The co-host of the All Bets Are Off Podcast, Chris Gilham, now thrives to help people after battling a five-year-long troubling gambling addiction.
What started off as taking part in sweepstakes at work to an uncontrollable addiction, it quickly became clear that Chris, 38, couldn’t stop gambling. Alongside an alcohol problem Chris admitted that he was addicted to escaping reality but was unaware of the problems that it would cause. He said: “I felt like I needed to fill a void which I thought would help.”
The 38-year-old’s gambling habits progressively got worse when he began to put bets on 24 / 7. He started to gamble on anything and everything from online casinos to virtual events and different sport matches around the world. He said: “One Saturday morning when my son was at a swimming lesson I betted on an Australian women’s football team which I had never heard of.” He added: “It went from something enjoyable to needing to put a bet on. I loved getting that warm feeling in my stomach”
The impact on Chris’ family was horrendous as they were left questioning whether they could still trust him. He said: “They’ve only ever been amazing but they still questioned what have they done to make this happen.” He added: “All the plans financially couldn’t be done and it messed up all of their mental health. My wife could say that I nicked all her dreams.”
After getting into a staggering amount of debt and failing to recover in 2015, Chris’ mental health rapidly deteriorated. He planned to end his life as he couldn’t see any other way out. “The plan was to win a certain amount of money, click withdraw and then kill myself before I could reverse it” said Chris. He added: “After that I thought this has got to stop so that was the night (29.10.2017) I made the choice to get help.”
Chris went to a Gamblers Anonymous (GA) meeting and knew straight away that he had made the right choice. “I saw these people who suddenly understood me” said Chris. He added: “It’s full of people from all walks of life who unfortunately are predisposed to this illness.” After attending regular GA meetings Chris has never gambled since.
Chris now co-hosts the All Bets Are Off Podcast to help gambling addicts and build a community of support. The podcast discusses a range of different issues on each episode for example: student gamblers, international problems, finance issues, the Gambling Review and female gamblers. He said: “We have always said if it helps one person then it would have been worth doing.”
Chris also champions that gambling companies need to take dual responsibility for the safety of their users and spreads awareness about the dangers of gambling.