User Stories

Steve Ramsey was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1966. He’s part of a large close family; he’s a lifelong Newcastle United fan, and he’s a compulsive gambler.

In 2018 Steve was sentenced to 27 months in prison for defrauding his employer to the tune of nearly £200,000 to fund his addiction.

Since being released, he’s got his life back on track but still maintains the best thing he ever did was to come clean in the first place and talk to people, even though that led to imprisonment.

Kelly Field from Merseyside began to gamble online when she was off work for an extended period. Within six months she got £10,000 in debt and was borrowing more and more.
Kelly continued to gamble and got so desperate she was close to suicide, until she got treatment.

She said: “It was a real struggle for me to find the courage to speak to my GP about my gambling. Increasing specialist support is brilliant. We need to raise awareness about the ways gambling can have a negative impact on women as well as men so we can stop others going through what I have.”

Joe (not his real name) from Leeds got into gambling at university so badly he couldn’t pay his rent and left without graduating. He then found a job and used all his spare money on gambling. He moved back in with his mum but continued to gamble, taking out loans and credit cards.
He continued to live his life whilst gambling secretly but eventually came clean to his wife and got help from Gamblers Anonymous.

Exercise has been a big help in Joe’s recovery, but he also recognises that he should avoid gambling altogether for his sake as well as his loved ones. He wants to see better awareness of the warning signs of a gambling problem, more open discussion about these so that more people can reach out for support sooner.

Former gym instructor and Leeds lad Nathan Barnes started gambling when he was 18 years old. Seven years later, he had three bad debt credit cards, a high interest overdraft, a standard overdraft, four payday loans and £4,500 of tuition loans . . . and found himself sleeping on his brother’s floor.
He suddenly realised he needed to make a change when someone at work told him they’d been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He said: “I was wasting my life trying to win money from companies designed to take my money from me. After 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.

“What I would say to myself if I was dealing with my undiagnosed self would be to conjure up the courage to accept you’ve got a problem and you need help.”

Matthew Kettell from Sheffield talks about the shame that his gambling addiction brought upon himself and his family. He was close to suicide but ended up going to prison for three years in 2008 after stealing over £300,000 from his company.
He did his time in prison, received help and is now recovering well. Matthew’s message to anyone struggling with gambling is: “There is help out there now so go and make that call – don’t wait until you’ve reached your absolute limit.”

Thirty-two-year-old Chris Murphy from Leeds is now a successful sports journalist and darts commentator but life could have turned out very differently for him.

Anne Evans from Doncaster lost her son Alan in 2010 after he ended his life due to gambling addiction.