Lure of a big win kept Leeds gambling addict coming back for more

But those harmless bets rapidly turned into something darker and more destructive, and as a gambling addiction took hold from the age of 18, Nathan knew that he was in deep.

He hopelessly thought that one day a major win would cure all his problems: “I remember putting my first £20 note in the fixed odds betting terminal (FOBT) and, as many gamblers can attest to, number 22 came up which was the only number that wasn’t covered. I felt absolutely furious, absolutely empty.

“Then the chase came. Suddenly a full month of my wage was in the machine with nothing to show for it.

“Already I was planning my revenge against the bookies. I went home, took a £300 payday loan with 1,200 percent interest, and started plotting schemes, researching algorithms and ‘insider information’ to get even with the bookies.”

After seven years and more than £20,000 blown on fruitless bets "on the dogs, the horses, and anything that moved" he knew the time had come to seek help when he felt suicidal: “I hated myself. I had no energy for anything but placing a bet. I was a couple of days away from ending it all.”

Fitness instructor Nathan, 27, from Leeds, is speaking out during Responsible Gambling Week, a cross-industry initiative to promote safer gambling in the UK and Ireland, at the same time as Leeds City Council runs its ‘Beat The Odds campaign, a project to raise awareness of gambling problems with the South Asian community in Leeds.

Matthew Gaskell, consultant psychologist and clinical lead for the NHS Northern Gambling Service, said: “I welcome the drive to put more responsible legislation in place.

"I believe it is wrong to suggest that if you have an addiction, then you are irresponsible. This increases the stigma and shame people with addiction problems feel, which makes it harder for them to get help. I want to see more responsibility from gambling operators.

“This will be better achieved with a serious and collective effort to protect the young and vulnerable from harm. It’s important that we don’t lose sight of the impact that gambling addiction can have on families and individuals.”

Today Nathan Barnes, who has not gambled for 521 days, is running two businesses and works as a boxercise instructor: “After seven expensive years, three bad debt credit cards, a high interest credit union overdraft, a standard overdraft, four payday loans and £4,500 of tuition loans, I found myself sleeping on my little brother’s floor.”

For Nathan, recovery came after a wakeup call at work when one of the customers at the gym he was working at told him that his reason for going to the gym every day was because he had a terminal illness and was trying to prolong his life.

He started to see things differently at that point and put everything into perspective: “It was after that on 1 May, 2018 that I vowed never to gamble again, and confessed everything to my family and friends. I also vowed to my new partner that I would never gamble again and that has been absolutely crucial in my recovery. Now I replace that craving by picking up a weight.

“The Northern Gambling Service would have helped me tremendously in terms of access to quality services to help deal with my conditions, thoughts and concerns. It’s wonderful that the NHS is now investing in treating problem gamblers.

“Hopefully now the term ‘Gambling addict’ is taken much more seriously.”

Factfile

The NHS Northern Gambling Service covers the whole of the north of England and the north Midlands.

It is set up to provide specialist addiction therapy and recovery to people affected by gambling addiction, as well as those with mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and suicidal feelings.

The service also provides intervention to people close to those with gambling addiction, such as family, partners, and carers.

The clinical team at the service is made up of psychologists, therapists, psychiatrists, and mental health nurses.

There is also access to experts by experience, who have recovered from gambling addiction.

You can refer yourself or go via your doctor or be referred by a number of other support agencies such as the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

Call them on 0300 3001490

Email them at [email protected] or click here for more NHS Northern Gambling Service