Moment that sparked Scott Thomas' gambling addiction before brother saved him
What started as an innocent trip to the casino to continue his night out spiralled into an all-consuming addiction for Scott Thomas.
The former Lover Islander began gambling for fun after drinking with mates while studying at university in Manchester. But after several months, he found himself blowing all the money he had on games of roulette and the next morning, would wait alone outside bookies for them to open to try and win it all back.
He was just 20 at the time and a high-achieving history student. But deep down, he was hiding a dark secret that saw him 'lose everything' as he burned through his university loan and was then forced into borrowing thousands from friends and family to make it up.
Reflecting on his past troubles, Scott, who is now teetotal, describes a gambling addiction as one of the 'worst and loneliest addictions' to have. "It affects every aspect of your life: lying to people, your self-respect - you don't feel like a man anymore because you're losing everything, you can't sleep, can't eat when you're chasing money," Scott told the Mirror.
Scott Thomas, who has ditched alcohol altogether, reflects on his gambling past (Aaron Parfitt / SplashNews.com)
He turned to his big brother Ryan Thomas for support (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Qatar Tourism)The Social PR agency owner, who is the twin of Brookside's Adam and younger brother of Corrie's Ryan, says it was part of the student culture in the city to end the night at a casino, as they remained open hours after the bars and clubs had closed. But after a couple of weeks, the habit soon spiralled into something more sinister.
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"At first it was fun, I'd win £40 from £20 and I was buzzing and I'd walk away from the table. And then I remember this defining moment, I remember it like it was yesterday. I won £1,000 from £20 and from that moment onwards, I just got addicted to that big hit. I wouldn't ever walk away with anything less than a big win," the 35-year-old reflected.
"It got to the point where I was lying to people about where I was. I lied to my family. I borrowed thousands from my friends and family to the point where I couldn't borrow any more and I lost everything," he continued. "I was in a massive amount of debt with friends and family and had nowhere else to turn.
"I basically got to the point where I'd be so drunk and stuff as well, that I'd lose everything I had, then sometimes I'd find myself waiting outside the bookies the next morning, on my own. I remember vividly waiting outside Stockport casino in the freezing cold waiting for it to open to try and get back whatever I'd lost."
Scott shot to fame after appearing on Love Island series two (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Scott is speaking out this festive period amid a new campaign with charity GambleAware, who revealed that nearly 2 in 3 adults (64 per cent) who have ever experienced any problem with gambling have never spoken to anyone about it and that almost 2 in 5 (39 per cent) of those who hadn't opened up stated feelings of stigma such as shame, guilt and fear of judgement as key barriers to reaching out for support.
Unlike now, where the former reality star says he would turn to loved ones if he were going through a difficult time, back then he felt he couldn't. "I was on my own, it's actually horrible. It makes me feel so sad. Gambling is such a lonely place, I felt I couldn't tell anybody how bad it was," admitted Scott, who has a podcast called Learning As I Go about his sobriety.
Stuck in a never-ending cycle of winning and losing with nowhere else to turn, he reached out to his big brother Ryan, who is like a father figure to the twins. "Straight away it was just a sense of relief because I wasn't on my own anymore and I could start finding solutions," Scott explained.
"That's my biggest message - don't bottle it up and you'd be surprised at how many people can help you through something." His weekly gambling routine lasted around six months and at the time he didn't realise he was an addict as he fooled himself into believing it was something he could control.
"I kept thinking 'I just need to get my money back and I'll be okay' and I did that a million times," he remembered. "Then I'd be back to square one. I didn't have the self-awareness back then to realise it was a problem, having that self-awareness to realise it's becoming out of control. I don't think I got to that until it was too late."
Ryan showed him some tough love and had him barred from the local casinos. He also encouraged him to attend a Gamblers Anonymous session, which was eye-opening for Scott. He felt grateful in a sense that it had taken hold of him as a student without much responsibility, as he heard devastating stories from those who had run their businesses into the ground and torn apart their families over their addiction and were having to remortgage homes.
"I got so much out of it, hearing everyone's stories," he said. "It was a release to let it out there." Now, Scott doesn't put himself in a situation that could lead to placing a bet, but raises how with today's technology, a gambling addiction is only a click of a button away and could take hold of anyone.
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"It's not your stereotypical old guy at the bookies wasting money on horses, it could be anyone. It can affect anyone. No one should feel less of a person for going through this. Sometimes things just get hold of you. You have to ask yourself - are you doing this for fun or has it taken hold of you? It can be a very lonely secret but the more we talk about it the more we can break down the stigma."
Scott Thomas is supporting the launch of the latest GambleAware campaign to encourage those who may be experiencing gambling harms to ‘open-up about gambling’. For free and confidential advice, tools and support, search GambleAware or contact the National Gambling Helpline, available 24/7, on 0808 8020 133.
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