Mum's online gambling warning: '£10,000 jackpot scoop turned me into a suicidal betting addict'
Hayley Ringrose's delight at 10k win turned into a nightmare as addiction to 'glam-bling' sites plunged her family £40,000 into debt
When struggling mum Hayley Ringrose placed a 36p bet online and scooped a £10,000 jackpot, it should have been the answer to her prayers.
It was an unexpected lifeline her family desperately needed in the wake of her husband being made redundant.
Yet the win marked the start of a gambling addiction that took Hayley to the brink of suicide.
In no time at all she was waging £1,000 a go on bets – and the addiction plunged her family nearly £40,000 into debt.
They can only afford to live in rented accommodation and Hayley has had to sell many of her family’s precious possessions.
She says: “At my lowest moment, I walked out of the house, texted my husband and told him, ‘Perhaps you and the kids would be better off without me’.
“Gambling had taken over my life. Guilt was chewing me up.
“I kept thinking, ‘one more win’ can undo all the damage and repay the money. But it was never ‘one more’. I never dreamt I’d fall into the dark world of gambling. Serious gambling addictions normally happen to men.”
Mum-of-two Hayley, 34, is speaking out to raise awareness about a growing problem.
Soaring numbers of women are betting online – a phenomenon dubbed “glam-bling” . Increasingly they are hard working mums or housewives, trying to win extra cash to help make ends meet.
Sites such as Foxy Bingo, Pink Casino and 888ladies are aimed specifically at women and many firms send gifts to hook players in. They also place TV ads during daytime shows, creating an £800million-a-year industry.
SUFFERING
Foxy Bingo 
But more women than ever before are getting addicted. Last year counselling service GamCare took 54,000 calls from women – up 4,000 on the year before. And experts say tens of thousands more are suffering in silence.
Now Hayley is spearheading a fight for tighter rules online.
Her problems started back in March 2010, when her husband Nick was made redundant
from his £38,000-a-year job as a customer service manager.
In financial difficulty and petrified about the future, she decided to try her luck online.
She says: “We were in a lovely home and we’d go on lots of holidays. But that all changed when Nick lost his job. Suddenly, we had to find £900 a month or risk losing our house.
“I saw a TV advert for online bingo and decided to give it a go. On only my second bet, I scooped the £10,000 jackpot with Mecca Bingo . It was incredible. I thought the money would see us over until my husband found work again.”
But the win encouraged Hayley to keep betting. She says: “At first, I carried on playing bingo. Then I started getting sucked in to online slot machines.
“I would play for hours while the kids were at school. Soon I was spending £40 a day, but I would sometimes win, so the money I lost wasn’t too great. But after a year the stakes got higher.
“I started dipping into our joint bank account and using credit cards with £10,000 limits on. Sometimes I would bet £1,000.
“It was out of control, and unbeknown to my husband, the money was drying up. I’d become a VIP member with one firm. I was spending
so much that one company sent me an expensive hamper for a Christmas gift.” Some months she would win thousands – but instead of saving her winnings she ploughed it back into more gambling.
And in just two years, Hayley, of Ringwood, Hampshire, landed her family £36,000 in the red.
Eventually, in massive debt and with credit card companies chasing her for money, she confessed to Nick. He supported her but demanded she stop – something she could not do.
She says: “I started secretly betting on my iPhone. I couldn’t spend as much, but I’d still spend money given to me for household goods. I sold my clothes on eBay.”
A few months later Nick started trusting his wife again, putting money back in their joint account.
But little did he know that a lot of that cash went on gambling.
Hayley admits: “I couldn’t stop. I was trapped in a downward spiral, gambling, lying and hiding what I was doing. I needed help.”
SUICIDE
Roy Fisher / Sunday Mirror 
Reaching the brink of suicide, she left the house and told Nick he and their girls would be better without her. But she says: “He told me he loved me and would stand by me, so I came home.”
Then, Hayley owned up to the true extent of the problem. Her overdraft was maxed to the limit and she had credit card debts of more than £20,000.
Nick was forced to take out an overdraft and credit cards to keep them afloat. He borrowed £6,000 from a friend and Hayley’s mum. Hayley says: “It was humiliating. My mother couldn’t believe I had a gambling addiction. I can no longer afford for our kids to go on school trips, days out or to buy them nice birthday presents.
“We’ve had to sell possessions like our piano and camera to try to get by. Nick cancelled all my credit cards and told me to get help so I went to my doctor.
“But he didn’t take it seriously. I wasn’t offered any support.”
Today, Hayley has cancelled all her gambling accounts but still gets emails from firms offering free bets or credit to lure her back.
She says: “The Government needs to do more. I want pop-up adverts warning, like on cigarette packets, the danger of addiction.
“I classify myself as reasonably intelligent, and never thought I’d be the type of person addicted to gambling. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. I’m just lucky my family is still together.”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mums-online-gambling-warning-10000-3604887#ixzz32p8Po5NE
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