A gambling addict described how his life spiralled out of control until he was spending "every waking hour" betting on horses.
It was only when he contacted the Liverpool-based charity Beacon Counselling Trust that he found the help to battle his demons and turn his life around.
The man, who asked to be referred to as Suhayl, said: " Gambling related harm has ravaged my life, until the day I decided to seek support.
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"Aside from the financial difficulties and overwhelming debt, by far the greatest consequence upon me was the devastation upon my emotional and mental health and the people around me.
"I began gambling online. The compulsive nature of my gambling led to me spending every waking hour betting on sports and horse racing. As a compulsive individual, I would study the form of horses, follow online forums and become absorbed in all aspects of gambling.
"In South Asian culture there is a great shame and stigma around gambling and as with other faiths it is considered to be forbidden. This led me to concealing my gambling and not reaching out for support which in turn harmed the people closest to me and even to me taking part in criminal activity."
He added: "A large part of my recovery was through the Beacon Counselling Trust service. They provided free and confidential one-to-one and couples counselling service for those dealing with harmful gambling, as well as their affected family, friends and partners.
"I found it to be a culturally-responsive service that was able to book me in for treatment straight away, there is no waiting list.
"Beacon Counselling Trust's support in my recovery has been hugely important and I am now using my own experiences as part of the team at Beacon to raise awareness of harmful gambling and encourage others in the South Asian community to seek support.
"I want to encourage the community and individuals affected by compulsive gamblers is to develop a compassionate response, one that encourages them to seek treatment without fear of being judged, as the culture of shame and stigmatisation of those struggling can be immensely harmful."
Liverpool-based Suhayl, 38, is now helping to prevent others at risk of harmful gambling in his community from going through what he went through.
Minority communities are disproportionately affected by gambling harm, with many struggle to get help due to cultural and language barriers.
Beacon Counselling Trust offer free treatment and support for anyone at risk of or experiencing gambling related harms. The service operates across the North West of England. This is free confidential, specialist support.
Treatment manager Lauren Campbell said: "Gambling is normalised in the UK. However, our message is that gambling harms are not and need addressing through a public health lens.
"We are focused on supporting all our communities particularly those disproportionately affected. Suhayl’s story demonstrates that despite cultural and language barriers minority communities are not hard to reach, we just need to work harder to reach them and enable more people to access services early to prevent the harms associated with gambling."
Beacon Counselling Trust can be contacted on 0151 226 0696 or by visiting here.
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