I ended up in a coma after gambling addiction shame pushed me to attempt suicide – here’s why Xmas is the worst time

LIKE millions of Brits, 22-year-old Matt Burgiss couldn’t wait for Christmas.

But while others were excited for turkey and family get-togethers, gambling addict Matt knew additional football fixtures over the festive period meant even more opportunities to bet on his team, Tottenham.

SuppliedMatt Burgiss saw the festive season as an opportunity to gamble[/caption]

SuppliedMatt, pictured here with wife Tish[/caption]

This wasn’t just a bit of fun – Matt had already lost thousands and he was relying on a win to buy Christmas presents for his family.

Matt had started gambling at 17, buying scratchcards before progressing to betting on the footy scores. His addiction saw him gamble away £30,000, and at his lowest point, he tried to take his own life.

Sadly, it’s an all too common problem.

New research of over 1,000 UK adults carried out for charity GamCare in the lead-up to Christmas shows that over six million Brits know someone with a gambling issue. 

The charity warns gambling can be a particular danger at Christmas, when financial issues, social isolation and mental health difficulties which often surround a gambling problem can heighten.

An early December payday can add extra temptation to gamble, with other triggers including the ongoing Covid pandemic, the influence of alcohol, changes in routine and an increase in sporting events to bet on. 

Their helpline recorded an 18 per cent increase in referrals into treatment during pre-lockdown January 2020, with staff also reporting an increase in safeguarding issues around the festive period.

One helpline caller, who didn’t feel like they could tell their partner they had gambled their wages away, couldn’t buy their baby Christmas presents, while another sold gifts to fund their habit.

Recovering gambling addict Matt, now 27, agrees it’s harder at this time of year.

He says: “I felt more pressure to gamble in the run-up to Christmas, as it’s an expensive time – I would look to gambling as a way to make money to pay for presents and then often end up losing money. 

“At Christmas I always knew all my presents would cost around £400. I’d get nervous and gamble away the money I’d saved for gifts trying to ‘balance’ my finances, then invariably try to make up my losses and lose even more. 

“Any extra pressure on finances makes a gambler revert back to that anxiety where they gamble – and Christmas is an expensive time where everyone does their best to appear to be happy and in control, making it possibly the worst time for gamblers.”

Spiralled out of control

Former actor Matt, 27, who lives in Kent with his wife Tish, 28, told how his gambling habit spiralled while he was at university studying a degree in Performing Arts.

He says: “I signed up for online accounts with a couple of different companies. 

“Obviously, as a student, you’re quite poor. I thought I would be able to make a bit more money. At first, I bet on things I was interested in, like the football.

“I was still betting relatively small amounts by this point, but it didn’t take long until I was betting up to £80 a day and I had to take on a part time job to keep going.”

After uni, Matt pursued a career in acting and earned decent money – yet he continued to gamble.

By 2014, Matt was gambling up to £600 a day – which meant he had to take on other part-time jobs and stay up all night trying to recuperate his losses. 

He says: “One morning, when my dad got up for work at 5am, hearing him moving around was the only reason I realised I had stayed up all night. 

“I’d started to avoid my parents – I would have dinner with them, but excuse myself early to go to my room and gamble. 

“I was acting – making normal conversation, but thinking about gambling. I didn’t want them to worry about me.”

In 2015, Matt took a performing job in Spain for six months. Working long 14-hour days he gambled less, bar the odd “binge”, and managed to save £7,000.

But one night he lost it all, then gambled away another £1,000 trying to win it back.

He says: “It spiralled so quickly but I still didn’t stop. I took out an overdraft and a credit card, and I carried on. I even bet £1,500 on a single hand of blackjack, and I lost it all. 

“I was 22 and had lost all my savings, as well as being in £1,500 worth of debt.

“It was 4am in the morning and I felt so gutted, it didn’t feel like there was any way out of the situation.”

SuppliedMatt while in hospital after his suicide attempt, pictured with his nephew[/caption]

SuppliedMatt and wife Tish married in August[/caption]

No way back

In February 2016, feeling ashamed that he had left everyone down, Matt couldn’t see a way out, and threw himself off the roof of a multi-storey car park.

He miraculously survived the fall, but it took him a year to recover – three weeks of which he spent in a coma – and doctors feared his severe injuries meant he wouldn’t walk again.

