Julie Martin, Peer-Aid Training Co-Ordinator at Betknowmore, shares her heartbreaking story about her ex-husband who had a gambling addiction for 25+ years. She shares how it affected him, and those around him, including his wife and two young children. Sadly, with his gambling addiction came abusive behaviour, which led to the demise of their relationship, and tragically, his life. Julie now works in the gambling related harms industry, providing training to peer aid co-ordinators, to help those who were in a similar situation to Julie.

This episode is with veteran and ex gambler, Andy Gallie. Andy speaks about his time in the Navy, and how his childhood experiences shaped his gambling addiction. Andy explains why people in the Navy are more likely to suffer gambling related harm, and how the Armed Forces Gambling Support Network (AFGSN) can provide training and treatment to anyone in the armed forces community.

In this episode, we welcome Abi, our first woman gambler, to share her story with gambling harms. During maternity leave, Abi decided to try her luck at Bingo to help fund her leave, and for something to do during the night feeds. Some harmless fun at online bingo soon transpired to not being able to think about anything else. After throwing away all her funds for Christmas presents, Abi decided it's time to get help. Abi speaks about her addiction, how it affected relationships and her mental health, and goes on to speak about her positive recovery, including some therapy with Breakeven and joining two of our nationwide support groups (available to all, not just Breakeven clients).

Fresh into university at 19, Paul started to feel the pressure and turned to gambling. He started to chase his losses, taking out credit to fund his gambling habits, and ended up in £10,000 debt. Paul turned to his work for support, who were far from supportive, which led him to Breakeven. Paul has undertaken therapy from Breakeven, and enrolled on our After Care Programme, Green Shoots, where he continues to be a member of the lived experience group for continuous support. Paul also speaks about how being neurodiverse can encourage gambling behaviours.

Harj tells his heartbreaking story about his gambling addiction, that lead to an attempt on his life. Harj talks about the Sharam (Shame) in South Asian Communities, and how difficult it was to seek help for his addiction. Harj lives to tell the tale, and uses his lived experience to help others in the South Asian Community. People from minoritized communities often experience disproportionate levels of gambling harm, often up to 5 times in comparison to someone from a white ethnic background. We understand it can be incredibly difficult for people to seek help and support due to the stigma and shame attached to gambling. As a result, people may feel alone and isolated. Our pioneering Breaking The Sharam Programme works in the heart of communities to break the shame, and stigma by providing training, awareness and culturally relevant support to VCSFE group in a variety of community languages.

We are joined on this months episode by Peter & Steph Shilton, sharing their gambling story. Peter Shilton, the most capped England player of all time, speaks about the famous Hand of God moment, and his footballing career. He goes on to tell his 45 year gambling story, how he became addicted to gambling, and how much he spent on gambling in total. His now wife, Steph, spotted the gambling signs and single-handedly helped him to stop his gambling. Peter & Steph open up about how they managed to stop Peter's gambling behaviour, and how and why they came out to the press regarding their story, which has resulted in saving lives, and being advocates for helping those affected by gambling related harms.

Christine Parker, Head of Criminal Justice at Breakeven, speaks about The Criminal Justice Programme, where Breakeven deliver gambling related harms training in prisons. Christine explains why people in prison may struggle with gambling related harms, and how they can receive help. The Breakeven Criminal Justice Programme offers accredited interventions designed to support individuals in prison or probation services, who are adversely affected by gambling or gaming. This includes: Group courses One to one individual sessions Face to face or telephone sessions Activity packs and workbooks Participants who complete the course modules can earn accreditation through the AQA Unit Award Scheme achieving a Level 1 certification. We have expanded our services into more institutions across the East and South East. We are working closely with Probation services in Kent and Sussex to aid both staff, and those in their care, to recognise signs of harmful gambling and confidently signpost to support pathways. To get more information on the Breakeven Criminal Justice Programme, contact [email protected]

Steve Girling, Co-Founder of Reframe Coaching, tells his story about his relationship with gambling. Steve first introduced to gambling as a young child, with family trips to the arcades. Moving onto fruit machines, slot machines, and online betting, Steve realised his addiction was ramping up. Steve went to lengths to get money to fund his gambling, resulting in stealing from his employer, and eventually prison. Whilst in prison, Steve took courses in coaching and counselling, and the idea of Reframe Coaching was born.

Ex Professional League footballer, Matty Etherington, opens up about his gambling addiction. Matty struggled with gambling throughout the height of his footballing career, and talks about how this affected his performance, his career, and his family. Matty speaks about the temptation to gamble in the footballing industry, and what needs to be done to help those struggling. At the end of the episode, we welcome ex professional footballer George Parris, who also struggled with a gambling addiction in his footballing days, to compare gambling in football from George's footballing era, to Matty's, to now.

Andy developed a gambling addiction when he was serving in the military. He speaks openly about his experience with gambling, and how he has since come out the other side, and has been bet free for 5 years. Breakeven are proud to be a partner of The Armed Forces Gambling Support Network, and Andy talks about the help that military personnel and veterans can receive, including treatment and also education around gambling related harms.