Gambling advertisements double the number of addicts. They see that at Yes We Can Clinics in Hilvarenbeek. The 22-year-old Hessel has now been clean for five months but still has a hard time every day because ‘nice’ advertisements about gambling can be seen everywhere. “When I see those commercials, my mind goes back to that time, a time when I could forget all worries for a while. I then feel the need to participate in such a gambling game again.”
At the end of 2018, Hessel started gambling. “During a birthday, friends showed an app where you could bet on football matches. But that app also had a casino section and that’s when I started playing there.” In the beginning it was only a few tens, but Hessel soon gambled hundreds of euros at a time. “In three years I have gambled around 15,000 euros.”
“It was a really hellish time.”
In the beginning he mainly got a kick out of it. “Later it became addictive because it filled a void for me from the past. I eventually became dependent on it because I didn’t want to feel that emptiness anymore.”
That addiction caused a very difficult period of three years. “It was a really hellish time. I went very deep. I stole money from my mother and from my friends. It was really a very persistent addiction.” This was not only at the expense of Hessel but also of others in his environment.
Derek van Enk is an employee at Yes We Can Clinics and sees the gambling addicts coming in. “They are really upset when they come here. They really have problems in all areas of life: debts, arguments, but also super depressed, anxious and angry.”
According to Derek, since 2018 they have seen a fivefold increase in the registrations of young people with a gambling addiction at the youth clinic in Hilvarenbeek. “Young people who are already depressed, have a trauma or a psychological problem, see gambling as a solution. That’s a huge fake solution and it also creates a thousand additional problems.”
“I spent my salary of 1500 euros in two hours in the evening.”
And those commercials attract vulnerable young people to gambling, Van Enk sees. “Because it shows a beautiful and fun world with confetti. But when I see such a commercial on the road or on TV, I see young people lonely and alone gambling their whole lives, their future, their relationship with family, their friendships and their families.”
The switch went off at Hessel at the beginning of this year. “I saw that my salary of 1500 euros had been deposited and I spent two hours there in the evening. I am totally lost in that other world.” The next morning, Hessel realized he needed help. And he sought that help in Hilvarenbeek at Yes We Can Clinics. Hessel was treated and cured of his addiction for ten weeks. A tough journey full of confrontations.
“As far as I’m concerned, there will be a national ban.”
Once out of the clinic it is still difficult for Hessel. And that is mainly due to the many gambling advertisements that have been legal in the Netherlands since October 2021. “I am a football fan and I watch a lot of football. At least two betting ads will be shown after each match. The clubs are sponsored by gambling companies. I walk away when I see a commercial like that.”
Because when Hessel sees those flashing commercials about gambling, he feels the need to pick up his phone again and play with it. “I really have to walk away and call someone to discuss it.”
Hessel believes that national politics should intervene immediately. “People who are on the brink of addiction are helped down the abyss by the gambling commercials.” In Tilburg, these advertisements will be banned from 2023 on the street. “That’s really great. As far as I’m concerned, that will be a national ban on TV, radio, online and on the street.”
“Prohibit all gambling advertisements and protect vulnerable young people.”
Hessel: “I want to tell young people who now have a gambling addiction that they are not alone. I recognize that emptiness they are left with, the powerlessness. They don’t have to do it alone, there is help.”
But that help does not come from the government. “No, they even encourage gambling.” And that is why Derek also wants to make an appeal to The Hague: “Prohibit all gambling advertisements and protect vulnerable young people who lose their entire lives with this.”
Hessel is now doing well. He’s been clean for exactly five months. “I enjoy every day again. But unfortunately I am not out of debt yet, I still have to pay off for a while. But the most important thing is that I am healthy again.”