He couldn’t speak properly or eat and drink for weeks due to nerve damage and spent eight months laid up and in physical therapy.

Matt says: “I spent a lot of time in hospital pondering the situation and analysing what I could have done differently. I realised I had to be honest with friends and family, and I underwent counselling.”

Since that harrowing day, Matt hasn’t gambled once and now avoids alcohol too.

He started dating Tish a year later, and the couple, who married in August, share a bank account.

He says: “I still do have an urge to gamble sometimes, but I haven’t – I’m honest with myself and my family when this happens, and Tish knows everything.

“People need to know that if they have even a small doubt or worry about their gambling, there is help out there so they can stop it getting worse.”

Matt wants others to understand that financial losses don’t have to be tens of thousands for gambling to have a massive impact on people’s lives. 

“It’s also important that young people, particularly students, really understand that gambling is not a way to make money. It’s not healthy to think of it that way,” he says.

Matt is now working as a project manager for GamCare, a national charity working to support anyone affected by gambling problems.  

“I also think it’s so important to share what I’ve been through – if one person hears my story and it resonates so they can make a positive change, it’s worth it. We can break down the stigma surrounding gambling problems – it may be slow, but it can be done.”

Form of escapism

SuppliedLeon Craddock started gambling aged 12[/caption]

Leon Craddock, 37, from Middlesbrough started gambling when he was just 12; having been brought up in a challenging home environment, it became a form of escapism.

He’d play Monopoly, cards, video games and chess with a childhood friend, playing with real money.

When he turned 18 he got a retail job, but spent his lunch hours in an arcade gambling away his wages.

After moving to Leeds in 2005 to study tourism management, he gambled away his entire student loan in his first week.

Living close to a betting shop, he and his mates would fritter away cash on fixed-odds betting terminals, while he and his mates regularly bet on football and online poker.

His gambling peaked when he got a job in the industry as an agent, taking bets for people over the phone.

He delved into any available credit he could; multiple payday loans, catalogues, anything he could get his hands on to continue to gamble, and took on extra jobs to fund his habit.

Christmas, in particular was always the most difficult for him.

He says: “As someone with a gambling addiction, you don’t like to spend money on anything else.

“The money I spent on presents I would try to win back through gambling.

“One year I bought my daughter a dolls house for £120 and frantically tried to win the money back. I ended up spending an extra £250 – I had to get a payday loan to cover the losses.”

He hid his debt from his (now ex) partner, and took money from their savings to continue to gamble.

By 2011 he’d racked up £20,000 of debt, causing him to go bankrupt, and he began to harbour thoughts about taking his own life.

He says: “At this point, I went to the doctors, spoke to counsellors and went to relationship counselling but all the while I still would not reveal my gambling addiction, even though all of these people could have potentially helped me or signposted me.”

Tipping point

His moment of realisation came in 2018 when his daughter, then nine, began to engage with his gambling, sometimes pressing the button for the online slots and recognising the online characters associated with each game.

Leon knew he had to come clean about his gambling, and opened up to his partner. Talking to someone felt a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

He signed up to GAMSTOP, a self-exclusion service from betting sites, saying “it was by far the most important thing I’ve done in my recovery”, stopping the opportunity to relapse.

Leon also entered into joint talking with the NHS Northern Gambling Clinic and in 2019 went into treatment, never looking back.

He says: “After this I started to see everything differently. Every moment with my kids and family, I sometimes pretend I’m looking at myself through a screen and I’m really proud of the dad and person I am now.”

In September 2021, Leon joined GamCare where he now works as a Lived Experience Lead. He’s now working to improve his credit rating and save up for his own house – something he never previously thought would be possible.

“My own experience helps me relate to people going through gambling harm and how it manifests itself into all aspects of your life,” he says.

“It’s important for people to look out for the signs. Is gambling constantly on your mind? Are your relationships suffering because of it? Are you lying about gambling? If these are happening, it’s important to seek help from others.”

Help and support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the National Gambling Helpline over the festive period.

To find out more, visit www.gamcare.org.uk/ If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 16123.

SuppliedLeon knew he had to come clean about his gambling, and opened up to his partner[/caption]

SuppliedIn September 2021, Leon joined GamCare where he now works as a Lived Experience Lead[/caption]