What began as a lifeline during unemployment has turned into a relentless spiral of fear and desperation for 30-year-old Eddie. He says gambling addiction has consumed his life and left him on the brink of ruin. “Gambling first came as a rescue to me when I was unemployed, but it has turned into a bottomless pit of despair,” Eddie told IOL, his voice heavy with regret.
Now employed as a retail worker in Johannesburg, Gauteng, Eddie spent almost R12,000 on gambling in December alone, leaving him without even enough money for transport to work. With payday still weeks away, he is surviving on borrowed funds and mounting anxiety, owing money to multiple people either for gambling or to meet basic needs. As of January, