Dutchman Mathijs (46) lost 600.000 euros due to gambling addiction
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10 Jul 2025 •
Reading time: 3 minutes The Dutch magazine Nederlands Dagblad interviewed 46-year-old Mathijs Ummels from Berg en Terblijt about how he developed a gambling addiction with a huge loss of 600.000 euros.
After winning an initial amount, he got a taste for it, but the situation escalated with enormous consequences. Now, as a former gambling addict, he wants to share his experiences with others and show how to prevent a gambling addiction.
How did it get to this point?
His first gaming experiences came in a cafeteria where he, at a young age, threw a rijksdaalder (a historical Dutch silver coin with a value of 2.50 guilders) into a slot machine. He actually assumed it was a jukebox and could choose a tune himself. Bystanders gave him advice on how the slot machine worked and not much later he won the jackpot of hundreds of rijksdaalders.
He proudly tells his sister about his win. But she told their parents. From then on, Mathijs saw it as a silent pastime and increasingly visited the cafeteria for a croquette and the slot machine.
Mathijs:
“As a boy I had experienced things that I would rather not think about. And this new hobby provided a blanket that dulled all the painful memories. Then I discovered, right across the street from the café, a building full of fruit machines: a gambling hall. That’s where I lost for the first time. A tenner, gone.”
And from then on he regularly went to the arcades and lost more money than he had ever earned. The bank statements that his parents saw resulted in him ending up at the Alcohol and Drugs consultation bureau.
He did not see gambling as an addiction, but as an “expensive hobby”
The situation escalated when he moved to a student room. With three credit cards in the red, he moved several times to avoid having to go near slot machines.
Mathijs:
“I didn’t call it an addiction, but an expensive hobby. I used the knowledge that my parents knew about it as an escape route. When the debts started to mount again or I overplayed my hand, I would knock on their door. My father, who was well off, saved me time and time again. My sister didn’t. ‘Dear brother,’ she said, ‘if you ever find yourself on the street without food, here is always a meal and a bed. But you won’t get any money.’”
From drug rehabilitation clinic in South Africa to successful companies
Fortunately, his girlfriend stayed by his side and offered him the necessary support. With her help, he ended up in a rehab clinic in South Africa where he learned that he had lost no less than 600.000 euros with gambling. However, it did not stop there, because he had a relapse and lost again 20.000 euros. But his girlfriend did not leave him and now they are married.
Mathijs has now got his life back on track. He has two companies that are doing well and for one of these companies he got inspiration from his difficult period. He founded a company that helps casinos to comply with the duty of care and wants to contribute to safe and responsible gaming for everyone. Not he, but his wife arranges all the finances and with every expenditure of more than 10 euros she receives a notification. Mathijs knows that he owes a lot to his wife.
Mathijs:
“The numbers on the bill are correct, but inside the math keeps going on. As if every tenner could be the last.”
With two successful businesses, the future looks bright again for him and his wife.