Gambler who Lost ₤ 250,000 'suffered In Silence'

11 March 2026
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Tony Fisherand


Lily-May Symonds, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire


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A man who lost more than ₤ 250,000 through gaming stated he had "suffered in silence".


Taylor Hart, 32, put his very first small bet when he was 14 years of ages on a football accumulator, where you pick teams and you get some money if all of them win.


The gambling addict, from in Bedfordshire, stated that when he had won he was probably hooked without understanding it as he could not wait till the next week to get a brand-new football slip.


It was just in the early hours one morning about 15 years later that he understood he had a betting issue - and already he had 72p in his bank account.


Hart stated he used to get ₤ 10 spending money from his parents and "all of a sudden I am getting a lot more money by winning bets".


He said with that income he "might not wait to do it again; it was such a fantastic feeling".


From the age of 21, it started to become a bigger issue when he began putting bets with greater stakes.


For the last 5 years of his betting life, horse racing was the only thing he would bank on, he said.


At 29 years of ages, he thought "this can not go on any longer" and he managed to discover a rehabilitation centre via a charity called Gordon Moody.


He entered into rehabilitation on 13 November 2023 for a 14-week property stay.


He described it as "the finest decision I have actually ever made" and considering that coming out of rehabilitation he stated he had not positioned a single bet.


Hart stated that it was only after going to Gordon Moody that he worked out he had lost more than ₤ 250,000.


He also understood he had been heavily targeted by betting marketing, which he described as "a genuine big issue".


"You can not go anywhere without seeing betting, you can not listen to the radio without hearing gaming adverts, and you can't even get on a bus without seeing betting adverts on the billboards," he included.


"I suffered in silence for a long time where I was living from pay cheque to pay cheque and all my cash went on gaming.


"I was hiding my betting and I did not desire anybody to understand just how much I was losing.


"That is when it becomes an issue. It was not pleasurable. It was sort of if I don't win this bet then the costs are not getting paid."


'Silent dependency'


With racing's Cheltenham Festival under way, Hart stated maybe bettors should believe whether they have an issue if they identified themselves in what he was stating.


He said he had lost a lot of family and friends due to his gaming as he was obtaining money off them.


He added: "If someone is taking drugs or drinking alcohol it is more apparent, but gambling is a silent dependency."


A spokesman for the Gambling Commission regulatory body said there were "strict guidelines governing the marketing of gambling ... which are developed to guarantee that marketing communications for gambling items are socially accountable, with particular regard to the need to protect kids, young individuals under 18 and other vulnerable persons from being damaged or made use of by advertising that features or promotes gaming".


They included that "targeted action around advertising and sponsorship is required, specifically to much better ensure that kids and people who might be vulnerable have actually substantially lowered direct exposure".


If you have been impacted by the problems raised in this story, you can go to the BBC Action Line for assistance - appearance under "Addiction".


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