Hi i_quit,
No problem, glad I could help another person who is struggling to find a solution. I believe the majority of people on here use betfilter to block gaming sites. It works really well. It is hidden and will only block gambling related sites (including sports betting). Just know that it cannot be uninstalled during your subscription (it shouldn’t be anyways).
One very important thing to understand to help you quit this bad habit is why do you do it? What motivates you to gamble? For me, its all about the excitement. If I’m bored, I start getting thoughts in my head about curling up on the couch with my laptop and putting some money on a site. This is usually late at night as well because it is done in secret. I’ve started to let myself know that anything that is done in secret (without good intent) is malicious. That’s when you know you have a problem. Boredom and staying up late are what I would call triggers for myself. It is important that you identify your triggers because you can put blockers in place around those triggers and try to avoid them all together. If I get bored now, I will say things to myself such as, “I know I’m bored, so I may get an urge to gamble, but I will not jeopardize my relationship or saving up for a house because of this. I want to (insert goal here), and gambling will take me further away from those goals.” Once you start to connect the dots like this with your self talk, it becomes a lot easier. For you, I imagine your family is the most important thing to you. You could say something like, “I understand I am having an urge to place a bet, but I also understand that if I place this bet (win or lose), it will hurt my family. I do not want to hurt my family. Me and my family win when I don’t place a bet, and the casino loses. That’s a good feeling.” Something like that, it could be anything, but you have to tailor your self talk to you scenario. I want a house someday which is why I threw in my talk about saving for a house. I also love my girlfriend and want a healthy relationship with her. I could even throw in “If I place money on this site, I am betraying my girlfriends trust. I am going behind her back to gamble.”
Just be honest with yourself, play out the scenario in your head, and you will do fine. Stay strong
–Nick