Online gambling luring teenagers into addiction
School pupils developing habits which are destroying lives
TEENAGERS across the West Midlands are being left ‘broken and suicidal’ as a result of rising levels of addiction to gambling – with the ease of betting online and the link between sport and gambling proving a worrying lure.
Pupils still in school are already developing online betting habits, with some so deeply immersed by the time they are in their early 20s that they are seeing relationships implode, have difficulties holding down jobs and their mental health plummets. Some turn to crime to feed their habit.
For some, too, the desperation they feel is so bad that they consider suicide, seeing no other way out.
David Hollingsworth, a former addict himself, says he does not believe the crisis has ever been so bad, or affected people so early.
He oversees a residential rehab centre in Dudley, one of several run by the Gordon Moody specialist charity, where the most troubled addicts can get help through an intense 14-week residential programme.
The charity is finding the average age of those referred for help is falling fast, and waiting lists growing.
He said: “It used to be middle aged and older men who were the most troubling cases, and most likely to seek our help. Now we are seeing more young men, in their late teens and early 20s, and more women. The average age of our residents is now 31.”
This is a result of the 24-hour online gambling culture, an ever present in people’s lives, he said.
“It used to be that a gambling addiction could manifest itself slowly, now everything is speeded up, the whole process from a first bet and what’s seen as harmless fun to addiction plays out much more quickly,” said Mr Hollingsworth. “We all have access to mobile phones, and if you are a gambling addict that causes problems. You could be lying in your bed and lose a whole month’s salary without having got out from underneath your duvet.”
He said the lifestyle of addicts has changed, and problems are much easier to mask.
“It used to be an issue afflicting men who were at the betting shop or racetrack, or sometimes the casino. I was an addict myself, 20 or more years ago, spending time at the dog track or the betting shop. But at least I had the respite of knowing the shops shut, the track closed.
“Now there is no escape. We are bombarded 24 hours a day with a lure to get your fix. It is a terrifying place to be for an addict I am not surprised the average age of those encountering harm is coming down, and the problems are manifesting much sooner.”
Mr Hollingsworth said he has strategies in place that help him pay no attention to adverts, betting shop window displays and other lures.
But he said it was increasingly difficult for current addicts to avoid, with ads popping up on TV, at sports events and on phones.
Payday loans and easy credit all add to the risks. Gambling help agencies, including Gamblers Anonymous, treatment clinics and charities, are seeing cases rise.
Mr Hollingsworth said the ninebed unit in Dudley, which helps around 70 people a year, is a “place of last resort”, when other treatment options have not worked. It only takes in those who are deemed to be at greatest risk, with a constant waiting list of people desperate for help.
“It is voluntary of course, there are no bars on the windows. The programme is intensive and challenging, but we see people go from suicidal and broken to having hope. It is a place of hope.”
The UK’s leading gambling charity GambleAware, which offers free confidential support for anyone worried about gambling, says just short of 200,000 people in the West Midlands are experiencing gambling harm. Helpline: 0808 8020 133.