Every day someone takes their life in the UK because of gambling addiction. Now with the accessibility and gamification of gambling apps, there could be an epidemic among young people in years to come

^{By Deborah Cicurel}

Walking back from the betting shop close to his university, Matt Zarb-Cousin had never felt so low. He was 19, had just gambled £2,500 in a few hours, and felt completely out of control. Overwhelmed by suicidal thoughts, Matt seriously considered taking his own life. This was rock bottom, a place he would never have foreseen when he started casually betting on football aged 16, soon finding himself hooked on playing roulette on fixed odds betting terminals.

But despite ending up in dire financial straits, selling his possessions, getting into debt and maxing out his overdrafts, the loss of finances was not as devastating as the mental health problems gambling created.

Every aspect of Matt’s life was affected. He’d miss out on nights out or trips away, intending to catch the train to see friends – then deciding to pop into the betting shop near the station for “one quick bet”. Four hours later, he’d emerge having lost all his money, the social occasion he’d missed out on having long finished.

He was late for everything, became unreliable and secretive as he tried to mask his addiction, and prioritised gambling over friendships or romantic relationships.

“You become very good at hiding it, otherwise people might confront you and then you might have to face up to it,” he reflects. “That stops you gambling and you want to keep gambling because you’re addicted.”

While statistics show that problem gambling in women is skyrocketing, men are still more likely than women to have gambling disorder. Matt blames this on gambling advertising and sponsorship being normalised and celebrated in the male-centric world of football and other sports.

Dr Elena Touroni, a consultant psychologist and co-founder of The Chelsea Psychology Clinic, adds that men often engage in more high-risk behaviours, and gambling can provide a sense of competition, control, or even escape.

“There’s also a cultural aspect – gambling is often more socially accepted and even encouraged among men, whether that’s sports betting with friends or poker nights,” she says.

But what makes us want to gamble, when logically we know the odds are stacked against us – and how does a casual gambler become an addict? Dr Touroni says gambling addiction is driven by a mix of psychological, neurological and social factors.

“The brain’s reward system plays a key role – when a person wins, dopamine is released, reinforcing the behaviour and making them want to repeat it,” she explains.

“Over time, even near-misses can create the same sense of excitement, keeping people hooked. One of the biggest misconceptions is that gambling addiction is purely about money – it’s often more about the psychological thrill and escape it provides. That’s why even people who win big often continue gambling until they lose again.”

After his recovery, Matt was shocked to see the direction that the gambling industry was going in – and how people are lured on a pathway to addiction without even realising it.

“When online gambling came along, it was really frightening to me,” he recalls. “This is the first generation that’s grown up with casino games in their pocket.”

It wasn’t that Matt was worried about a relapse, as he was confidently in recovery – but he was struck by the fact that the machines he’d got addicted to could now be played on smartphones at any time.

In 2015, together with co-founder, Jack Symons, who had also gambled himself into tens of thousands of debt, Matt started Gamban, a tool that allows individuals to block access to gambling websites and apps across all devices, and has helped 250,000 users since it first launched.

If struggling with problem gambling, Matt also recommends asking your bank to block gambling transactions, saying these tools work well in combination by “creating friction” between you and gambling.

Charles Ritchie, who co-founded the charity Gambling with Lives after losing his son Jack, 17, to a gambling addiction, says treatment and action on products are needed in addition to blocking websites. “Gambling is a proper addiction, and like any addiction, you need help and treatment to finally escape,” he adds.

“There are now 15 National Health Gambling Specialist clinics across the country. Installing online barriers are helpful, but gambling is an addiction and a mental health condition, so you need treatment as well. Gambling products actually change your brain: it isn’t just a ‘bad habit’ or a bit of fun, it is an addiction.”

If the accessibility of gambling apps isn’t troubling enough, gambling companies use highly sophisticated methods to keep people playing — and, according to Ritchie, actually target those in poorer communities.

For example, the Gambling Commission reveals that 35 per cent of people with gambling disorder receive daily incentives to gamble, compared to four per cent of those not suffering gambling harm – demonstrating how powerful betting companies prey on the vulnerable.

“Features like ‘near misses’, randomised rewards, and flashing lights or sounds mimic the effects of addictive substances by keeping the brain engaged,” explains Dr Touroni. “Many online platforms also use personalised notifications, bonuses, and algorithms that detect when someone is about to stop playing, prompting them with offers to keep them gambling.”

Matt explains that the gambling industry operates by converting casual gamblers into people who gamble more than they otherwise would have – and points out that 86 per cent of gambling revenues come from 5 per cent of customers. “It’s a commercial model that’s built on people losing more than they can afford,” he says. “Gambling has the highest suicide rate of any addiction.”

Gambling with Lives reveals that every day, someone takes their life in the UK because of gambling – and estimates that between 4 to 11 per cent of suicides in the UK are gambling-related. Swedish research shows that people with gambling disorder are up to 15 times more likely to take their lives. But because of the secretive nature of addiction, many parents don’t realise their children are addicted before it’s too late.

Another concerning element is just how young children are when they start viewing gambling adverts: children as young as six are targeted by brightly-coloured betting advertising, which normalises gambling and blends seamlessly with gaming content.

Last year, charity GambleAware warned that for children, gambling content looks “like a game”. Data has shown that children exposed to gambling at a young age are four times more likely to go on to experience problem gambling themselves. 

Ritchie worries that the focusing of betting ads on vulnerable young people and the gamification of gambling could reel youngsters into addiction before they even hit their teenage years, resulting in a gambling epidemic in the decades to come.

“Not only have we got highly addictive products being peddled to everyone as just a bit of fun, but they are being targeted at young people who neurologically are more vulnerable to harm,” he says. “There’s lots of research which shows that gambling changes the brain, altering your decision-making processes. It feels almost inevitable that the problem of addiction is going to increase over time.”

Looking back at how close he came to taking his own life, Matt feels lucky to have quit when he did, saying the money lost is unimportant compared to the agency he now has in his life.

“The only way you can actually stop gambling is by accepting the losses and moving forward with your life,” he adds, “Over time, in the context of your life, you won’t care about the money. You can get the money back, but you can’t get back the time you lost.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK