Hold or Fold

“For every 1 person that gambles, there are 6 to 10 people within their network who are directly impacted by that gambling harm”

On this episode of Hold or Fold we are looking at ‘Affected Others’ - Those who are affected by the gambling of people in their lives. We are joined by Rebecca, Gamcare’s ‘Lived Experience Manager for Affected Others’ - Who talks about the ripple effect of a person’s gambling and how she was also affected by the gambling of a loved one. 

We also hear from Julie, someone who dedicates her time to raising awareness of gambling harms and providing support for others after a gambling related tragedy changed her life. This conversation mentions suicide and other sensitive subjects - There are some links below if you feel you need support 

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Ben has been traveling the world again (From the comfort of our virtual studio!) and welcomes Ed to the show. Ed was born in the UK but in an attempt to escape his gambling habit, left for the warmer climes of Australia where everybody “Wants to keep fit and live healthy lifestyles” - What he found though was an even more challenging environment for someone trying to curb their addiction. Pubs filled with Pokeys and access to millions of clients dollars led Ed down a treacherous path which ended up with him experiencing first hand, Australia's Criminal Justice System

Ed openly shares his experience of the gambling culture and the prison system of Australia while Ben & Steve react and discuss throughout

An important step on anyone’s road to recovery is stopping access to the source of your addiction. Thankfully, GAMSTOP has made this a much easier process as they will do the leg work for you. On this episode, Ben & Steve are joined by Katie from GAMSTOP who tells us all about the service, how to use it and the far reaching benefits. Ben & Steve share their own experience with self exclusion and we hear from Bryan who himself used GAMSTOP to aid in his gambling recovery.

USEFUL LINKS

While Men are statistically more likely to gamble and suffer from gambling harm, the gender gap seems to be narrowing but does this mean more women are gambling or more women are now coming forward for support?

To ask this question and find out more about the experience of women who have gambled, Ben & Steve welcome Sian and Lisa to Hold or Fold. Sian spent some time in HMP Styal after committing crimes relating to her gambling while an incredible casino win saw Lisa embark on a 16 year gambling journey. Sian & Lisa tell us what drew them to gambling, how this escalated and the additional challenges Women face when opening up about their addiction. 

Ben & Steve also face up to another listener question in the first ‘Cards on the Table’ of the series as Brendan asks ‘What were your biggest highs and lows while gambling?’

Hold or Fold returns for a brand new series in style with an incredible conversation with Comedian, Broadcaster and Writer, John Robins

John has had a fantastic career which has seen him scoop the Edinburgh Comedy Award and a Gold ARIA (The Audio & Radio Industry Awards), front several successful Podcasts/Radio shows and he can even boast the highest ever score on Taskmaster! But more recently, John has become known for his honesty and compassion when it comes to talking about addiction. John has battled demons around alcohol and gambling and he joins us on the show to talk about the latter as he shares words of hope and inspiration in his own inimitable style. John tells us how gambling took a hold of his life and how he was able to overcome addiction on more than one occasion, what worked for him and his recovery and how to remain positive, even in your darkest days

Here are links to John's work and some helpful organisations ...