A FORMER RUGBY player who gambled away millions and lost his family in the process has explained how life spiralled out of control because of his addiction.
Mark Bradshaw, a former rugby player, was driven to attempted suicide and became homeless because of a two-decade ordeal with betting companies.
Originally from Yorkshire, Bradshaw played for England under 18s rugby union team but eventually ended up in recruitment, working for a well-known supermarket chain in England.
Bradshaw was highly skilled at his job and received huge sums of money for his work. He became a millionaire virtually overnight, but his head started to turn because of the access to huge wealth.
A lack of focus on his blossoming rugby career and a desire to win big sums gambling on sports like Rugby League and horseracing was the start of the spiral.
This week, Bradshaw sat down with The Irish Post to discuss his life as a previous problem gambler, the steps he took to come clean, and also explained why he's educating the next generation about the dangers of excessive gambling in 2023.
When I placed my first bet, it harmed no one, however;
It very soon became a Gambling Addiction that harmed all those around me
The massive pain of not been there for my Sons as a Dad gave me a choice
My little Girl will never have to experience her Dad gamble
Find the reason… pic.twitter.com/sImUB4nOUj— Mark Bradshaw 🇮🇪 (@found_courage) April 27, 2023
Mark Bradshaw's life as a problem gambler:
"I set up a recruitment company that gave me access to huge amounts of money," said Bradshaw. "I ended up working for one of the big five supermarkets in the UK. I ended up becoming the chief headhunter for the company, and I essentially put the team in there. I became an overnight millionaire. One of my first placement payments was a invoice, and that was it.
"I remember reading about Michael Owen (former Liverpool striker), earning a week, and I thought to myself, 'Look, I'm earning Premier League wages now. If I lose or 20 grand, then I'll just make it back.'"
Over a 20-year period, the addiction started to spiral out of control to a point where Bradshaw ended up going from being extremely wealthy to landing himself in huge sums of debt because of his addiction. His first marriage with two kids also broke down as a result.
"I went from having everything, having it all, having Aston Martins for -odd grand, Range Rovers with very expensive number plates," added Bradshaw. "The reality was towards the back end, I had just short of 30k of monthly direct debits. Some stuff financed. I went from having it accessible at any time in my bank account to that."
One of the biggest issues around helping people with gambling addictions is that there are no symptoms on show. With an alcoholic, the signs of wear and tear started to appear eventually, and it's easier to spot. This is the same for drugs. Gambling can go undetected for years and result in huge mental health problems for the victim at play.
Huge courage is needed to tell people close to you that you have a problem with addiction. Bradshaw explained that telling his family was one of the most difficult experiences of his life.
"The courage I had to find to be 100% honest with myself and break down what went wrong and ask myself, 'Is what I'm doing harmful?' One of the things you just cannot beat without it. You can't beat it without telling an individual or a partner, be it your mum or dad, find somebody and don't bullshit. If you're not a gambler, you'll never understand. You'll never need more courage, and the reason why I did was that there was nobody like me."
Bradshaw was one of the lucky ones, but for a lot of people in the UK and Ireland, they aren't so lucky when it comes to overcoming a debilitating addiction.
Mark has turned his life around and has a daughter with his new partner Michaela and also has a daughter callled Isla (credit Mark Bradshaw Twitter)Mark Bradshaw's breaking point:
According to a report from 2019, academics at Lund University, Sweden, monitored more than 2,000 people with gambling disorders and found a significantly elevated risk of suicide among participants compared with the general population over an 11-year period.
The study found that suicide rates increased 19-fold among men between the ages of 20 and 49 if they had a gambling problem and by 15 times among men and women of all ages.
And another study done by the HRB National Drugs Library in 2019, a study conducted by researchers surveyed 3,549 young adults in Great Britain. Among men, 37% of those who attempted suicide in the past year showed signs of problem gambling, compared to 3.6% of men who did not. For women, 14.5% of those who attempted suicide had signs of problem gambling, compared to 2% of women who did not.
Bradshaw was perilously close to becoming a statistic, but thanks to his mental strength and not wanting to leave his two boys behind, he backed out of the decision to do so.
"I had one genuine point where I thought I could gamble my way out and I'd figure it out. But the reality is I got to a stage where there was no breathing space. I was in credit card debt, I owe people money, and I was waking up with headaches because of what I owed.
"My real moment came when my son was at Clongowes Rugby school. He had gone there, and I knew and felt everything had become too much, and I hadn't said anything to anyone. The wife and I had come to loggerheads over everything, and she said, 'I want you gone,' so I said, 'I need to clear my head.'
"We used to holiday in Portugal, and we knew people, so I knew I was not completely alone. I took a freight ferry from Cork to Santander and fell asleep," said Bradshaw. "That night I walked out onto the deck, stood and looked over and thought, 'Now's not a bad time to just send yourself overboard here. The only thing that stopped me was my two boys, who had no say in it, and I didn't want this to be the sum of my life. That was a tough step, but don't get me wrong, it was the first step in admitting that something was wrong."
"I ended up homeless, living on sun loungers, but it was the most liberating experience for me. It made me realise and say, 'I'll never gamble again.'
