Father of toddler spirals into debt and despair after blowing R12,000 on gambling in a month

What began as a lifeline during unemployment has become a relentless spiral of fear and desperation for 30-year-old Eddie, who says gambling has consumed his life and left him on the brink of ruin.

"Gambling first came as a rescue to me when I was unemployed, but has turned into a bottomless pit of despair," *Eddie told IOL, his voice heavy with regret.

Now employed as a retail worker in Johannesburg, Gauteng, Eddie spent close to R12,000 on gambling in December alone, leaving him without money even for transport to work.

With payday still weeks away, he is surviving on borrowed funds and mounting anxiety, owing multiple people money he borrowed either to gamble or to meet basic needs.

As of January, Eddie owes R15,500 and says he has no clear way of repaying the debt. He lives in constant fear that lenders may arrive unannounced to confiscate his belongings.

A father to a toddler, Eddie says his addiction has tightened its grip since December 2018 and he has not been able to provide as much for his son as a result.

He recalls the moment it all began with devastating clarity.

"On the first day, I won R1,300 with just R30 on soccer. Because I was not working at that time, I thoughtI  could make a living through it," he said. "I relocated to Pretoria, and I managed to pay rent and food through gambling."

But the early wins proved to be a cruel illusion. What followed, Eddie says, was a steady descent into compulsive betting and escalating losses.

He was later introduced to Spina zonke, a popular online wheel‑spinning betting game that he describes as particularly destructive.

"They are highly addictive and almost impossible to win."

In a moment he describes as one of his deepest regrets, Eddie sold his family’s R40,000 plot of land, only to lose the money to gambling. His family, he says, is aware of the addiction and has tried, unsuccessfully, to help him stop.

Despite everything, Eddie insists he wants others to learn from his pain.

"I would tell anyone thinking of gambling that it is not worth it...Gambling like being in love with a beautiful woman. You get obsessed with her and always think of things to do to make her happy. She almost becomes the only thing you care about. That's also how gambling is."

The obsession, he says, never rests.

"Betting is the first thing he thinks of when I wake up and the last, I think of when I goes to sleep."

The compulsion is so powerful that Eddie believes he cannot be trusted with money at all.

"I feel like I'm cursed. Whenever I have money, I have to spend and finish it in the same day."

In a last‑ditch attempt to protect himself, Eddie said he has thought of sending any money he receives to a relative for safekeeping, fearing what might happen if he keeps it.

"I feel like this will end with me dying because people will come for their money."

For Eddie, gambling is no longer about chasing a win, it is about survival, fear and the desperate hope that the spiral can still be stopped before it is too late.

*Not his real name, changed for privacy.

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