Single Mother Racks Up £5,000 Debt in Addictive Prize Draws, Support Groups Warn

Prize draws and competitions flood social media and TV ads, but gambling support groups warn of their addictive pull. They report rising cases of people hooked on promises of luxury prizes like houses and cars.

Lisa, 33, a single mother of one whose full name is withheld, fell into thousands of pounds of debt. She went hungry and used tissues as tampons for lack of money after getting addicted to these 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 had a prior gambling addiction. She started with Facebook raffles, then moved to official competitions with bigger prizes. Many sites tied to these offer 24/7 instant-win draws for as little as one pence, with unlimited entries.

"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."

With no spending caps, Lisa chased losses last year until she could not buy food. In one week, she spent her full monthly disability benefit of more than £1,200 on one site, with no wins.

"Once you hit that desperation point you start increasing it," she said. She hid a £5,000 debt from family, entering repeatedly with no limits.

"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."

Under the Gambling Act, giveaways dodge regulation with free entry or skill questions like multiple choice. Dr. Matt Gaskell, clinical lead at NHS Northern Gambling Service in Leeds, called it "a real grey area that's being exploited."

The government launched a voluntary code for the "significant and growing market," with 177 operators signed up. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, co-chair of the Gambling Reform All-Party Parliamentary Group, called it "welcome" but insufficient against risks from rapid growth.

Lisa said absent safeguards like bank blocks or ad stops made escape harder. Those exist under gambling laws and some in the code. She once made 90 transactions totaling £400 in a day.

In an email to one firm, seen by the BBC, she begged: "This morning I had to accept that using tissue paper as tampons and going hungry is my new reality."

"They will text you, they will email you, and you feel an urgency," she said. "They really want to tap into the quick, instant desire."

Lisa beat her addiction with support service help. Dr. Emma Ryan, deputy medical director of the Primary Care Gambling Service, said celebrity ads normalize draws. Women and lonely people face high risk.

"People tend to get pulled in because it's a community, and before they know it they have given quite a lot of money over," Ryan said. Products target women and act like gambling, even outside the Act.

Gaskell said draws exploit brain reward pathways like gambling and hit deprived areas hard. Staff hear more cases, pushing for tougher laws.

He tried a giveaway himself: "It seemed to be something that looked like gambling, felt like gambling... The biggest thing that surprised me was the aggressive marketing."

A BBC reporter got seven marketing emails in one day from one firm. A 59-year-old recovering addict volunteering on a helpline said prize draw addiction calls are rising. "It's everywhere, all the time."

He said most callers had lost control, spent everything, borrowed and stole, fixated on winning.

The code, announced last June, follows research on 764 players. It found them far more likely to suffer gambling harm than average. Over a fifth strongly agreed draws are addictive; 46% agreed. Just 7% disagreed.

Sites showed poor free-entry info and few protections. Skill questions stayed easy and static. Many omitted 18+ age rules.

The code adds age limits, credit card bans for instants, spending caps. Signatories comply by May 20. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will review it.

Duncan Smith said self-regulation fails gambling and urged enforceable rules. His group probes the sector.

Omaze called the code a "positive step." BOTB, a "responsible operator," backed higher standards but noted research shows no widespread harm for most low-stakes players.