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Facebook cover photos are a perfect example of how social media marketing is different than just regular social media usage. A great personal cover photo can be anything that we think looks great on profile; our business cover photos need to do much more.
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Gambling Addiction Treatment Length Insurance Plans Will Cover If you decide to get help for your gambling problem, you may be wondering how much treatment your insurance will cover. Depending on your insurance provider and the nature of your addiction, your company may only be willing to cover a set length of time in treatment. Gambling games Stock Photography by Andreus 26 / 2,867 card player gambling casino chips Stock Images by 18percentgrey 85 / 1,881 Gambling Pictures by Elenathewise 37 / 2,574 Gambling Stock Photography by JanPietruszka 17 / 875 woman gambling on red table Stock Images by iMarin 17 / 1,270 Gambling background Stock Photos by Artisticco 13 / 681. Real Stories of Recovery & Awareness. In order to get beyond the statistics and provide a more personal and individual picture of this issue, we have created this section to feature the stories of individuals who have been affected by problem gambling.
A Page's Facebook cover photo needs to be branded and represent our business. It also must be high-quality and perfectly optimized for display; this means knowing the perfect Facebook cover photo size.
This post is going to take a look at the perfect Facebook cover photo size and best cover photo practices to help your images represent your business exactly how you want.
Facebook Cover Photo Dimensions
According to Facebook, your cover photo displays at 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall on computers and 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall on smartphones.
This is a great starting point, but of course it's never quite that simple. It's tricky because your Facebook cover displays differently on mobile and desktop devices.
Therefore, we recommend using the dimensions 820px by 360px and to keep all text and graphics in the middle safe zone as per the specifications below:
Cover Photos on Desktop vs. Mobile
When designing your Facebook cover photo, you need to be careful because the cover image is displayed differently on mobile and desktop. Although, designing with safe zones in mind will get you a Facebook cover photo that will display properly on both devices.
Fortunately, Facebook doesn't stretch and distort an image to fit a certain dimension; it crops it automatically instead. On a mobile device, your Facebook cover photo will crop out the sides, while showing more of the cover photo's height.
Alternatively on a desktop device, Facebook displays more of your cover photo's width while cropping the top and bottom.
With all that being said, we recommend using the Facebook cover photo size of 820 pixels by 360 pixels and designing within the safe zones. This will ensure that none of the critical components of your cover photo are getting cut off on mobile devices or on desktop.
How to Create a Facebook Cover Photo with Snappa
If you're ready to create a Facebook cover photo, our powerful and easy-to-use graphics builder has made this process incredibly simple. Here's a step-by-step video showing you how to create a Facebook cover photo with the right size using Snappa.
Here are some screenshots to help walk you through the whole process. You can choose the Facebook cover photo pre-set for an automatic perfect cover photo size.
Once you've selected this option, you can choose from one of our pre-made Facebook Cover templates (which is fully customizable) or create a cover photo from scratch.
Even if you use a template, you can upload your own image or choose from our library of images. Add text, graphics, shapes, and effects to any part of the image. All of these add-ons can be dragged and dropped easily; you can define the opacity of each, and choose what layer you want them to show up in.
You'll notice that we also include an overlay showing the mobile and desktop only zones of your Facebook cover so you'll never have to worry about text and graphics getting cut off.
What Should My Facebook Cover Photo Be?
Aside from choosing something that is both high quality and relevant to our business, it can be difficult to know exactly what your cover photo should feature. That depends entirely on you, your business, and what you believe your target audience will be most receptive to.
Some great ideas for use cases of cover photos include:
- Use your cover photo drive sales or lead generation. I believe very strongly than the 'social' should come before 'marketing' in social media marketing, but that doesn't mean that there's no room to promote your business. A cover photo designed to drive sales or leads, combined with a relevant CTA Page button, can get you more results without a lot of extra work on your part.
- Feature UGC. User generated content is one of the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal; using this authentic type of content in your cover photo can go a long way in rapport and loyalty building.
