Craig Spearman Talks Out About Gambling to Help Himself and Others – 07.02.13 Many people enjoy gambling and indeed gamble sensibly for fun and enjoyment. Statistics show (Prevalence Survey 2010) that in excess of 73% of the adult population gamble in one form or another. However for roughly 1% of the population, some 451,000 people, it’s a whole lot more than fun – It’s a serious addiction that can lead to fatal consequences. There are an abundance of gambling options that lurk to entice us in many formats. Traditional flutters on the horses and dogs are no longer mainstream – we now have scratch cards, Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT), and over 30 million National Lottery tickets sold each week. The gambling industry in the UK is worth in excess of £ 5 billion, and nowadays we are bombarded incessantly by gambling companies offering us the opportunity to bet on everything and anything. Often, free bets are the incentive to get us started and the convenience of mobile apps offer increased temptation and accessibility. The difficulty that sets gambling apart, is its accessibility. High Street shops are multiplying and occupying more space than ever before. Opening hours range from 7.30am to 10pm, 24-hour access to the internet makes online betting opportunities endless. On his decision to talk out, Craig Spearman said, “Gambling was a part of my life from my early years and in reality became a problem sometime in my twenties. When personal problems in life snowballed several years ago it caused my problem to escalate and become destructive. It’s caused me and people around me huge heartache. At times the pain and self-loathing has pushed me to the brink. I’ve tried many types of therapy, some of which were good and some not so good. In recent times learning and understanding myself as an individual and adhering to strict disciplines has lead me away from gambling and onto a better path for the future. By talking out I hope I can bring attention to the wider issues of gambling and the devastation it can bring to individuals and families.” Philip Mawer, a reformed addictive gambler, campaigns with GRASP (Gambling Reform and Social Perception), and is the author of ‘Overcoming Gambling, Sheldon Press’, who commented, “The industry is heavily reliant on addicts and it doesn’t exactly go out of its way to stop them gambling. The only recognised help centre, Gamcare, is totally funded by the industry’s £ 5 million voluntary contribution, which when put in context of its £ 5 billion turnover, represents just 0.01%. ‘‘A huge part of stopping gambling lies with the individual, but we need to ensure that the gambling industry and government play their part in acknowledging and educating the general public of the serious health risks, which at this time fall well short of acceptable. ‘‘There also needs to be a cohesive, effective, workable and nationwide self-exclusion procedure followed by betting shops, independently audited with significant fines for those not abiding by the regulations. With the end of the Prevalence Survey, the industry will be able to ignore and avoid the inevitable growth in problem gamblers and continue to bury their collective heads in the sand.” Jason Ratcliffe from the PCA said “Hopefully, Craig speaking out about his difficulties will help his own healing and also encourage other people within our cricketing family to address their issues, we hope that the knock on effect will be to raise more awareness amongst the nation, the gambling industry and ultimately alert the government about the serious dangers of gambling. We aren’t anti-gambling, but it’s clear that when social gambling turns into problematic gambling the consequences can be catastrophic.” Find out more about Craig’s story and learn more about gambling. Click here for our gambling tutorial. Click here for the non-flash version If you recognise any symptoms in your friends, family, teammates or yourself, please act now and seek help to prevent serious problems. If you’d like to help the PCA, fellow sportsmen and women, and the general population to ensure that the gambling industry do more to educate people to gamble responsibly, write to Jason Ratcliffe, jratcliffe@thepca.co.uk. PCA members can access a special offer on Philip Mawers book, ‘Overcoming Gambling’ by calling 01256 302692 and quoting CRICKET. View the PCA’s Mind Matters series here. Click here for the PCA’s Confidential Helpline. -ENDS- For more information about the help you can receive, please call Jason Ratcliffe on 07768 558050. To contact Philip Mawer, please contact Jason Ratcliffe. Click here for more information on GRASP (Gambling Reform and Social Perception). GRASP For too long, the industry has relied on the fact that an addict will always go quietly in shame, or be bailed out by family, due to how society perceives the addiction and will not share their story, thus the problem isn’t recognised. GRASP is different, we’re full of recovering addicts who are prepared to share their story to tighten a few issues within the industry and the banking sector, which has been allowed to happen by our government. You can be in no doubt when you buy a packet of cigarettes what it might do to you. It’s not advertised/promoted and society are educated at the potential pitfalls. GRASP demands the same for gambling. Educate society, give people a balanced view, make an 18 year old gambling for the first time fully aware of the potential dangers of where a bet might take them, so they can make an educated choice. The business plan for the industry is based on addiction and indebtedness, this plan needs to change. The industry states that problem gamblers are a small minority. The question they need to answer is, how much are they making from this small minority? When you look at the average debt for a problem gambler, the figures confirm that this `small` minority are playing a `large` part in their bottom line figures. For more information on our campaigns, please visit the reform and society perception pages. GRASP are not anti-gambling, we’re anti problem gambling, because gambling addiction is not a choice, addictive behaviours are a manifestation of the disease, not a cause.
