A Wirral dad considered taking his own life after racking up more than £50,000 in gambling debts.
Ben Melvin, from Great Sutton, first started gambling at the age of 14, when he became hooked on the fruit machines at his local leisure complex. The dad-of two funnelled all of his pocket money from his pot washing job into the machines, telling his parents the money was going on bowling and sweets.
Ben's hobby began to escalate in his mid-twenties, when the introduction of online games and apps allowed him to place bets at the touch of a button. An avid football fan, he began betting on leagues all around the world at different times of the day - some teams he hadn't even heard of before.
READ MORE: Desperate Manchester Airport passengers spotted crawling through baggage hatch
He told the Mirror : “That’s when it started to become a problem. My gambling was always an addiction, when I look back I can see I've always been attracted to not the win or loss, but taking part in some sort of gamble.
“When I was introduced to phone gaming, it just became so easy with card details. I only wanted to spend my time online gambling and needed to make free time to play. I was pressing a button constantly on my phone so I couldn’t do that in the vicinity of people I knew - I couldn't allow that to happen.”
Ben, 35, took charge of his family's finances in a bid to ensure wife, Kelly, didn't learn the severity of his addiction.
He said: “One of the hardest things of a gambling addiction is that it’s very hidden. I needed money and needed to be in control of it. Important bills would be paid, but every other penny was my gambling money - I became obsessed.
“There was never spare money for holidays because, in my eyes, that would be wasted money - anything not spent on gambling was a waste.”
Between the ages of 25 and 30, Ben would spend thousands a month on gambling and took out credit cards, loans, and overdrafts to try and balance the books. When he hit rock bottom, Ben owed a total of £50,000 and had been forced to take out a number of payday loans.
With 15 lenders all asking for their money, Ben considered taking his own life and was forced to come clean to Kelly and his family.
He said: “My mental health went through a right state - it was the lies, the deceit. I couldn’t remember what I’d said to people and I used to make notes on my phone of who I owed money.
“The only hope at that point is that I would win enough but really, I was never going to, it would repay some but it would end up being more gambling money. I can’t put a figure on the amount I’ve lost over the period - it would be astronomical.”
He added: "I was unreliable, not a good husband or friend, I wasn’t a nice person. It wasn’t who my wife married, I became someone else.
“I destroyed people’s lives along the way... you take everyone else with you.”
Ben credits the group Gambling Anonymous with saving his life and hasn't placed a bet in two-and-a-half years. He hopes to educate others on the dangers of gambling and is calling on his football team, Everton FC, to remove their partnership with online gambling firm Stake.com.
The agreement, which will see Everton net in excess of £10 million per season, replaced the club's sponsorship deal with Cazoo from July 1. Ben, who has set up a petition calling on the government to act with almost 31,000 signatures, says his club is known as ‘the people’s club’ and is praised for their work off the pitch in helping the local community - but this is a "kick in the teeth".
The partnership sees Stake branding on the kit as well as appearing on screens and media backdrops at Goodison Park, Finch Farm and across the club’s digital platforms.
Ben said: "Children and young supporters will be bombarded with the Stake.com brand every time they watch their favourite team play. The advertisement of such a harmful product to children is dangerous and irresponsible. Football is massively dominated by gambling advertisement, why is it normalised?"
Everton's multi-year partnership with the leading casino and sports betting platform is the highest value front-of-shirt deal in the club’s 144-year history. The partnership comes after a challenging financial spell for Everton, with the club sailing close to the Premier League's profit and sustainability regulations.
The ECHO understands Everton reached the agreement with Stake after a lot of thought, and felt the partnership offered the best financial package for the club going forward.
Football's controversial relationship with gambling does, of course, extend far beyond Everton, with the Toffees one of seven Premier League sides that have their main shirt sponsorship with a gambling firm. Ben's petition comes with the publication of the government’s long-awaited Gambling Act review White Paper due imminently, which will set out the government’s proposals for gambling reform.
A spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport said: “We are undertaking the most comprehensive review of gambling laws in 15 years to ensure they are fit for the digital age. We will be publishing a White Paper as part of a review of gambling legislation in the coming weeks.”
James Grimes, formerly addicted to gambling and founder of The Big Step campaign, said: “This is the government’s last chance to get the whitepaper right.
"Bereaved families and those of us harmed by gambling are demanding the government make changes that will save lives and prevent more people from going through what we have had to endure.
“The government must end all gambling advertising in football, not just the Premier League and not just on shirts.”
The ECHO has approached Stake.com for comment.
READ NEXT: Is there enough to do in Wirral after council cuts? Have your say
Man at centre of murder probe was on run accused of robbing two people
Horror moment steroid abusing thug batters puppy in his underwear
Man who died in care home under 'fake name' was missing husband of wealthy woman
Street feuds between armed thugs creating city shooting 'hotspots'
