11 March 2026
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Tony Fisherand
Lily-May Symonds, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire
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A male who lost more than ₤ 250,000 through gambling stated he had actually "suffered in silence".
Taylor Hart, 32, positioned his very first small bet when he was 14 years of ages on a football accumulator, where you select groups and you get some cash if all of them win.
The gaming addict, from Dunstable in Bedfordshire, stated that when he had won he was probably hooked without understanding it as he might not wait till the next week to get a new football slip.
It was just in the early hours one morning about 15 years later that he realised he had a gaming problem - and already he had 72p in his checking account.
Hart said he used to get ₤ 10 pocket money from his parents and "suddenly I am getting a lot more cash by winning bets".
He said with that earnings he "might not wait to do it again; it was such a great feeling".
From the age of 21, it started to become a larger problem when he started putting bets with greater stakes.
For the last 5 years of his betting life, horse racing was the only thing he would wager on, he stated.
At 29 years old, he believed "this can not go on anymore" and he handled to discover a rehab centre via a charity called Gordon Moody.
He entered into rehabilitation on 13 November 2023 for a 14-week domestic stay.
He described it as "the best decision I have ever made" and since coming out of rehab he stated he had not positioned a single bet.
Hart said that it was only after going to Gordon Moody that he worked out he had lost more than ₤ 250,000.
He also realised he had actually been greatly targeted by gambling marketing, which he described as "a real huge problem".
"You can not go anywhere without seeing betting, you can not listen to the radio without hearing betting adverts, and you can't even get on a bus without seeing gaming adverts on the signboards," he included.
"I suffered in silence for a long period of time where I was living from pay cheque to pay cheque and all my money went on betting.
"I was hiding my gaming and I did not desire anybody to understand how much I was losing.
"That is when it ends up being an issue. It was not pleasurable. It was kind of if I don't win this bet then the bills are not making money."
'Silent addiction'
With racing's Cheltenham Festival under method, Hart stated perhaps bettors should think whether they have a problem if they identified themselves in what he was stating.
He said he had actually lost a lot of loved ones due to his betting as he was borrowing money off them.
He added: "If somebody is taking drugs or drinking alcohol it is more apparent, but betting is a quiet dependency."
A spokesman for the Gambling Commission regulative body stated there were "stringent rules governing the advertising of gaming ... which are developed to ensure that marketing communications for gambling products are socially accountable, with particular regard to the requirement to protect kids, young adults under 18 and other susceptible individuals from being damaged or exploited by advertising that includes or promotes gaming".
They included that "targeted action around advertising and sponsorship is essential, particularly to better guarantee that children and individuals who may be vulnerable have actually considerably decreased exposure".
If you have actually been impacted by the problems raised in this story, you can check out the BBC Action Line for support - appearance under "Addiction".
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