'AITA for refusing to give my gambling addict son more money to waste?'

A mother has spoken about her 26-year-old son’s gambling addiction that left her with no choice but to cut off her financial support for him.

Taking to Reddit’s ‘Am I The A*****e' (AITA) subreddit section, the Redditor, under the username PerfectCougarGirl, shared, “I (F, 50s) have a 26-year-old son who lives on his own and works a good job in marketing.”

“He’s always been a responsible young man in my eyes, but recently he started reaching out to me for financial help. He said he had big expenses that he needed assistance with, and as a parent, I was more than happy to help him out when he asked,” she said.

Woman said her son could not justify his expenses

The woman continued that sometime back, she visited her son and found his bank statements.

“The majority of his money was going to online casinos, and there were large amounts of cash withdrawals. It was all adding up, and it became clear that he had been using the money I had been sending him to fuel a gambling addiction," she claimed.

But when the Redditor confronted her son, he failed to give a justification. “He just kept saying things like ‘it’s personal’ or ‘I’ll explain later,’ but never really clarified what these supposed expenses were,” she mentioned in her post.

The woman then noted, “I told him that I could no longer support him financially unless he sought professional help for his gambling. He got really upset, calling me unsupportive and accusing me of betraying him.”

Presenting her side, she said that she loves her son, but does not “want to enable this behavior any longer, but I’m also feeling torn.”

“AITA for stopping my financial support and telling him he needs professional help to deal with his gambling addiction?” the woman asked.

Redditors support woman for her ‘tough love’

People supported the Redditor for being tough with her gambling addict son, with one fellow user commenting, “NTA. Love isn’t just about giving what someone wants, it’s about giving what they need. Stopping the cash flow isn’t cruel, it’s necessary. You’re not cutting him off, you’re cutting off the addiction. Stay strong, you’re doing the right thing!”

“NTA, you did the right thing by stopping to give him money! He needs to get help asap!” another wrote.

One Redditor remarked, “NTA. It’s tough love, but sometimes that’s the only call. Can’t keep fueling the fire if he’s not ready to admit there’s a problem. It’s a rough spot but stick to your guns.”

Another posted, “NTA. You’re protecting your son by not enabling his gambling addiction and encouraging him to seek help. It’s tough, but it’s the right choice…”

One individual stated, “NTA. It's a tough call, but you're definitely not the bad guy for choosing to stop the financial flow once you realized it was fueling a gambling habit rather than helping with genuine needs. It's clear you care deeply about your son's well-being, and sometimes love means taking the hard steps that might not be appreciated in the moment but are crucial for long-term health and stability. Offering to support him through recovery rather than his roulette habit shows you're still in his corner, just not in the way he wants right now.”

“Addicts don't change or get help successfully until they've hit rock bottom, often enough. You can't enable him if you want him to start to recover. I'm so sorry. You made the right decision. You may need to find yourself a support group. NTA,” another comment read.

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