#SMED 11
Two housewives walked out of a building, smiling, on top of the world.
They had just made a killing at the slot machines. Earlier during the day they decided to treat themselves and entered the casino with R200 respectively. Barely three hours later they left with a handsome profit of R10 000.
Sadly, this harmless visit to the casino brought about ‘beginner’s luck’ and set into motion a rush of adrenalin and a burning desire to return for more. Both housewives dreamed of hitting the jackpot again and making a quick buck or two – the easy road to riches.
What initially started out as innocent, ’just for fun’ weekly visits to the casino which yielded regular winnings and kept the dream of instant riches alive, soon made way for daily visits to the casino. Thus the road to financial ruin and the destruction of the family life was set into motion.
Over a period of four years they wasted away thousands of hard-earned money at the slot machines. Lies, dishonesty and deceit became the order of the day as unpaid bills started piling up. They juggled the payment of account with credit cards, and to make ends meet, they lent money from family, friends and even loan sharks,
Important school dates, graduation functions and important family gathering became irrelevant as they continued with their all-encompassing quest to hit the next jackpot. Faced with financial ruin, the possibility of divorce and losing their family homes, they both signed up for the progamme for gambling addicts - in an effort to make amends to those family and friends they hurt whilst in the clutches of gambling.
Today both ex-gamblers use their story and experience to educate others on the dangers and becoming addicted to gambling and how to assist compulsive gamblers in changing their lives around.
Gambling is a real addiction. People need to realise that
ReplyDeleteSeeking help and using their stories about how they've hurt their families was a brave move. Hope they can help others realise what the addiction does.
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