- Advertise upcoming events. If you have a free webinar, a conference, or even a social contest that's coming up soon, don't be afraid to feature it in your Facebook cover photo. It's an effective way to let new users know about it right away
- Demonstrate product features & benefits. This can tie into sales, but showcasing product benefits can also immediately set you apart from the competition.
- Show off your store. If you happen to have a storefront or an office space where you're located, it can make a gorgeous photo and increase foot traffic.
- Feature team members & employees. Employee generated content (EGC) can be just as valuable as UGC, and featuring real employees in your cover photo can humanize your business and show the real people behind it.
Facebook Cover Photo Mistakes to Avoid
While you can choose any number of images for your Page's cover photo, there are a few practices you should stay away from. Certain mistakes will detract from your Page, and may even detract from how new users perceive your business.
Some big Facebook cover photo mistakes businesses should avoid include:
- Using the same cover photo. Facebook header images differ in sizing across Facebook events and Facebook groups. Use the proper dimensions to optimize your pages.
- Having too much text. Some text is great, especially if it's being used for branding. Some photos, though, only have text overlay against a solid backdrop. This is typically not a good move, even if you're focusing on an insanely motivational quote; instead, your cover photo should actually be an image that's able to speak (mostly) for itself.
- Too much clutter. We've all seen pictures on social media that have so much going on that looking at them too long might give us a headache. There's lots of colors and focal points and things to look at. While this might sound appealing at first (it will definitely draw the eye, at least), it's just difficult to focus on and can even look sloppy.
- Not taking the current Page format into consideration. Remember when profile pictures showed up in the bottom corner of the cover photo, and sometimes important parts of the image were cut out? Facebook changes it's formatting fairly often; every time they do, check your photo on mobile and desktop to make sure nothing is getting cut off.
- Choosing something generic. You want your cover photo to jump out at users; that's partially what it's there for. Choosing a generic image that could be about your business somehow won't have the impact that you're looking for.
- Not adding branding. When possible, adding subtle branding like your logo to the image can make a big difference with brand recognition.
Great Cover Photo Examples from Small & Online Businesses
If you're looking for some inspiration, look no further than these 7 great cover photo examples from small and online businesses.
1. Drip
Drip's cover photo is a great example of how to use the prime real estate to get more leads. Their photo shows how simple it is to use their product—ease of use is a huge benefit.
Immediately next to this, they have a CTA to join their free online training, and even use an arrow and a 'Register now' in the bottom corner of the cover photo to draw attention to the CTA button. This allows the entire cover photo to act as a lead gen tool, even sending a user's focal point onto the CTA.
2. Buffer
It's not a surprise that Buffer's Facebook cover photo is a great example to take note of.
Their cover photo is simple and clean, and advertising their new podcast. Again, this is using a prime focal point on their business's Page to advertise their content. When users click on the cover photo itself, they have links to both the iTunes and Google Play links so users can listen to the podcast on whichever platform they prefer.
3. Sizzors Hair Salon
Another example cover photo we're going to look at is from Sizzors Hair Salon, and it's effective for a number of reasons.
First, the cover photo is seasonal and relevant. They tie in autumn leaves with gorgeous auburn hair. They also make good use of limited text to get their point across, advertising their services as 'art' and 'high-end.'
One of the best things this cover photo does is placing an award badge in the corner of the cover photo. Their 'Best of Orlando' award (which includes all the dates they've won) is placed prominently. This is a genius move, as it lets all first time visitors know that they're services are proven to be high quality. This can drive major conversions, especially with a 'Book Now' CTA immediately below it.
4. Tamara Knight Photography
It would be a little tragic to have a blog post on amazing cover photo examples and not have a local photographer on the list. Fortunately, Tamara Knight Photography not only has a wonderful photographer, but some great social media marketing.
This cover photo is a fantastic choice, which is impressive considering the sheer number of gorgeous images professional photographers have to choose from. It shows a family that is happy, smiling, and laughing. It's dynamic, engaging, and feels alive. It automatically makes you smile, which evokes an emotional response and starts connecting you with the business.
