2 weeks Ago By Aaron Morris
Hailing from a family known for sporting excellence, Nicolas Hamilton found himself in a tough situation as his gambling spiralled out of control. The younger brother of Formula 1 icon Lewis Hamilton , 33-year-old Nicolas, has openly shared that at his lowest point, the destructive nature of gambling left him virtually penniless and with no one to confide in. After seeking support from Samaritans and later turning to his family, he has managed to move past the "dark spot" caused by betting and is now committed to aiding others who are attempting to navigate through similar challenges.
Nicolas, who competes in the British Touring Car Championship, recounted his initial foray into gambling in an exclusive interview. He said: "It just started out as a real simple bet on football. I did it with a friend of mine.
We were watching an Arsenal game or whatever, and he was like, 'Why don't you chuck two pounds on Arsenal to score?'. And that's how it started. "I got roped into going on websites and seeing more online gambling in terms of live casinos and stuff like that.
That's where it really hooked me - it was the amount that I was winning so quickly. The wins really got me fired up. But also the losses didn't really repel me away, and then it just spiralled from there where it just got worse and worse and worse.
"It put me in a dark spot, in a dark place that I didn't want to tell anybody about. I was living a parallel life. I was going over to my parents for dinner, but they didn't know that I was going through everything personally and really feeling quite low in myself.
That's how it grips you." Nicolas found himself caught in the vicious cycle of gambling, attempting to recoup his losses by betting more until he had almost nothing left. Reflecting on his path to turning things around, he said: "That's when I was like, right, something needs to change.
"But it was hard because at the time I didn't really have a career. I didn't really feel like anyone really cared about me in terms of what I wanted to do. I'm not talking about my family.
I'm just talking about general society. And so, yeah, I was a very lost man at that point. "And that's when I reached out to the Samaritans and then they got me to eventually speak to my parents.
My parents were the most supportive people and that's what threw me out of it." Joining forces with football commentator Clive Tyldesley and the Football Supporters' Association, Nicolas is a part of ongoing efforts by GambleAware to raise awareness of gambling harm. This week, he attended the unveiling of a poignant display featuring 85,000 poker chips at Westfield shopping centre in White City, London - each chip representing one of the children currently affected by gambling harm in Britain.
A recent YouGov survey, involving a considerable sample of 85,000 individuals, revealed that a staggering two-thirds of Britons believe there remains a significant stigma associated with gambling-related harm. An analogous proportion also reported perceiving gambling adverts as ubiquitous. Among those affected by gambling harm, a notable 24% confessed they abstained from seeking help due to feelings of shame or embarrassment.
"We're trying to really showcase the difficulty around advertising with gambling and how that can affect pretty much everyone in terms of gambling harm," explained Nicolas. "A lot of people in the UK are being affected by gambling. It doesn't really matter what age you are.
"It seems [people] 12 onwards are affected by gambling in loads of different forms and all over the UK in terms of marketing and advertising. We're trying to create more awareness around it, try and get people to speak up more, be honest and open about their situation, their addiction, and really start to tackle it at the root cause. "And hopefully, at the end of the day, help a lot of people.
There's a lot of people at rock bottom, and although you might feel low at this moment in time, times will get better. But you have to make the correct steps to do that. "And personally, for me, it would be to, firstly, accept where you are - accept that you have an issue, accept that you need help, and start reaching out for that help.
It doesn't have to be your family. It doesn't have to be your parents or whoever. "As I said, there are people like the Samaritans out there.
Sometimes you just need someone to listen to, someone to be that supporter's ear. Make that step and then eventually start turning to the people close to you, because you really don't realise until you have to ask for support from your family how amazing they are. "Some people don't have a family, so if you don't, turn to charities, supportive charities.
There's many out there, and there's loads of people in the same position. So don't feel alone and get the support you need." If you’re worried about how gambling makes you feel, you can find free, confidential advice, tools and support, by searching GambleAware or contacting the National Gambling Helpline, available 24/7, on 0808 8020 133.
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