'Prize draw addiction left me hungry and using tissues for tampons'

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. 'Prize draw addiction left me hungry and using tissues for tampons'1 hour ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleSteve JonesYorkshireBBCPrize draws and competitions are a "significant and growing market", the government saysPrize draws and competitions seem to be everywhere, from social media feeds to adverts on TV, but gambling support organisations have warned of their addictive potential and say they are having to help and support people who have fallen foul of the lure of luxury rewards. Lisa, whose real name has been withheld, said she found herself in thousands of pounds worth of debt, hungry and having to use tissues for tampons due to a lack of cash after becoming addicted to such prize draws. "I lay awake one night and just felt like I didn't want to continue life because of this awful secret: debts building up, nowhere to turn.

I was so ashamed," she said. Lisa, 33, a single mother-of-one who had previously struggled with gambling addiction, explained that she had initially started taking part in raffles on Facebook before she came across more official competitions advertising bigger and better prizes like houses, cars and cash. In association with such larger competitions, many websites also offer instant-win draws, which are available to play 24/7 for as little as one pence and which allow someone to enter as many times as they like.

The Details

Lisa said she found these temptations too enticing to ignore. "You win £20 credit and £30 instant win prizes and it keeps you going and feeling, 'oh, this is fun'. It's like when you play a slot machine," she said.

"I'm not a mindless gambler. These do offer an incentive and I'm in it for the incentive. "Lisa said that with no spending limits in place, she reached a point last year when she was spending so much to chase her losses that she could not afford basic essentials like shopping.

She said that in one week she spent her entire monthly disability benefit of more than £1,200 on one website, but the luck of the draw was not on her side. "Once you hit that desperation point you start increasing it," she admitted. Lisa did not tell her family about the £5,000 debt she had racked up entering competitions again and again, with no limit on how many times she could try her luck.

What Experts Say

"You feel a complete lack of hope or care for the future. You are just going through the motions," she said. "You are waking up every day and worrying how you are going to afford things.

"'Feel urgency'Under the Gambling Act, to avoid regulation, competition giveaways must offer a free entry route or feature a skill-based element, such as a multiple-choice question, which players answer correctly to take part. Dr Matt Gaskell MBE, clinical lead and consultant psychologist at the Leeds-based NHS Northern Gambling Service, said: "It looks like a real grey area that's being exploited.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.