The family photo not only has an emotional appeal (which holds so much weight), it also contrasts with the business's profile picture. Since the business offers headshots, featuring a headshot in the profile picture and a family shot in the cover photo shows a range of services the business offers. This will help let customers looking for diverse services know immediately that the photographer can meet their needs.
Finally, the branding in this picture is a great example. It's a faint watermark, so it's not obtrusive, but it's still there and present. It makes the Page seem more official, and hammers home that this is a legitimate business with high quality services.
5. Bar Method Winter Park
Our next Facebook cover photo example is from Bar Method in Winter Park. This location does a fantastic job of social media marketing in general, and is a great source of marketing examples for SMBs.
This cover photo makes use of some social image best practices, including using both strong lighting and light colors. The reflection and the woman's dark hair automatically draws your eye to her, so the focus of the image is still visual and on the business's services, even though text takes up a large portion of the image.
The text itself is a smart choice for three reasons. The first is that it's motivating and uplifting, which a lot of us (read: me) need before any type of physical activity. It also uses different color and sizes in text to make it more visually dynamic and feel less like a block of text. Finally—and this is the big one—it features their branded hashtag. They do this in the darkest color, which contracts most with the image. This will help new users—both new and returning—know which hashtag to use when sharing UGC, which can help drive engagement.
6. Bailey's Grocery in Sanibel, Fl
A lot of small businesses have a very distinctive voice and have a specific way they want to present themselves. Bailey's Grocery in Sanibel, Florida specifically chose a cover photo that represented their brand and how they wanted to present themselves.
This picture paints Bailey's as a small-town, family-run business. It's got the fresh-picked produce in the back of the truck, which viewers will automatically associate with fresh, high quality foods they can buy in store. The image looks classic, even if it was taken recently, and they introduce themselves as a staple business in a small community. This also helps drive home the brand they're choosing to present themselves as, which can increase customer loyalty and trust. No limit texas holdem preflop strategy poker.
The last great thing I want to flag on this is the incredible subtle branding on the image. The logo and business name shows up on the door of the truck, so it feels natural in the image, but it's still there. It's marketing that doesn't even look like marketing, which comes across as transparent and authentic. If you're able to replicate that appeal, do it.
7. One Blood
Our last cover photo example is from one blood. OneBlood is technically a nonprofit, but their cover photo does a few things so well that I wanted to include it here so that SMBs can use some of the strategies with their own businesses.
One blood's entire cover photo acts as a CTA. It features a picture of a gorgeous smiling child next to a quote about how all the blood donors that donated to OneBlood saved him. The quote isn't from him, it's from his mother—the one person who could adequately pull at the heartstrings just a little more. This evokes an immediate emotional reaction, which is a great step towards getting someone to take any kind of action.
Above the image is a textual CTA, encouraging users to share their story, their power, and to save lives. This encourages more UGC, which will help them promote their brand, and to donate blood to 'save lives.' Businesses that work with non-profits or that have products that can have an emotional impact (insurance can protect your family, for example) can use this strategy.
Where to Find Great Cover Photos
Some amazing cover photos will just be made from graphics, like Buffer's and Drip's. Others will utilize actual photographs. Whichever you choose, there are plenty of resources you can pull images from if you don't have a high-quality image that you've taken yourself.
These include:
- Free stock photo sites like StockSnap, Pexels and Unsplash, which offer free stock photos available for commercial use.
- User generated content, which is free and often available in abundance. Some UGC is extremely high quality, and many users would be honored if you used it as part of your cover photo.
Final Thoughts
The perfect Facebook cover photo size goes a long way in helping you make a great first impression with new users. Your image look good when displayed on both mobile and desktop, without bizarre cropping or the image showing up off-center. Combining the perfect cover photo size with Facebook cover photo best practices can help you build the social presence and reputation that you want to create for your business.
What do you think? What does your perfect Facebook cover photo look like? How do you use your cover photo to represent your business? Let us know in the comments below!
In order to get beyond the statistics and provide a more personal and individual picture of this issue, we have created this section to feature the stories of individuals who have been affected by problem gambling. People who have sought treatment for gambling addition have countless stories of heartbreak, financial devastation, support, reinvention, and recovery. As you read these stories, you will be reminded that problem gambling affects not only the gambler, but also their family members, friends, colleagues and employers; treatment providers; advocates; and many others.