I lost €millions because of my Gambling Addiction; I was an addict that had no limits & this caused massive harm to my family & myself — Mark Bradshaw 🇮🇪 (@found_courage) May 2, 2023
A great meeting today in the Dail - Irish Parliament with Senator @MarkWall1
to discuss finding solutions to help others at risk of Addiction… pic.twitter.com/JM83LXVmZH
Why Mark Bradshaw has so much disdain for the gambling industry:
With the boom of technology and apps, the gambling companies have hit a monetary goldmine when it comes to making money. Platforms like Bet365, Paddy Power, Coral, Betway, and others have allowed customers to place bets anytime, anywhere they like. With game-style play making them appear "harmless" and introductory offers providing incentives to sign up, this has set a dangerous precedent for people suffering from long-time gambling addictions.
While millions of people continue to suffer the effects of addiction, CEOs of big gambling organisations like Bet365 have become multibillionaires in the process.
In 2022, Bet365 CEO Denise Coates collected annual pay and dividends of more than million, and before that, in 2022, she collected million. The 55-year-old's net worth today now stands at billions, making her the richest CEO in England.
Although Bradshaw takes full responsibility for the pain and destruction he left behind, he believes that the people who run these big companies are "no better than drug dealers" who push people into situations they don't want to be in.
"Tell me the difference between a well-known Dublin gangster who is wanted by the Irish and US Government and Bet365 CEO Denise Coates," explained the Yorkshire man. "They both sell a product to millions of people that kills fewer people than sugar, and yet the woman across the water is the most highly paid Chief Executive in the country. Gambling companies are no different from a drug dealer, pushing me to bet."
Bradshaw has now set about attempts to bring in proper legislation to an industry that has little governance or regulation. The lack of regulation is akin to the Sackler family/drug crisis. The sacklers marketed the deadly opioid crisis in America under false pretences and as a result the resulting addictions destroyed millions of families in the states. The Sackler family agreed a final settlement with US states seeking damages, after raising their offer from €3.92bn to €5.47bn in 2022.
Several tobacco companies were also sued for negligence, strict product liability, and fraud over the years. On October 4, 2002, a Los Angeles jury awarded billion in punitive damages against tobacco maker Philip Morris — the largest tobacco damages award that had ever been issued in an individual case. This is one of many and Bradshaw wants tighter rules around gambling.
We let the industry largely self-regulate, and we have 130 different gambling licences in Ireland alone. Why do we need that many? I don't mind responsible gambling, but if there are 130, why not make it 10? They can all make money. With 10, you regulate properly. If they don't comply, it will be like the smoking lawsuit that cost the Tobacco companies billions that came in years ago."
When asked what he would do if he was offered his lost 5m back from the gambling companies that ruined his life, the reformed Bradshaw said, "I am not anti-gambling, and I make that very clear to everybody, but the exploitation has been immense," added the Englishman. "If they came to me tomorrow and offered me my m back tomorrow, I'd tell them to 'f**k off,' and if they offered me m to shut my mouth, I'd still tell them to 'f**k off.' My silence won't be bought. I am going hard at it, and I won't let up on it and make these chief executives as uncomfortable as I really can."
What the need for change for Mark Bradshaw:
In 2023, Bradshaw has gone from having his marriage and life destroyed to formulating a new life for himself. The 40-year-old is now remarried and has a daughter with his new partner in Dublin, whom he met in 2019. He also runs ultramarathons and has spoken to world leaders at the World Health Organization about the dangers of gambling and the lack of legislation around the industry.
Not only that he has also set himself the challenge of setting new records running up seven of the world’s biggest mountains, including Mount Everest and Kilimanjaro.
The man who racked up huge debts over a 20-year span has now looked to educate people who find themselves in a similar position he once did. Bradshaw has claimed that gambling in Irish sports like GAA is a "huge problem" in Ireland and wants people to realise how serious the problem is. He also wants people to know there is a way out for everyone tormented by the addiction
"I know of certain cases already where GAA players have been put under pressure to do certain things in a certain game. I know people who can get to people and offer them 50-100k to throw a game and get sent off. That is life-changing money for some people. It is so easy to do because of the accessibility." he claimed.
"The reason I've come out and sought to help people is that I felt I was the only one, and you think that you're the only one who experiences this. I've been there and know how hard it is. One of the things I provide is a level of complete confidentiality, so if anyone comes to me, I offer support and say, 'Right here is a roadmap on the pathway to recovery.' I've been there, and all I want to do is give people hope. I really want people to know there's a way out."
If you need help, support and advice about problem gambling please contact the National Gambling Helpline in the UK on 0808 8020 133 or chat online.
You can also phone up the Gamblingcare.ie in Ireland if you are struggling to speak to someone. Call 1800 936 725
Exactly 4yr 4mnts ago I stood on the edge of a boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean & thought I didn’t belong in this 🌎 anymore — Mark Bradshaw 🇮🇪 (@found_courage) July 1, 2023
Today I have the backing of @DrTedros , Dr Kestel & @WHO to Champion for significant reduction in Gambling related harm
Step back from the edge… pic.twitter.com/XNoJuQVZtN
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