A lot of people that know me still dont know i am a Gambling Addict. Even when i came here, i said i was going to a Mental Health facility, because people knew i had Mental Health episodes that were bad, but nobody knew i was an addict. I kept my Gambling A Secret for years, and obviously it did eventually all come out. These british women fought to keep their Gambling Addiction a secret, until they were offered a lifeline a place in a residential centre, and a chance to confront their addiction. I cant remember the exact amount, but it shocked my parents, it shocked my partner at the time, because i think it worked out to be about £30,000 in the space of three months. Recent studies indicate that Around The World, the number of Women Gambling is growing. And for those with addiction, is often done in secret. We seem to be sleepwalking, it feels like, towards a problem. Elissa used to gamble regularly in pubs, on Fruit Machines and down at the bookies. But she has got out of hand when she started doing it online in her 30s. I think it started when i was quite young, so about nine year old or Something Like that. My mum had an im not blaming my mum, obviously, she hated gambling but she had a caravan and we were always in the arcade, and at the time you could play on the slot machines, it didnt matter if you are aged, like 5p a spin it was. And she would give me pocket money every night, and i was putting it in them, like, i miust have been nine year old. I won £35, and i would give it to my mum to look after. And then i kept dipping into it. And can you describe when your Gambling Addiction was at its worst, what it was like day to day . So i have always, like, had a bit well, a massive problem with drink, so i was always in the pub, playing Fruit Machines, in the bookies. It wasnt until i was about 30 and i started doing it online, online slots, and itjust got out of hand rapidly. And very quickly. I was taking out payday loans, quite soon, and i kept it all secret for years from my missus. At the end it would be, if i had money in my account, i would go to work, in between every job i would be gambling. I started taking my phone into the bathroom with me when i was having a bath and things like that. So how many rooms are there upstairs. She ended up going through treatment here, at the first womens residential Gambling Centre based in england, which opened 18 months ago and is run by the Charity Gordon moody. We are the first media outlet to gain access inside, which has taken two years to make happen, and build up the trust of women who have been through the programme. They live at the centre for five weeks and are supported by therapists 2a hours a day. Its partly funded by the Gambling Industry, which in the uk is required to put money into treatment services. Its a programme that deals with a multitude of different kind of issues, that somebody might be experiencing while gambling and around their kind of environmental situations. The programme aims to create a calm environment, to allow ladies to kind of detox from the gambling. We could see that the need was increasing for women to come in to service for treatment, specifically for gambling, because they were presenting with more issues, and also when they were presenting they were very much at crisis point. And obviously the referrals, for example in gordon moody, our referrals have, you know, over doubled in the past year. Do you think when it comes to women, there is sometimes more secrecy and shame then perhaps with men . I think with women in particular, or anybody that kind of online gambles as well, it can be hidden a lot better because it is so accessible, its on your phone, its on your tablet, its on your laptop, and you cant physically identify if somebody is actually doing that. Darker colours for the gambling side. During the five weeks they do a mix of individual and group therapy, as well as creative workshops where they are encouraged to express their feelings. What does the black and grey represent to you . Emptiness. Addiction, darkness. Rebecca was 19 when she first started gambling, almost a decade ago. While making this documentary, we found so many women are reluctant to appear on camera to talk about their experiences of addiction, partly because of the stigma and shame. But rebecca is passionate about speaking out, to help others. I had my first son and i got post natal depression, and i Rememberwinning Ijust went on a Gambling Site and i won really big, and i never stopped. It was just continuous from there. I rememberjust getting scratch cards, winning, losing, opening more and more accounts online continuously. And, yeah, before i knew it i was a Gambling Addict. I used to love online slots, you know online slots, then i would move to, like i was betting on horses, i didnt even know what you do. But i was just putting money there because i was looking for this dopamine hit that i wanted, and i couldnt get it from slots anymore because i was so sick of the flashing lights, everything popping up, that actually it was boring me. I was getting to the point where i was gambling and it was boring, but i had to do it because that side of my brain was going gamble, gamble, gamble and when i couldnt, i would feel like i was physically withdrawing from that. Was it impacting your relationship with your kids as well . Yeah, soifeel like. I mean, for a long time, i was never that active mum that they deserved. I loved them, you know, but i wasnt able to, i was so consumed by addiction, just Little Things like they were playing, i was never actively there. I was in the phone screen, gambling money. What was it like leaving your children for five weeks to come here . Its so hard being in here, and youve got a baby at home thats poorly. And theyre saying to you, i want a cuddle, and you cant. Sorry. When they first start they tend to have the doors close. Harp is the manager of the centre. She has a background in psychotherapy and has worked with victims of trafficking and modern slavery, as well as people who have struggled with addiction. She and the other staff here support the women throughout their stay, which initially includes a complete detox from gambling. We limit access to phones, to the outside world, so all the stresses of the outside world is kind of gone. We limit access to money, we limit access to any kind of online services, so they cant gamble. And what that week does, is it allows everybody to kind of sit in reality like, this is who i am. Very, very, very uncomfortable place for some people. The number of women seeking help for gambling in the uk has more than doubled in the past five years, according to figures from the charity gamble aware. The availability of betting and casino games on smartphones has transformed the industry. Experts like christina who work with operators and regulators say there are other elements at play too. I think the way that people gamble generally has made it much more accessible. Previously when you had to leave the house, things like the weather might have impacted your decision. If youre a woman, historically gambling is not something you would have been allowed to do, or it would have been socially frowned upon. And the sheer act of having to walk into a physical premises would have stopped you. You now can do it in the privacy of your home. I know regulators and government agencies, Notjust The Uk but in other parts of the world, will put out kind of periodic reports, measures, saying that they havent seen a particular shift in the prevalence. But to counter that point, we have organisations like gordon moody, National Council of Problem Gambling, responsible Gambling Council in other parts of the world, kind of saying that they have seen an increase in people approaching them. To add to that, the kind of regulation of gambling Around The World. What we now see is gambling brands presented in commonplace. Areas that we have never seen before. 0n sports merchandising, Sports Shirts you watch a football game, and certainly if you are watching a Football Match in the uk, i doubt very much you will find any ground that doesnt have some form of gambling advertising. But we also have gambling brands now sponsoring entertainment shows. And when you look at daytime television, who is your main audience there . Women, yeah. Gambling completely took over caroline� s life. She got into debt, lost work and it destroyed her relationships. She says it got to the point that she didnt see a future any more. When youre a Gambling Addict, or compulsive gambler, there is no fun in it. That whole. Fun, enjoyment goes. I mean, i have sat there in tears gambling on my phone. Because i physically couldnt stop. It is a hidden addiction, its not physical, which is why i believe its misunderstood. How bad did things get for you mentally . Last year, when i sat and i did well, i did think the only way out was, life would be easier for everybody, it would be cheaper for everybody. Yeah, so much so i sat in my car in may and actually wrote a letter to my parents. Which is something ive actually have got in my room, to remind me, as well, thats how, that is where gambling, you know thats the stage i was at. And how i felt, that the only way out was to not be here. Um. And how did you feel at the end of your five weeks here, compared to when you started . Pff didnt want to leave, was scared to leave. Strong, headspace clear like, so positive. And thankful. And me ifelt. For that five weeks, there was no mask, i wasnt no gambling, no alcohol, no anything. You were stripped bare. In a house with other women and staff. Yeah, i would say it has changed my life, in the sense of, i found me again. The centre is made to feel like a home. Its the only one of its kind offering this type of intensive therapy. Sometimes people find it easier to put it on a piece of paper, to write it down, to draw it, and that is why we do use a lot of art and creativity. And equally, we use it for reflection. If you can see something physically in front of you, it allows you to have a look at it and kind of process it and think, wow, ok, i get where i am kind of coming from. And how important is it to have a programme that has been built and designed by women, for women . I think having a specific programme designed for women is invaluable. Men tend to talk about the gambling first, before we look at trauma. Whereas women go straight in with the impacts that gambling might have had on them, or how we have kind of got to gambling, and they want to understand that. And this is honestly the environment that allows them to do that safely. And this is one of the reasons women like rebecca had felt able to seek