'I spent my wedding night gambling away our money'

A pistillate who spent her wedding nighttime secretly losing fractional of the wealth she and her woman had been talented has accused betting companies of "predatory" behaviour.

Elissa Hubbard, 38, spent what was meant to beryllium the happiest time of her beingness successful 2021 hidden distant gambling arsenic portion of an addiction that - astatine its peak- outgo her £40,000 a year.

It comes arsenic BBC investigation suggests astir 1 successful 5 gambling premises are successful Wales’ poorest areas. An adept successful the science of gambling called clusters of betting shops successful deprived areas "a immense problem".

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) said each its members operated "robust self-exclusion schemes".

Elissa archetypal went connected slot machines successful a pub erstwhile she was 9 but erstwhile she discovered online gambling, her addiction escalated.

She said, during the tallness of her addiction, the thought of getting escaped spins successful a promotion whitethorn person been capable to spot her stake her full monthly wage.

"All my self-worth had gone," she said.

"It had conscionable stripped maine of a personality. I conscionable felt similar specified a failure."

As she began to retrieve she started to "feel hatred" the mode companies beforehand bets.

Elissa, who lives successful Rhyl, Denbighshire, said gambling adverts were inescapable.

"If you privation a stake you’re going to spell and person a bet... You don’t request your trader stood determination handing you a promotion."

After moving from her hometown of Manchester to the northbound Wales coast, Elissa said her level was surrounded by betting shops, casinos and arcades – and worries however galore look successful poorer areas.

BBC Wales' investigation recovered determination were 71 premises successful the 10% astir deprived areas compared to 8 successful the 10% slightest deprived.

"It’s radical that are connected a little income that volition effort to gamble to marque much wealth for themselves," said Elissa.

"There’s conscionable nary request for however galore determination are successful 1 area, due to the fact that you could bash a self-exclusion, but that won’t screen you for arcades oregon big gaming centres.”

Elissa said she could not halt walking past bookmakers wholly but was cautious to debar adjacent looking astatine effect machines if she was retired for luncheon successful a pub.

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Dr Jamie Torrance, a researcher successful the science of gambling astatine Swansea University, said clusters of betting shops successful deprived areas were "a immense problem".

"Both fiscal hardship and being unemployed are important hazard factors for the improvement of disordered gambling," helium said.

He added that selling strategies and adverts from gambling companies were "particularly enticing" for radical suffering fiscal hardship.

"You ne'er spot radical suffer wealth successful those adverts. You’ll ne'er spot radical experiencing harm. All you’ll ever spot is radical winning, radical being excited and happy."

Dr Torrance said Wales "desperately" needed NHS clinics dedicated to treating disordered gambling, which already beryllium successful England.

"There's nary existent quality betwixt a disordered gambler successful Wales and England different than the information that they don't person entree to these clinics," helium said.

Conservative Member of the Senedd Darren Millar, who sits connected the Senedd’s gambling related harm group, accused bookmakers of "driving and fuelling" addiction.

"It’s a well-known information that, unfortunately, poorer communities thin to person a bigger occupation with gambling," helium said.

"Regrettably galore radical successful the bookmaking manufacture instrumentality vantage of that by placing their bookmakers successful assemblage centres successful deprived areas.

"That of people is wholly unacceptable."

The BGC said its members had donated "£122.5m implicit 4 years" to tackle gambling-related harms.

A spokesperson said astir 22.5 cardinal radical a period gambled successful Britain and "the overwhelming bulk bash truthful safely and responsibly".

"Betting and gaming operators, similar immoderate different retailer, find successful areas of precocious footfall specified arsenic precocious streets, and play an important relation successful the section economy," the BGC added.

The Welsh authorities said it was committed to "strengthening enactment for radical affected by gambling addiction" and was moving with the NHS to make attraction services.

It besides said it afloat supported "comprehensive betterment of the manufacture to summation regulation, and fortify extortion from harm".

You tin ticker Elissa's communicative connected Wales Live connected BBC iPlayer