Send us your story! Go to Contact Us and tell us about your successes and challenges. Photos are welcome!
Treatment Works
The good news about gambling addiction is that treatment is effective, and recovery is real and attainable. Northstar Problem Gambling Alliance has gathered a few accounts. A few of them are listed below.
Gambling Addiction Treatment Length Insurance Plans Will Cover If you decide to get help for your gambling problem, you may be wondering how much treatment your insurance will cover. Depending on your insurance provider and the nature of your addiction, your company may only be willing to cover a set length of time in treatment. Gambling games Stock Photography by Andreus 26 / 2,867 card player gambling casino chips Stock Images by 18percentgrey 85 / 1,881 Gambling Pictures by Elenathewise 37 / 2,574 Gambling Stock Photography by JanPietruszka 17 / 875 woman gambling on red table Stock Images by iMarin 17 / 1,270 Gambling background Stock Photos by Artisticco 13 / 681. Real Stories of Recovery & Awareness. In order to get beyond the statistics and provide a more personal and individual picture of this issue, we have created this section to feature the stories of individuals who have been affected by problem gambling.
A Page's Facebook cover photo needs to be branded and represent our business. It also must be high-quality and perfectly optimized for display; this means knowing the perfect Facebook cover photo size.
This post is going to take a look at the perfect Facebook cover photo size and best cover photo practices to help your images represent your business exactly how you want.
Facebook Cover Photo Dimensions
According to Facebook, your cover photo displays at 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall on computers and 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall on smartphones.
This is a great starting point, but of course it's never quite that simple. It's tricky because your Facebook cover displays differently on mobile and desktop devices.
Therefore, we recommend using the dimensions 820px by 360px and to keep all text and graphics in the middle safe zone as per the specifications below:
Cover Photos on Desktop vs. Mobile
When designing your Facebook cover photo, you need to be careful because the cover image is displayed differently on mobile and desktop. Although, designing with safe zones in mind will get you a Facebook cover photo that will display properly on both devices.
Fortunately, Facebook doesn't stretch and distort an image to fit a certain dimension; it crops it automatically instead. On a mobile device, your Facebook cover photo will crop out the sides, while showing more of the cover photo's height.
Alternatively on a desktop device, Facebook displays more of your cover photo's width while cropping the top and bottom.
With all that being said, we recommend using the Facebook cover photo size of 820 pixels by 360 pixels and designing within the safe zones. This will ensure that none of the critical components of your cover photo are getting cut off on mobile devices or on desktop.
How to Create a Facebook Cover Photo with Snappa
If you're ready to create a Facebook cover photo, our powerful and easy-to-use graphics builder has made this process incredibly simple. Here's a step-by-step video showing you how to create a Facebook cover photo with the right size using Snappa.
Here are some screenshots to help walk you through the whole process. You can choose the Facebook cover photo pre-set for an automatic perfect cover photo size.
Once you've selected this option, you can choose from one of our pre-made Facebook Cover templates (which is fully customizable) or create a cover photo from scratch.
Even if you use a template, you can upload your own image or choose from our library of images. Add text, graphics, shapes, and effects to any part of the image. All of these add-ons can be dragged and dropped easily; you can define the opacity of each, and choose what layer you want them to show up in.
You'll notice that we also include an overlay showing the mobile and desktop only zones of your Facebook cover so you'll never have to worry about text and graphics getting cut off.
What Should My Facebook Cover Photo Be?
Aside from choosing something that is both high quality and relevant to our business, it can be difficult to know exactly what your cover photo should feature. That depends entirely on you, your business, and what you believe your target audience will be most receptive to.
Some great ideas for use cases of cover photos include:
- Use your cover photo drive sales or lead generation. I believe very strongly than the 'social' should come before 'marketing' in social media marketing, but that doesn't mean that there's no room to promote your business. A cover photo designed to drive sales or leads, combined with a relevant CTA Page button, can get you more results without a lot of extra work on your part.