support. I dont think i ever would have come if there was males, just because i have had, i dont really. I am a bit funny with emotional connections with males, and just the fact that like, you are all women, you all feel so safe and secure, and actually as a woman, being a Gambling Addict is really hard. Like, being a male Gambling Addict is, i guess is hard, but in society it is like, you are a woman a woman runs a house, a woman is going to be the one that manages the finances. Women have such, in society, such a big role to play and actually, like, we are not really allowed to crumble because we are the caregivers. So what are the key differences between the way women and men gamble . Dr Venetia Leonidaki is a Consultant Psychologist who works at the National Problem Gambling Centre. So there are some distinct differences between female and male gamblers. One of the most well known differences is how quickly the Gambling Disorder can develop in women as compared to men. They may end up being exposed to gambling in their late 20s or early 30s according to the literature, and then within a few years, five years, they may end up developing a gambling problem. How about some of the other psychology behind women and gambling . When it comes to women who are seeking treatment for gambling related harms, the clinical picture is more complex. So women often present with higher levels of psychological distress, or they may meet criteria for a greater number of clinical diagnoses, such as anxiety or depression. In Fact Research tells us that when it comes to female gamblers, anxiety and depression has preceded the onset of gambling. While for men, it is often the Opposite Gambling comes first and then anxiety or depression follows. So it is quite common for women to use gambling to numb feelings, to escape from feelings, and what i have seen in my Therapy Sessions with female gamblers is they are much more interested in talking about relationships that have not been healthy or helpful in their lives, and more interested in talking about their emotions, they experience strong emotions. In april, the uk government published its long awaited report into the Gambling Industry and the way its regulated. Its proposed financial checks for people who lose large amounts of money in a short period of time and a limit on spending online, especially for those under 2a or considered vulnerable. But there was no mention of gambling advertising. Thats despite the uk industry spending £1. 5 billion a year on it. Gambling advertising is regulated in this country. Is it good enough, particularly when we think about keeping up with ever changing technology . In the uk, we do have marketing guidance. Youve got the advertising standards agency, which will adjudicate Marketing Adverts and all the rest of it, and there are rules as to what kind of products can be broadcast at what times. But that is not the same Around The World. And what were starting to see is in the emerging economies where perhaps people were not used to tv sets and traditional kind of forms of marketing, its pivoted to influencers, to ambassadors, to role models who can kind of tweet alongside, you know, bets and things like that. So we need to find a way of developing laws and regulations that allow us to stay current with technology. In the uk, Gambling Adverts are increasingly prevalent on daytime tv, where more women are watching than men, which means advertisers are actively targeting them. Looking through ads from Around The World, its clear to see how much more prominently women are being featured as the winners. Introducing sas first online betting live money wheel. Oh, what a stunner 0h, babe, my team is losing. But im winning adverts often present in aspirational, glamorous lifestyle. 25 on the house. And are targeted at a younger demographic who are more tech savvy, but potentially more at risk. Your casino is always with you. At betano, all your favourite slots, plus blackjack, roulette and baccarat with live dealers. In certain countries where, culturally, there would be even more of a stigma attached to women in gambling, ijust wonder what the impact of that is. I think its shifting, and weve got that kind of generational rift. The older generation i think in emerging economies, so theres kind of south america, africa, parts of asia, the older generation would definitely not gamble, or if they did, it would be acceptable forms of gambling such as bingo linked to kind of churches and charitable causes, or in places like india, it wouldnt be poker, it might be rummy or the aunties who do rummy, little kind of tournaments and stuff. In places like africa, you have card games, but again, theyre more traditional and cultural, not necessarily for cash. When we look at the younger generation, the tech savvy generation, those who see themselves as generation z for lack of a better phrase, its different, and theyre coming at things in a very, very different way. So i go to africa and seeing women in a betting shop in kenya is not unusual. Back at the centre, alyssa, rebecca and caroline chat to the staff about how life is since leaving. Haw� s it been outside of, like, treatment, now that youre back here . How does it feel . Cos of you guys, i. Im moving forward and not back and my family have now got a life too. Thank you. For everything. Youve