In this episode former professional cricketer Patrick Foster and Gordon MacLelland discuss the world of gambling and gaming and the addiction that almost brought an end to Patrick’s life.
Gambling and gaming is very much a topic that parents need to be aware of in an ever changing world so that they can monitor and help support their own children to ensure things do not spiral out of control. Patrick through his current work offers some valuable support and tips for parents.
During the conversation they discuss amongst other things:
- Living through 13 years of pathological gambling
- How gambling took hold at the most unexpected time
- Using gambling to escape the disappointment of being released from professional sport
- Hiding the secret from everyone
- Staking £2,000,000 pounds, having nearly 200 payday loans, mountains of debt and losing his home
- Last chance saloon – placing £50,000 on the Cheltenham Gold Cup and losing
- Failed suicide attempts
- Opening up, telling the truth and going into rehab
- Using the experience to now help support others
- The hidden dangers of early gambling activity within traditional computer games
- Gambling acting as a drug for competitive people
- The pain and hurt of lost time through addiction
- Parents putting firm time boundaries on children gaming whilst not excluding them
- Parents helping protect their children’s sleep
- Some of the key warning signs for parents to look out for
- The importance of parents acting on any concerns they may have
- The world of ‘Esports’ and the challenges of the huge number who want to become professional gamers
- Everyone playing their part in education, regulation and support
Patrick Foster is a former professional cricketer, insurance broker and schoolteacher whose life was shattered by a pathological gambling addiction that brought him to the verge of taking his own life in March 2018.
Now over three years into recovery, Patrick is the Head of Delivery for EPIC Risk Management, the leading independent gambling harm-minimisation consultancy in the UK and Ireland, specialising in the identification and prevention of problematic gambling.
His new book ‘Might Bite’ is taking the world by storm, which is his brutally honest account of over a decade of pathological gambling addiction to recovery and beyond. Be sure to check it out.
Additional Reading
Sports Parent Conversation Starters 1: The careful balance of ‘wanting not needing it’ – Jemima Montag
Judy Murray – ‘You have to be the parent first’