- Feature UGC. User generated content is one of the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal; using this authentic type of content in your cover photo can go a long way in rapport and loyalty building.
- Advertise upcoming events. If you have a free webinar, a conference, or even a social contest that's coming up soon, don't be afraid to feature it in your Facebook cover photo. It's an effective way to let new users know about it right away
- Demonstrate product features & benefits. This can tie into sales, but showcasing product benefits can also immediately set you apart from the competition.
- Show off your store. If you happen to have a storefront or an office space where you're located, it can make a gorgeous photo and increase foot traffic.
- Feature team members & employees. Employee generated content (EGC) can be just as valuable as UGC, and featuring real employees in your cover photo can humanize your business and show the real people behind it.
Facebook Cover Photo Mistakes to Avoid
While you can choose any number of images for your Page's cover photo, there are a few practices you should stay away from. Certain mistakes will detract from your Page, and may even detract from how new users perceive your business.
Some big Facebook cover photo mistakes businesses should avoid include:
- Using the same cover photo. Facebook header images differ in sizing across Facebook events and Facebook groups. Use the proper dimensions to optimize your pages.
- Having too much text. Some text is great, especially if it's being used for branding. Some photos, though, only have text overlay against a solid backdrop. This is typically not a good move, even if you're focusing on an insanely motivational quote; instead, your cover photo should actually be an image that's able to speak (mostly) for itself.
- Too much clutter. We've all seen pictures on social media that have so much going on that looking at them too long might give us a headache. There's lots of colors and focal points and things to look at. While this might sound appealing at first (it will definitely draw the eye, at least), it's just difficult to focus on and can even look sloppy.
- Not taking the current Page format into consideration. Remember when profile pictures showed up in the bottom corner of the cover photo, and sometimes important parts of the image were cut out? Facebook changes it's formatting fairly often; every time they do, check your photo on mobile and desktop to make sure nothing is getting cut off.
- Choosing something generic. You want your cover photo to jump out at users; that's partially what it's there for. Choosing a generic image that could be about your business somehow won't have the impact that you're looking for.
- Not adding branding. When possible, adding subtle branding like your logo to the image can make a big difference with brand recognition.
Great Cover Photo Examples from Small & Online Businesses
If you're looking for some inspiration, look no further than these 7 great cover photo examples from small and online businesses.
1. Drip
Drip's cover photo is a great example of how to use the prime real estate to get more leads. Their photo shows how simple it is to use their product—ease of use is a huge benefit.
Immediately next to this, they have a CTA to join their free online training, and even use an arrow and a 'Register now' in the bottom corner of the cover photo to draw attention to the CTA button. This allows the entire cover photo to act as a lead gen tool, even sending a user's focal point onto the CTA.
2. Buffer
It's not a surprise that Buffer's Facebook cover photo is a great example to take note of.
Their cover photo is simple and clean, and advertising their new podcast. Again, this is using a prime focal point on their business's Page to advertise their content. When users click on the cover photo itself, they have links to both the iTunes and Google Play links so users can listen to the podcast on whichever platform they prefer.
3. Sizzors Hair Salon
Another example cover photo we're going to look at is from Sizzors Hair Salon, and it's effective for a number of reasons.
First, the cover photo is seasonal and relevant. They tie in autumn leaves with gorgeous auburn hair. They also make good use of limited text to get their point across, advertising their services as 'art' and 'high-end.'
One of the best things this cover photo does is placing an award badge in the corner of the cover photo. Their 'Best of Orlando' award (which includes all the dates they've won) is placed prominently. This is a genius move, as it lets all first time visitors know that they're services are proven to be high quality. This can drive major conversions, especially with a 'Book Now' CTA immediately below it.
4. Tamara Knight Photography
It would be a little tragic to have a blog post on amazing cover photo examples and not have a local photographer on the list. Fortunately, Tamara Knight Photography not only has a wonderful photographer, but some great social media marketing.
