Woman became addicted to gambling after a £30 win - then she spiralled and lost over £100k
23.04.2023 - 15:55
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A woman lost over £100k to gambling when she became addicted after a £30 win - before risking 'every penny she'd ever owned' as the buzz spiralled into an eight-year addiction.
Stacey Goodwin, 30, landed a part time job in a bookmaker when she was 18. She decided to place her own wager when she visited another betting shop to get change - putting £1 in a fixed odds betting terminal (FOBT) and won £30.
Stacey quickly found herself trying to do it again and was spending more than she could afford trying to cover her losses - gambling in secrecy online. She claims she lost relationships and homes but maintained her full-time job at a call centre as she battled her addiction.
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Things hit rock bottom when she gambled her ex-partner's mortgage payment - winning and immediately losing a £50k jackpot. She entered a rehab programme to overcome her addiction and learn how to channel her triggers into other things- such as cleaning.
She now is mentoring other women with gambling addictions to break the stigma and shame. Stacey, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire now a mentor for charity Epic Restart, said: "At 18, I got a part time in a bookies and it was the first time I'd ever seen anyone gambling.
"I used to see people who I thought had a problem there all day every day and they didn't look like me. They were middle-aged men.
"One day I went over to another betting shop to get change and put £1 in a FOBT machine and won - it was only £30 but at the time it was a night out. It felt really good, and I quickly found myself trying to do it again, but I was soon spending more than I could afford.
"I wasn't trying to get money for a night out anymore - it was to cover