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- 29-year-old project manager relays his experience betting sports and how it shattered his life
- "It got more and more unrealistic. I was betting on things I knew nothing about, like Russian ice hockey,” Trent Martin relayed
- New technology including betting apps for Android, iPhone and iPads have contribute to the epidemic
- "I was suicidal by the end of it. At that stage I couldn't see another way out of it,” Martin shared
ABC Australia this past weekend featured a scathing report on the lives of young men “left in ruins” from sports betting.
"It just seemed so easy and I was like this isn't chance. There was some science behind this, I knew stuff about it. So it just sort of snowballed from there,” project manager Trent Moran relayed about his sports betting addiction that started with a single bet on a Melbourne Storm NRL game.
"It seemed so easy to put on a bet that was not a lot of money and you got a decent enough return. And I was like, oh that was so easy."
But then it turns. You lose. And Martin believes he lost to the tune of about a half million dollars over the years.
"It hurts a bit, you know. I just had that money in my hand and now it's gone. Oh well I'll go a bit tamer, something that's a sure thing, and double up again. And very quickly - do that two or three times - and you're a thousand dollars behind where you started. I was chasing it from that point."
"It got more and more unrealistic. I was betting on things I knew nothing about, like Russian ice hockey. I'd be putting multi-bets on three Slovakian teams playing against three other eastern European teams - just throwing darts at the wall."
New technology: Betting apps for Android, iPhone and iPads have certainly helped contribute to the epidemic.
Constant gambling on sports using his mobile device was taking over Martin’s life, ABC reported.
"I felt sick most of the time, like I'd be sitting on the couch at home and everyone else would be sitting there relaxing and my heart rate would be through the roof. I was just stressed beyond belief," he said.
"I was suicidal by the end of it. At that stage I couldn't see another way out of it."
Dr Cameron McIntosh, a clinical psychologist at the St Vincent's Hospital Gambling Treatment program in Sydney, told the media outlet that some of these clinics have seen a 15 to 20 per cent rise in recent years.
Australia is looking to curb the problem by reducing the amount of advertisements for online gambling by eliminating such ads during daytime and early evening hours.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon says gambling reform is one of his major priorities.
"These are young men that won't be able to afford a deposit on their first home or an overseas trip. Who could lose their homes, who could find themselves bankrupt and their relationships destroyed as a result of their online gambling addictions and the government and the opposition still don't get it," he said.
The Australian Wagering Council, the peak body for some of the big players in the industry, said in a statement says its members "acknowledge community concerns around the volume and placement of wagering advertising and want to open discussion on how best to address these concerns".
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
