How one man overcame gambling

BREAKING THE CYCLE

- MONISHKA GOVENDER

FOR years, the thrill of the next bet consumed every corner of Rakesh Ramanand’s life. What began as casual trips to the tote with friends, gradually spiralled into a cycle of secrecy, financial ruin, and emotional isolation.

Like many who struggle with gambling addiction, Ramanand did not recognise how deep he had fallen until the consequences became impossible to ignore.

Today, after 21 years of recovery, he is not only rebuilding his life, but also helping others to confront the very addiction that once controlled him.

The 52-year-old Verulam resident recently took to NeoRox, a podcast, where he spoke on gambling addiction.

This week, he told the POST that gambling had become so easy, one could place bets while on the toilet.

“I started off with spinning and tossing coins at a young age, probably 6 years old. In coin toss, we had to guess heads or tails and wage a bet. I then progressed to horse racing, cards, pool and casinos. Anything I could bet on, I would.

“Horse racing and casinos were my favourite gambling options. I enjoyed the thrill of the hooves of thunder and being able to pick a winner. Casinos had quick results and bigger odds,” said the IP technician.

He said gambling did not run in his family nor did he learn about gambling from the environment in which he was brought up.

“Some of my relatives gamble conservatively, but I am the only one in my family with a serious issue. I started off with small bets when I was a teenager, which gained me small wins. This soon spiralled to bigger gambling habits as I got older.

“I remember times when I stole money from my parents. I also bought items on my clothing account for people and I asked them to pay half of the amount in cash. I used to concoct stories about car trouble, illnesses and not getting paid my salary to get loans from friends and family.”