A former gambling addict says a £1 football bet triggered a habit that made him rack up £140,000 worth of debt.
David Withey won £3,800 on a football accumulator when he was 18 and the windfall convinced him that betting was “easy money”.
The 31-year-old’s excitement turned into obsession, and gambling soon took over every aspect of his life.
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David said he would spend “hours upon hours” gambling every day, often losing thousands of pounds at a time.
His lowest moment came when he lost £75,000 in just 20 minutes.
“I was hooked,” David, a business owner from Kent, told Need To Know.
“I thought ‘this is easy’.
“I liked playing slots – it filled my time and when I won it gave me enjoyment, when I lost, it gave me the feeling of wanting to win it back.
“By 21, I was doing nothing but gambling.
“I was hardly sleeping, working or eating.
“I’d spend thousands at a time.
“When I lost, I felt deflated and disgusted but the urge would quickly return and I’d think ‘just one more time’.
“I didn’t see myself as addicted until it got really bad and I realised it wasn’t right.
“The day I lost £75,000, I felt awful and it was the day I finally told my dad about my problem.”
The music business owner’s debts ballooned through loans and overdrafts as he desperately tried to chase his losses.
He said: “The debt built up furiously over the space of three or four years.
“When I realised I was in £140,000 worth of debt, I was disgusted in myself.
“I became depressed.
“It was awful, and was all I could think about.
“I felt hopeless, like I was letting everyone down, and at one point it made me consider more severe things.
“It affected my relationships with family and friends because everything I was earning was going on debt or gambling so I had no money to do things with them.”
David eventually confessed to his family who were “extremely supportive”, while friends also rallied around him and tried to help him stop gambling.
He said: “My family didn’t know about my addiction.
“ I just didn’t tell anyone, I was doing it alone in my bedroom or at my office where I worked alone.
“No one had any idea.
“I hardly was working, the business started to fail as I wasn’t putting in the time and effort and was just focusing on gambling.
“I lived at home, I’d pay my mum rent just to try and not make it obvious, but would always made sure she was paid.”
Despite signing up to GamStop, a service designed to block users from UK gambling websites, David found ways around the restrictions by using overseas betting sites.
He has also criticised betting companies for failing to intervene despite the vast sums he was spending.
He said: “They never questioned my spending.
“I got a couple of questionnaires to fill out for my income but they didn’t really care.
“They absolutely didn’t do enough to protect me.
“Even to close my accounts, I’d have to email them a couple of times.
“There should stop showing gambling adverts to young men and women and they shouldn’t be on big channels and sports shows.
“When I was doing it, it was so easily accessible.
“I used to watch YouTube videos of people playing big and then try and play the same games.”
Now debt-free after eight years of repayments from his salary and help from his dad, David says quitting gambling transformed his life.
He said: “The motivation and support from my family helped me to stop because I didn’t want to disappoint them.
“My life has improved hugely.
“I’ve lost a lot of weight, got myself into a really good relationship and I don’t have anxiety as much.
“I get to do loads of fun things.
“My advice to anyone is just don’t gamble, not even for a bit of fun.
“My advice to young men would be not to take note of anyone who promotes gambling or advises to do it.
“Tipsters are huge on social media and it’s all a lie.
“Stay as far away from gambling as physically possible and focus on building your futures.
“Gambling sites and adverts definitely prey on young men with deposit bonuses, but to actually withdraw most of the time you have to win 20 times your deposit, which is a lot harder than you think.”
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