Man loses tons of money through online gambling: silent addiction

Since online gambling became legal in 2021, the gambling market has grown explosively. Many Dutch people, including Rick (29), became addicted. His story shows how quickly things can go wrong. He tells his story in an article on RTL Nieuws.

Rick saw his savings disappear

Rick (not his real name. ed.), and his girlfriend had just made an offer on their first home. While most people would be anxiously awaiting the outcome, Rick mainly felt fear. His girlfriend thought that, as he had told the mortgage advisor, he could put down a lot of savings. But that was no longer the case. In a year and a half, he had gambled away more than €250,000.

Instead of joy, Rick only felt shame. His enormous gambling losses had destroyed him financially and emotionally. With lead in his shoes, he drove to his mother to finally tell the truth. 

“It was a relief to finally say it. I felt devastated, but at the same time a weight was lifted from my shoulders.”

The start of his gambling addiction

Rick, who works in sales, had always been interested in football matches and occasionally bet for fun. But with the COVID-19 outbreak everything changed. Without his beloved football matches to go to, he started to get bored. The void was quickly filled by online gambling. What started innocently with small bets, quickly grew into an all-consuming addiction.

Rick started losing thousands of euros a day on online casino games such as roulette and Monopoly Live. 

“It felt very safe, anonymously on my phone. Two clicks and I felt good again, until the money was gone.”

COVID-19 and the growth of the online gambling market

According to Tony van Rooij, lead researcher at the Trimbos Institute, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a huge increase in online gambling. 

“The market opening of legal online gambling coincided with the pandemic. People spent more time at home, which caused their screen time to skyrocket. This created the perfect conditions for gambling addiction.”

Van Rooij explains that online casino games such as fruit machines are particularly risky. The ability to bet continuously and the short time between winning and losing significantly increase the chance of addiction. 

“Online gambling is extra dangerous because you have no social control over it. No one sees what you do, so it is easy to keep playing.”

The battle against his addiction

Rick started earning good money at a young age and had built up a comfortable savings account. But the addiction claimed everything. He gambled daily, even during working hours and holidays. 

“Even when I was on the road with clients, my phone was on for automatic spins. I didn’t care, I just had to keep busy.”

When Rick finally opened up to his mother and girlfriend, everything fell into place for them. They had noticed that Rick got angry quickly, but had never suspected that it was due to a gambling addiction. The support from those around him helped him to seek help. He went to therapy for a year and a half and registered with Cruks, the Central Register for Exclusion from Gambling. Nevertheless, Rick remains critical of the system. 

“After six months, you can start gambling again, and you’re still far from clean.”

Life after his addiction

Now, two years later, Rick is proud that he no longer gambles. His mother sends him a heart every month to remind him how far he’s come. Although the battle is not over yet, he and his girlfriend were recently able to buy the house they always dreamed of.
Rick hopes that his story can inspire others to seek help. He wants to show them that it is possible to escape the dark world of gambling addiction, as long as you’re not alone.