get through today

Don't plan the rest of your life today. Get through today without a bet. If today feels too long, get through the next hour. If that's too long, the next ten minutes.

When an urge hits, it builds, peaks and fades, usually within about half an hour if you don't feed it. Leave the room, go for a walk, call someone. Every urge you ride out makes the next one weaker.

What tomorrow looks like

Tomorrow you'll probably feel flat. That's normal. The days after a big loss are when a lot of people slip, so expect the urge and have a plan for it: who you'll call, where you'll go, what you'll do instead.

If you want a structure for the next two weeks, that's exactly what I built the 14-day course to be: one short lesson and one practical task a day, starting with the steps above. But the steps above are free, and they work on their own. Start with step 2, today.

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