Cheltenham week is the toughest of the year for recovering gambling addicts.
It is hard to escape the media chatter, the incessant betting advertising on and offline, and the hype surrounding racing’s most prominent festival.
Chris Joyce makes a deliberate attempt to avoid all extraneous distractions associated with the festival. He screens his phone for notifications and knows better than to turn on the television.
Three years ago, with the help of the Rutland Centre, he kicked his gambling habit three years after confronting his alcoholism.
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Joyce (31) says he placed his first bet when he was six. The thrill never left him. “As far back as I can remember, I have always had an addictive personality,” he says. “I didn’t have much confidence growing up.”
He began gambling in earnest when he got his first job in a supermarket at the age of 19. There was a bookie on one side of the shop and a pub on the other.
He became sober at the age of 24 in 2016, but his gambling continued. He hit rock bottom in November 2018 when his mother found a letter outlining a bank loan that funded his gambling.
“Thankfully, I wasn’t on a big wage at the time,” he says. There are many gambling companies, and an individual can have a separate account with each one. “Some would almost give you credit. It was quite a secretive addiction that I could hide from friends and family.”
He reached out to former Armagh footballer Óisin McConville, who is a well-known gambling addiction campaigner. McConville recommended the Rutland Centre’s in-house treatment programme.
“Five years ago, I was at my lowest point, completely consumed by gambling and alcohol addiction. The Rutland Centre didn’t just help me stop gambling ... The support I received there was life-changing, and I’ll always be grateful for it.
“From the minute I got my first job, I was working week to week. When I got sober at the age of 24, I would have literally no money each week, surviving on scraps.
Had he not been living at home, he says he would “probably have ended up homeless, to be honest. I would not have had money to pay rent. I feel so sorry for any young people who are gambling. It is so, so accessible.”
That is especially true this week. “When I know there is a big race meeting like Cheltenham, I won’t turn on the TV, but it is all over your phone. It’s rampant. I wouldn’t have the life I have now if I continued.”
The Rutland Centre in Knocklyon, Dublin 16, has announced the launch of Ireland’s first fully funded gambling and gaming specific programme. This initiative, supported by the Health Service Executive, aims to provide targeted support to individuals struggling with gambling addiction and to bridge the gap in services for those in need of specialised treatment. It is a 10-week programme.
Rutland Centre head of clinical services Emma Kavanagh says the typical problem gambler is a man aged between 25 and 40. Significantly, two-thirds of people who present to the clinic have another addiction, either alcohol or drugs.
Nevertheless, gambling addiction does not manifest itself in the same physical manner as alcohol or drug addiction, she says. Gambling addicts can become so dependent on betting that it leads to changes in their brain chemistry with heightened levels of dopamine, she says.
However, says Kavanagh, the centre treats all addictions the same way.
“Our core belief around addiction is that addiction is a symptom of underlying issues,” she says.
The programme includes a robust aftercare system to ensure ongoing support for participants.
Gambling is “insidious”, says Kavanagh. There is a lot of advertising around Cheltenham, which can be “triggering” to some people, she says, adding that people in early recovery should “mind themselves this week”.