taught me how to, like, love myself and that. Sorry. Cos this makes me really emotional im sorry. What is the one thing that has kept you going throughout recovery . Whats your go to thing . Oh, its gotta be football for me. Laughs i didnt used to do anything whilst i were gambling, so when we played that football tournament, i rekindled my passion and i play five a side every week now. So i literally manifest everything, and i believe that nothing is not achievable. So i literally have, like, Manifestation Boards in my house, i have, like, positive affirmations on my phone that tell me im the best all the time. So one of my goals when i came in here was that i really wanted to be a lash tech, and ijust said it out of, like, a. It was, like, an unachievable dream and i remember. So i did my training and im now a lash tech and so. Sorry, it makes me so emotional. But this sort of support is limited and the centre is unique. In the uk, 60 of profits from the Gambling Industry come from the 5 who are already problem gamblers or at risk of becoming so. So is there enough being done by the industry to prevent addiction . I think, like any other industry, you have good, you have bad, you have ugly. I think its fair to say some in the industry who are very proactive and want to do the right thing, but like any other industry, we will have those who need a little bit of persuasion to kind of, you know, wake up and smell the coffee and thats where the regulator has a really pivotal role to play. And i have to say the fact that youre exploring women and gambling is fantastic because everything weve done historically is about men and gambling. So we need to start looking at this. The body which represents the industry in the uk, the betting and Gaming Council, told bbc news its encouraged by the latest figures, which show rates of Problem Gambling among women are down on the Previous Year at 0. 1 . They also say theyll donate more than £100 million to tackle harmful gambling. The betting and Gaming Council was unavailable for interview, but also told the bbc that. The organisation said. A couple of months after spending time at the gordon moody centre, we travelled to wales where alyssa is now living at a Recovery House for people whove struggled with addiction. They regularly get together to discuss how to improve the support. Its like a family. Everyone supports each other. Do you know, theres a lot of fun that happens here, and we go out and do a lot of stuff together as well, theres activity day every friday, and do a lot of walking and just people finding themselves, finding what they like. You lose all that in addiction. And shes now hoping to use her own experiences with gambling to help other people by setting up a support group. So its in early stages, but theres a lot of interest from residents, which i was surprised at, because no one really spoke about gambling. But ive brought it to attention, people are actually thinking, actually, maybe i did have a problem, and do you know, i want to raise awareness, i want. I want other people to be able to recognise before it gets too late. We check in with kaz whos getting more support for her Gambling Addiction. And rebecca is sharing herjourney on tiktok. Ive been doing lots of positive things. Ive celebrated 365 days gamble free, which isjust incredible. Weve been decorating our home, weve been going on lots of days out, ive started a newjob, which im really, really happy in, ive been socialising with friends. Just. Just enjoying the life that i isolated myself on for so long. Ive been also trying to Reach Out On Social Media Platforms to educate people and kind ofjust support people if the supports there, and ive had lots of messages, you know, of people reaching out and wanting to access the services that ive talked about and just, even if they havent, ive had lots of positive messages, you know, and i hope that in the future i can provide a bigger platform and educate people and help people in my area and bring a service to my area that helps people in need so they dont feel alone like i was. The true scale of the numbers of women addicted to gambling Around The World isnt known because the data just doesnt exist. But what we do know is that its an increasing problem thats often done in secret. While making this documentary, ive been struck by the courage of these women whove shared their stories so honestly with me. I mean, i havent gambled, i havent relapsed, and thats whats important to me, and every day is so new, like, we are. Every day that i am gamble free is a new day for me. Ive never been to that day before. So theres a lot of things that i have to learn and theres a lot of triggers that im gonna come across, but the main thing is that i am gamble free. Live from london. Live from london. This is bbc news. This is bbc news. Thousands of people on the greek thousands of people on the greek island of rhodes are forced island of rhodes are forced to flee their homes and hotels. To flee their homes and hotels. Police say 19,000 people have been moved to safety in the countrys largest ever evacuation. Travel chaos as a number of Holiday Firms cancel outbound flights and holidays to rhodes, as they try to repatriate tourists. Voters take to the polls for a Snap Election in spain
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