This cover photo is a fantastic choice, which is impressive considering the sheer number of gorgeous images professional photographers have to choose from. It shows a family that is happy, smiling, and laughing. It's dynamic, engaging, and feels alive. It automatically makes you smile, which evokes an emotional response and starts connecting you with the business.
The family photo not only has an emotional appeal (which holds so much weight), it also contrasts with the business's profile picture. Since the business offers headshots, featuring a headshot in the profile picture and a family shot in the cover photo shows a range of services the business offers. This will help let customers looking for diverse services know immediately that the photographer can meet their needs.
Finally, the branding in this picture is a great example. It's a faint watermark, so it's not obtrusive, but it's still there and present. It makes the Page seem more official, and hammers home that this is a legitimate business with high quality services.
5. Bar Method Winter Park
Our next Facebook cover photo example is from Bar Method in Winter Park. This location does a fantastic job of social media marketing in general, and is a great source of marketing examples for SMBs.
This cover photo makes use of some social image best practices, including using both strong lighting and light colors. The reflection and the woman's dark hair automatically draws your eye to her, so the focus of the image is still visual and on the business's services, even though text takes up a large portion of the image.
The text itself is a smart choice for three reasons. The first is that it's motivating and uplifting, which a lot of us (read: me) need before any type of physical activity. It also uses different color and sizes in text to make it more visually dynamic and feel less like a block of text. Finally—and this is the big one—it features their branded hashtag. They do this in the darkest color, which contracts most with the image. This will help new users—both new and returning—know which hashtag to use when sharing UGC, which can help drive engagement.
6. Bailey's Grocery in Sanibel, Fl
A lot of small businesses have a very distinctive voice and have a specific way they want to present themselves. Bailey's Grocery in Sanibel, Florida specifically chose a cover photo that represented their brand and how they wanted to present themselves.
This picture paints Bailey's as a small-town, family-run business. It's got the fresh-picked produce in the back of the truck, which viewers will automatically associate with fresh, high quality foods they can buy in store. The image looks classic, even if it was taken recently, and they introduce themselves as a staple business in a small community. This also helps drive home the brand they're choosing to present themselves as, which can increase customer loyalty and trust. No limit texas holdem preflop strategy poker.
The last great thing I want to flag on this is the incredible subtle branding on the image. The logo and business name shows up on the door of the truck, so it feels natural in the image, but it's still there. It's marketing that doesn't even look like marketing, which comes across as transparent and authentic. If you're able to replicate that appeal, do it.
7. One Blood
Our last cover photo example is from one blood. OneBlood is technically a nonprofit, but their cover photo does a few things so well that I wanted to include it here so that SMBs can use some of the strategies with their own businesses.
One blood's entire cover photo acts as a CTA. It features a picture of a gorgeous smiling child next to a quote about how all the blood donors that donated to OneBlood saved him. The quote isn't from him, it's from his mother—the one person who could adequately pull at the heartstrings just a little more. This evokes an immediate emotional reaction, which is a great step towards getting someone to take any kind of action.
Above the image is a textual CTA, encouraging users to share their story, their power, and to save lives. This encourages more UGC, which will help them promote their brand, and to donate blood to 'save lives.' Businesses that work with non-profits or that have products that can have an emotional impact (insurance can protect your family, for example) can use this strategy.
Where to Find Great Cover Photos
Some amazing cover photos will just be made from graphics, like Buffer's and Drip's. Others will utilize actual photographs. Whichever you choose, there are plenty of resources you can pull images from if you don't have a high-quality image that you've taken yourself.
These include:
- Free stock photo sites like StockSnap, Pexels and Unsplash, which offer free stock photos available for commercial use.
- User generated content, which is free and often available in abundance. Some UGC is extremely high quality, and many users would be honored if you used it as part of your cover photo.
Final Thoughts
The perfect Facebook cover photo size goes a long way in helping you make a great first impression with new users. Your image look good when displayed on both mobile and desktop, without bizarre cropping or the image showing up off-center. Combining the perfect cover photo size with Facebook cover photo best practices can help you build the social presence and reputation that you want to create for your business.
