Former gambling addict reveals amount he lost in one bet and why it was the best thing that ever happened to him
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: Supplied
Warning: This article contains discussion of gambling addiction which some readers may find distressing.
A former gambling addict has open up about his addiction battles and revealed the staggering amount he lost on a single horse race – a moment he now calls 'the best thing that ever happened' to him.
Patrick Foster is a former professional cricketer. His sporting career came to a sudden halt in 2009 after he sustained a devastating ankle injury, which meant Foster had to go into early retirement.
After leaving cricket, Foster worked in the insurance industry in London, UK, and eventually transitioned into teaching.
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It was in 2019 that he went public with his gambling addiction, a year after he suffered his biggest loss to date.
In a new interview shares on LADbible Stories' YouTube channel, Foster opened up about the catastrophic loss and how it was an eye-opening moment for him.
"The biggest amount of money I lost was pretty much my final bet when everything came to a head," he shared.
"In 2018, when I had £58,000 (over $78,000) on one horse at the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March 2018.
"The horse came second by not too far, and my whole world came crashing down."
"I always say to people that it was actually the best thing that ever happened to me," Foster continued. "Because it was probably the only ever thing that was going to make me stop [gambling]."
Elsewhere in the conversation, Foster said that he believes that gambling addictions can be worse than alcohol or drug abuse in some ways.
He said: "People still think when it comes to gambling, 'Well it's gambling, why don't you just stop? You're an idiot.'
"Actually it is just like being addicted to drugs or alcohol, and dopamine’s actually a very powerful drug."
Foster, who is now an author and has penned books such as 'Might Bite: The Secret Life of a Gambling Addict', continued: "I always think it's really strange that I would've found it easier to admit that I had a problem with drugs or alcohol because it's accepted.
"People can kind of understand it, whereas with gambling, people don't. And that's why it carries such a stigma and why it's such a taboo subject."
"I also think the other thing about gambling, which is the only thing that makes it completely different from other addictions, is weirdly, the only thing you often think's gonna solve it is the thing that's caused it in the first place," he went on to share.
"No alcoholic has ever tried to drink themselves sober, but as a gambling addict, you're often just focused on money and you think it's all about money and you think all you need to do is win the money back and the problem goes away."
But gambling addiction actually has a lot of similar traits to substance addiction, says Bonnie Lambert, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner at Crestview Recovery.
"Gambling addiction shares the same neurological profile as substance use disorder — the same dopamine-driven reward cycles, the same escalating risk-taking to achieve the same high, and the same devastating consequences when the addiction takes hold," she explained to UNILAD.
Lambert added: "What's particularly insidious about gambling disorder is that unlike drug or alcohol addiction, there are no external physical signs. By the time a person reaches the kind of catastrophic single event described here, they've typically been in the grip of the disorder for years.
"Recovery is absolutely possible, but it requires the same evidence-based treatment as any other addiction — not willpower alone."
Please gamble responsibly. For help, support and advice about problem gambling, call the National Problem Gambling Helpline on 1-800-GAMBLER, 24/7.