Salvation Army Gambling Support

Andy, 37, lost his home, friends and partner, due to his addiction to gambling machines. He was unable to get a job due to his addiction after he was made redundant two years ago.

The Salvation Army's gambling addiction support service is worried about the increased number of online gambling sites. The head of the organisation's gambling services division, Oasis, said it. From running food banks and checking up on people who live alone, to offering counselling and supporting NHS isolation units, Salvation Army churches all over the country are responding to the crisis in dozens of different ways. Please visit the Derby JustGiving page and donate what you can. Help us support as many people as possible.

He first played on a fruit machine at the age of 17 when he won £200. He said: “One big win led me to spend thousands of pounds on gambling machines. I think over the last 20 years I have lost about £30,000 to £35,000 on the machines. I would put £10 in, then it went up to £20, and then £50. When I lost my job due to redundancy as an agency worker two years ago I lied about working night shifts.

“I lied to my partner, to my friends, and I would gamble any money I had in the hope I could make it right again. I started lying about every aspect of my life. I couldn’t get myself into the frame of mind to be able to get a job.

“I was just focused on chasing my losses in the hope of a big win.”

In March last year things came to a head for Andy, after his relationship with his partner broke down due to her constantly needing to bail him out. He ended up homeless, and decided to end his life by stopping to take the insulin he needed, to treat his type one diabetes.

He said: “My lowest point was when I split up with my partner and the only thing I could control was my insulin. I stopped taking it and the doctor said within five or six hours I would have been dead.”

[Statement: Government announcement on gambling]

This attempt to take his life saw him end up at the Royal Victoria Infirmary Hospital and he eventually found himself at The Salvation Army’s City Road Lifehouse in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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Salvation Army helped Andy get on to a 24-session NECA course (a charity working with people with addictions). It was recommended that he get himself banned from the betting shops as a self-exclusion measure, as well as changing walking routes to avoid areas with betting shops.

He said: “Self-exclusion works if you’re further down the line and are committed to changing.

Salvation Army Gambling Support Groups

“You have to take your photo into the bookies and ask them to ban you. But it wouldn’t have helped me until I got to that point of wanting to recover because I wouldn’t have wanted anything to stop the possibility of my being able to access the machines. There are dozens and dozens of bookies in Newcastle alone, and they all have four machines in. All the time I was in the bookies you see people breaking down, shouting at the machines.”

Andy has now moved out of the Lifehouse and into a Salvation Army flat although he still has support from the Lifehouse. He is now looking to move into independent living accommodation.

Salvation Army Gambling Support Centers

Andy is back with his partner but accepts he can’t change the past - he won’t be able to win back the money he’s lost.

For interviews, please contact: Sophie Docker, Media Office, The Salvation Army: 0207 367 4517/0203 657 7555 or email: media@salvationarmy.org.uk

After a difficult year we want to reach out to the people who are suffering the most and bring joy and hope into their lives this Christmas

Thousands of people will turn to The Salvation Army for help this winter. In over 650 communities across the UK we will be rolling up our sleeves and doing all we can for them.

We want to be there for all the people who are facing poverty because they have lost their jobs and livelihoods. For the families struggling to feed their children. For the older people in our communities who have never felt as lonely as they do now. For the people who are homeless and trying to get back on their feet. The pandemic and lockdown restrictions mean that this year will be different, but The Salvation Army is battling on to deliver Christmas.

What we are doing this Christmas

Just some of the ways we will be supporting people at Christmas this year:

• Providing ‘meals on wheels’ Christmas lunches and companionship to older people living alone
• Giving Christmas food parcels to families who are struggling to afford a proper Christmas lunch
• Distributing modest toys to children whose parents are unable to afford presents this Christmas.

We are also battling to protect thousands of rough sleeps with nowhere to turn by:

Salvation Army Problem Gambling

• Developing new initiative nap pads providing hot food, blankets and hygiene kits
• Running drop in day centres with access to specialist help
• Working with local authorities to seek alternatives to night shelter provision.

Salvation Army Gambling Support Training

'We had nothing to give the children on Christmas Day until you arrived with your parcel of food and toys. I’ll never forget the kids’ squeals of delight when they opened their presents.'

Sophie, Mother of a family on a very low income.

For queries, please contact 020 7367 4800 or email us at fr@salvationarmy.org.uk.