What do you think? What does your perfect Facebook cover photo look like? How do you use your cover photo to represent your business? Let us know in the comments below!
In order to get beyond the statistics and provide a more personal and individual picture of this issue, we have created this section to feature the stories of individuals who have been affected by problem gambling. People who have sought treatment for gambling addition have countless stories of heartbreak, financial devastation, support, reinvention, and recovery. As you read these stories, you will be reminded that problem gambling affects not only the gambler, but also their family members, friends, colleagues and employers; treatment providers; advocates; and many others.
Send us your story! Go to Contact Us and tell us about your successes and challenges. Photos are welcome!
Treatment Works
The good news about gambling addiction is that treatment is effective, and recovery is real and attainable. Northstar Problem Gambling Alliance has gathered a few accounts. A few of them are listed below.
Voices of Recovery
Jim's Story
Gaming Cover Photo For Youtube
When I was about 10, I remember sensing that something was wrong. I went upstairs and heard my dad screaming and crying into the phone. I heard him saying, 'I paid you. I paid you. You're not getting another penny out of me!' I remember his distress vividly, and it was devastating to me to see my dad in that way. Later, I learned he was talking to a loan shark because of financial problems brought about by gambling. Read more to find out how Jim's family dealt with this struggle and what he suggests for other people who are experiencing gambling addiction.
Ann's Story
Once I became hooked, it became my life. Gambling became my main source of entertainment. It was the only thing that I cared about. I'd cheat, steal and otherwise do whatever it took to get money. Read more to see what Ann learned about how to overcome gambling addiction.
Eddie's Story
It was late in the evening on July 16, 2002, and outside the Mystic Lake Casino Eddie and several friends waited anxiously for the clock to strike midnight. Eddie had already watched many of his friends celebrate their eighteenth birthdays at the casino, and he was excited that his day had finally come. Read more about what happened to Eddie and if he is still gambling today.
Gambling Facebook Cover Photos
Christine's Story
Gambling Facebook Cover Photo
Within six months after the big win, I realized I bit off more than I could chew. I had given back all the money, and more. I kept chasing that feeling of the huge win. […] In 2004, I started a business that quickly had financial success. I had so much money that I thought I'd never run out. But eventually I couldn't even come up with postage to ship a package. I started selling stolen goods to cover my losses and eventually ended up in prison on a mail fraud charge. Read more about why Christine is candid about her addiction and how her life is today.
Gaming Cover Photo
The Meyer Family Shares Their Story to Raise Awareness About Gambling Addiction and its Consequences
Kim Meyer and her five children live in a small Long Island community, in the home where she and her high school sweetheart/husband Scott built a full and happy life together over the last 27 years. They co-funded a business, Scott coached the kids' sports teams, and both were involved in their community, schools and church. Scott is now serving a 4½ – 13-year prison sentence for grand larceny and forgery, for using clients' funds to chase more than $500,000 in gambling losses.
With New York state recently legalizing online gambling and preparing to build several new casinos in 2017, Kim has decided to go public with their private nightmare, to help raise awareness about gambling addiction and reduce the stigma that persists – lessons she and her family learned through painful personal experience.
Kim's daughters created this video to raise awareness and let their dad know how much they love and support him.
Read more about the Meyer family's story here.
More Voices of Problem Gambling
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- After 2 semesters in college, I am wondering where all my money has gone. I would tell myself time and time again to stop betting, whether it be online poker, blackjack, or sports bets. A few days later I would always be back placing more bets and telling myself that if I lose this time I would be done forever. I'd win big a couple times, but only to increase my betting size and lose it all days later, and still bet more money. The highs were nice, but the lows were horrible. After losing everything in my checking account I began taking money out of my savings account thinking that I was one big win away from winning it all back. I knew I had a gambling problem, but as long as I wasn't going into debt I tricked myself into thinking that it was okay. I ran myself into a 721 dollar debt on my credit card. There really was no further in debt I could go because the card had a limit of 1000. After being off great financially 9 months ago, I am now completely broke. It really is shameful to think that after I calculated it all up, I had lost about 7000 dollars in savings due to gambling. It still makes me sick just thinking about it. I finally told my parents that I had been losing a moderate amount of money in gambling, even though I could never tell them how much I actually lost. I told them I had lost 3000,and that even shocked them a lot. I haven't gambled for a month, even though I have been tempted to do so many times with money from my job. I let my gambling go from betting around 50 dollars weekly on online-poker to betting 300 dollars 2-3 times a week on any sports game I could find. I hope I never gamble again.
