How to stop sports betting tonight, not forever

Forever is too big to decide at 11pm. Tonight is small enough. Here is tonight.

The next 30 seconds

The urge peaks and passes in about half a minute. That is not a slogan, it is how urges work. So the first job is to get through 30 seconds without the app opening.

• Put the phone face down on the other side of the room.
• Say out loud what you were about to bet and what you were going to tell yourself after.
• Text one person: "I'm about to bet. Call me." You do not have to explain anything else.

The next 30 minutes

• Move tonight's stake out of reach. Open your bank app, send it to savings, close the app. It can be re bet tomorrow. It cannot be bet tonight.
• Lock the book you were about to open. The self exclusion page for every sportsbook is one tap away and the longest period they offer is the right one.

The first morning

• Day 0 counts. It is the day you did not reload.
• Block the sites in your browser so tomorrow night starts behind a wall, not a login screen: 60 seconds on iPhone.
• Tell one person it is day 0. Not the internet. One person.

Make the next 30 seconds automatic

HoldTheBet is the 30 seconds, built into your phone. Your number, your reason, a timer, a text button, a lock button. Free, no account, and it can show up by itself before the betting app opens.