A look at the impact gambling can have on people’s lives and what options are available for anyone struggling.
In 1971, Gordon Moody was founded as a hostel for men left homeless and destitute as a result of their gambling. Today, with more than 50 years on the frontline, thousands of people seeking help with their gambling addiction have taken their first steps to reclaim and rebuild their lives through Gordon Moody’s offer of long-term residential and short-stay retreat treatment programmes.
Driven by a passion to help those most severely affected, Gordon Moody supports those for whom an all-consuming compulsion to gamble at any cost has left them with nowhere else to turn. For those whose gambling has led to difficulties affecting employment, family relationships, finances, mental and physical health – as well as their overall quality of life – Gordon Moody is there to support them. Gambling addiction does not just impact the individual either, it is estimated that for every addictive gambler, six to 10 other family members, friends, and colleagues are also directly affected – leading to a significant negative impact on the wider society.
Understanding of the link between gambling addiction and mental health has grown over the last 50 years. The treatment programmes Gordon Moody offers have evolved over the years as understanding has increased and the needs of our clients have changed.
Garry, an ex-service user, struggled to get people to understand his addiction. He said, “The therapists at Gordon Moody understand. If you talk to normal people, they don’t understand what you are going through. You don’t even understand that you have an addiction. Normal people just tell you to stop gambling. People just don’t understand that gambling is a mental health illness. Awareness is getting better in normal society of the links between gambling and mental health, but there is still a long way to go.”
In 2021/2022, 62 per cent of those applying for treatment at Gordon Moody had struggled with emotional and mental health issues and 45 per cent had experienced suicidal thoughts – with many of them acting on these thoughts throughout their addiction journey.
Research indicates a strong association between gambling addiction and mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. The data also shows that the prevalence of mood disorders and anxiety disorders is three times higher in gambling addicts than in non-gamblers. Gambling addiction is also four times more likely to cause suicide than any other addiction.
Another ex-service user, Barry, explains, “I was in no hurry to rush my treatment. Some guys came onto the programme and said they didn’t think they would last the whole 14 weeks. But I knew that if it took me 14 weeks, 14 months, or 14 years, I had to get this sorted out. Because I had got to the point where I knew that, if it happened again, I wouldn’t have been here to tell the story. Each time I tried suicide as a way out of my gambling addiction, it got more severe each time.”
In 2021, Gordon Moody launched a women’s residential treatment programme. This service is the first of its kind in the UK. Last year, 2,000 women accessed treatment for gambling disorder in the UK. However, this could only be as little as one per cent of the women who require treatment. Of the women applicants, 70 per cent had contemplated suicide, and 80 per cent had a diagnosed mental health condition such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, or bipolar.
Jennifer, one of the women in the first cohort of its women’s residential programme, outlines her journey to finding help with Gordon Moody, “Treatment was suggested to me by my niece following a very traumatic summer, which included an eight week stay in a psychiatric hospital after a serious attempt to end my life following years of gambling addiction. My addiction cumulated when I lost every single penny I owned. I had lost all my savings, pension, and the home that I owned, all to a horrendous gambling addiction that had literally taken over my life for the preceding six or more years. I was at rock bottom. It took courage for me to make the initial contact with Gordon Moody with the support of my daughter. That step was the biggest and most meaningful start to my recovery from gambling addiction. I can’t thank Gordon Moody enough for giving me a chance to get back to a normal life. To help me put my addiction in perspective and to not keep punishing myself for the life I had previously lived.”
Addressing people’s mental health is an integral part of Gordon Moody’s treatment programmes. The services are delivered by highly qualified professionals, from accredited psychotherapists to clinical psychologists, who are trained and equipped to focus not just on gambling addiction, but also on other co-occurring addictions or mental and emotional health conditions. The organisation’s purpose is to create safe, caring environments and programmes that empower our service users to make positive lasting changes and live fulfilled lives. All our interventions are tailored to our service users’ needs and our recovery programme builds on the individual’s strengths and capacity to flourish. It aims to continue delivering treatment and support to those affected by gambling harm for another 50 years an