- Hi I'm 12 years old and have three sisters. And well my dad is addicted to gambling. My mom and dad have been fighting ever since he started his problem which is about three years ago and now it scares me to think that they might get a divorce. Well finally after talking everything out my dad has agreed to find some help so I decided to help them find some help.
- Imagine that your own 11 year old daughter approaches you and says 'Dad, I want to talk to you please'. You say, 'Sure honey, what is it?' She then asks your other 8 year old daughter and your 4 year old son to leave her room so she can plead with you to stop gambling. Imagine that you see her tears and then you tell her that nothing causing her to cry would be worth doing again; yet you go and do it over and over again. Have you not, at that stage, lost your human side out to a formidable foe?!
- After three years of my gambling addiction, I lost the family that I was blessed to have. My beautiful wife and children have left me and I have not seen them in over two years. I now live in despair. The high education, good status and jobs that I once had seem to have vanished.
- For two years I lived in different shelters, sought food and clothing from hand-me-down sources, yet I continued to gamble every chance I had money, no matter how little it was!
- As a full-blown gambler, I resorted to extensive research on the subject of addiction and was able to tie my own addiction to troubled childhood. I found out that my behavior was consistent with my subconscious desire to punish myself and my loved ones. I have not been loving myself and sought to humiliate myself and bring harm to those who loved me, because I thought that I was never worthy of being loved.
- This was a first small step in the right direction. It is known as the cognitive approach, and means that I, as a gambler, must have it engraved in my brain, that gambling will never get me even or regain my losses to the casinos. It would only bring me more punishment and it would be sick for me to continue to punish myself and my loved ones. I don't want to be sick and I am determined to overcome my sickness.
- As a gambler, I initially experienced a win and this became a favorable event that stuck in my mind and I didn't remember the overwhelming majority of unfavorable events of losses. I tended to chase my losses, and promised myself that once I 'get even', or at least regain some of my losses back, I would forever stop gambling. I rationalized my gambling due to the pressure that I received from my creditors wanting to be paid back, but gambling always got me deeper and deeper into more dept. Sometimes I become suicidal and other times I ended up committing fraud and consistently lied to my family, friends and associates. Is gambling worth these kinds of outcomes?!
- There is no strategy, there is no scheme that can take any one of us to a point where we can say we can now stop gambling. The only time you win is the time you stay away from further gambling. Conversely, if you submit to your 'bad self' or irrational impulses, you give your own stubbornness control over your life and seize to live the life you deserve. Please don't condemn yourself to a life of despair and worthlessness. Find your 'good self' and overcome your troubles by loving yourself and finding strength and honor from your patience and inner spirituality!
- I'm sitting here trying to figure out how to tell my husband that once again we have a major credit card bill on the way. I swore to him that it would never happen again. I believed my vow, especially when I saw how hard he had to work to pay off the last debt I ran up. How can I tell him I've done it again? I lied about where I was and would rather die than tell him the truth again. I won't blame him if he leaves me. Losing money is one thing, losing my husband, well I can't believe I took that chance. I hope this helps someone like me out there. Now I have to make that phone call to the help line. I can't say good luck, but I can wish you well.
- Greetings, I'm a compulsive gambler. I've been in the Las Vegas Gambler's Anonymous program since 1992. I've gone out there countless times to try to prove I can gamble like others. I am currently living my program, and am very happy.
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- Good Morning. Here's something for your real voices section. When I travel I make the mistake of thinking I can casually gamble in Indian casinos playing the slots. On occasion I've won really big, but the net is not very good. It's pretty clear to me from your self test that I have a gambling problem. Thank you for your web site and for the information you have. I'm going to get help now.
