gambling harms special

Do you think that wider intervention from the government is required to limit gambling harms?

Martin: Definitely. The government should have regulated the industry a long time ago to keep up to date with the digital online harms gambling can cause.

Kelly: Yes there should be much more intervention. The industry is a business but doesn’t follow their duty of care. It is allowed to bombard the young and vulnerable via TV, radio and social media.

As an ex gambler, what was it that made you think I had to stop?

M: Trauma made me realise I had to stop. Family tragedy made me realise I had not been a good father or husband. It was irrational thinking that a win would solve all our financial woes – it never did, it just got worse.

K: For me like with any addiction, I hit my own rock bottom. I was emotionally, physically and psychologically exhausted. I had maxed out five credit cards and lost thousands. I was suicidal and my mental health was in the gutter.

What types of factors led you to gamble originally?

M: Everybody gambled on football or horses, so when I started it was deemed normal and embedded into society. There are no health warnings of the dangers.

K: I started to gamble while dealing with a work-related grievance. It was escapism from reality. Quickly I had crossed the invisible line of addiction. The adverts on TV target women during the day with bingo.

What are the stereotypes of gambling addicts?

M: The public misunderstands gambling addiction. It’s seen as greed because no substance is involved as such, but the brain is being hijacked and hacked. For example, A lady leaving the bingo hall is nothing unusual, But if she is suffering from gambling harm nobody would know. An old guy leaving the bookies beaten and broken would not get much sympathy. Society and the gambling industry put the onus onto the individual, ‘nobody made you do it’, –that sort of thing.

K: It is seen as a male-dominated addiction. Support services are maledominated, but games and products are targeted at males and females. Bingo is all singing, all dancing community-based gambling.

Speaking first-hand to people who have gambled has highlighted the normalisation and targeting that the gambling industry does to lure people into gambling. It is evident that although there are perceptions of self-fulfilment and indulgence from people engaging in gambling, there is a targeted easy access to gambling and a lack of responsibility when harms are evident.