A gambling addict who lost £10k in ten minutes has described how he found help after attempting suicide on his birthday.
Mark (not his real name) stole money off his friends and family and took out loans and credit cards to feed his addiction, until he was eventually declared bankrupt.
The 28 year old, who works as a taxi driver in Liverpool, was just 12 when he began placing bets on the football with his dad at the weekend.
During his teenage years, Mark started putting money into fruit machines in Southport and at the age of 17 he asked an older friend to place a bet on the horses for him, which won a lot of money in return.
This win encouraged Mark to go out a buy a fake ID before he turned 18, in order to be able to go into betting shops.
Mark's gambling addiction soon spiralled to a point where he was spending eight hours a day in the bookies and ordering food to be dropped off there so that he didn't have to leave.
At the beginning of 2019, on the day of his 28th birthday, Mark, who couldn't cope with the pressure of his gambling addiction anymore, tried to take his own life.
In the following months he sought help, stopped gambling and has now opened up about the reality of his addiction and the impact it has had on his life.
He told the ECHO : "It started when I was about 12, with putting small football bets on at the weekend with my dad.
"Then when I got a bit older I used to put money in the fruit machines in Southport and when I was in school I asked someone to put a bet on the horses for me and I ended up winning quite a bit of money.
"So when I turned 17 I got a fake ID so that I could go into the betting shop. That's when the roulette wheels came out and I started winning £2,000 a day."
Mark added: "I mainly placed bets on the horses, but then things just got out of control. I started up a company with my mates selling cars and we all put money into the business but the money came into my account because I made the first sale.
"It was £8,000 in total and I ended up going into the casino and I lost £1,000. I felt so bad that I went back into the casino to try to win it back but then I ended up losing all of it."
Mark said it was the "thrill of it" which kept encouraging him to go back and gamble time and time again, but no matter how much money he won, he was never happy.
He said: "I've got an addictive personality and I was impulsive. I used to do things without thinking them through in my head.
"I liked the thrill of it but I was never happy when I won even if it was a lot of money so I'd go back and do it again.
"One time when I was 18, I won £10,000 online and I lost it in ten minutes doing £1,000 spins on a roulette wheel."
Mark told the ECHO : "A few years passed and I became a taxi driver. Each day I would make £130 on the taxi's and then after my shift I'd go and spend it on gambling.
"On the day of my 28th birthday, I tried to kill myself and my Dad walked in on me.
"I couldn't deal with it anymore. People said to me you just need to be strong but everyday was like deja vu, I'd make money on the taxis and then straight away I'd gamble it away again."
"I took out credit cards, loans - you name it. I ended up going bankrupt."
It was at this time that Mark was diagnosed with depression and was prescribed antidepressants by his doctor.
And in a bid to stop himself from gambling any longer, Mark rreached out to GamCare - an independent UK charity who provide information, advice and support for anyone affected by problem gambling - for advice.
With the help of GamCare who rang up all of the betting shops near Mark's home, he was banned from them all, meaning he could no longer place any bets inside them.
He said: "I've banned myself from every betting shop from Kirkdale to Southport and I haven't been in since.
"I couldn't cope with the pressure of letting my dad down anymore. Some days I woke up feeling like I need to gamble straight away.
"I feel better and more positive now and like I can move on with my life."
