Adam's story

Chasing losses, payday loans

I first tried gambling when I was 16 years old, betting on football with my dad. Once I turned 18, that’s when I started to gamble more. I started gambling on football bets and horse racing, especially on major events like Cheltenham, but I quickly moved on to other kinds of online betting such as roulette and blackjack.

I knew things had gotten bad when I gambled away the inheritance left to me by my grandmother. You’d have thought that would be enough to stop me, but that just encouraged me to chase my losses to try to make things right and win back the money that I’d lost. I was spending my whole salary in a matter of days and even took out payday loans to fund my gambling. Eventually, the bailiffs knocked on my door and I realised how much of a problem my gambling had become.

Opening up to family

Having the bailiffs at the door was the trigger I needed to take the big step of opening up to my family. Luckily, they were incredibly supportive. Rather than being angry at me, they were disappointed in themselves for not noticing the signs that I was struggling with gambling and wanted to help me with my recovery. I joined Gamstop in 2020, just as the UK was going into lockdown, as well as going to GamCare for advice and support. Talking about my gambling was the best thing I ever did.

A new chapter

I have been gambling-free now for 4 years. Since signing up to Gamstop, I have used social media to document my recovery experience. I have been bowled over by the positive response I have received, and it’s really helped to show me that I’m not alone, there are many others out there like me and it’s helped me to know that my story is helping others.

I also took some advice that was given to me early in my recovery – to look at replacement activity ideas. I took up running and to date, I have completed 10 half marathons and counting, as well as the Yorkshire Marathon.