But police officers had come to question him. The 47-year-old had stolen £1.3m from his employer to fund a gambling addiction and he was later sentenced to four years in prison.
Here, in his own words, Andy talks about how important it is to seek help if you have a gambling problem, before it escalates out of control.
Here, in his own words, Andy talks about how important it is to seek help if you have a gambling problem, before it escalates out of control.
I used to have a £5 or £10 bet on the football at weekends. I never saw that as being dangerous. But as I worked my way upwards in life, the ability to borrow money came along.
Without me realising, the gambling crept up on me. I started betting £15 a week and then £50. And then £50 became £100, which soon became £500 a month.
I was chasing losses which you know you shouldn’t do. But when you’re in that moment, you do it anyway. That was around 2007. My family then became aware of the problem. My partner and I were buying our first home but I had gambled away the deposit. My parents helped me and I promised never to gamble again. I went seven years from then without having a bet, not even buying a lottery ticket.
But that seven years was down to pure willpower. I didn’t try and get help. I lived a normal, happy life and gradually forgot about my past troubles.
Fast forward to the summer of 2014, I was at home watching the World Cup in Brazil. An advert came on TV offering a free £50 bet. I sat there and thought, well, what’s the harm? Within two weeks, I was back to betting at the levels I had finished at previously.
Here, in his own words, Andy talks about how important it is to seek help if you have a gambling problem, before it escalates out of control.
But police officers had come to question him. The 47-year-old had stolen £1.3m from his employer to fund a gambling addiction and he was later sentenced to four years in prison.
I used to have a £5 or £10 bet on the football at weekends. I never saw that as being dangerous. But as I worked my way upwards in life, the ability to borrow money came along.
Here, in his own words, Andy talks about how important it is to seek help if you have a gambling problem, before it escalates out of control.
Here, in his own words, Andy talks about how important it is to seek help if you have a gambling problem, before it escalates out of control.
I used to have a £5 or £10 bet on the football at weekends. I never saw that as being dangerous. But as I worked my way upwards in life, the ability to borrow money came along.
Without me realising, the gambling crept up on me. I started betting £15 a week and then £50. And then £50 became £100, which soon became £500 a month.
I was chasing losses which you know you shouldn’t do. But when you’re in that moment, you do it anyway. That was around 2007. My family then became aware of the problem. My partner and I were buying our first home but I had gambled away the deposit. My parents helped me and I promised never to gamble again. I went seven years from then without having a bet, not even buying a lottery ticket.
But that seven years was down to pure willpower. I didn’t try and get help. I lived a normal, happy life and gradually forgot about my past troubles.
Fast forward to the summer of 2014, I was at home watching the World Cup in Brazil. An advert came on TV offering a free £50 bet. I sat there and thought, well, what’s the harm? Within two weeks, I was back to betting at the levels I had finished at previously.
#039I #gambling #addict #stole #1.3m #prison039
Note:- (Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor. The content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.))
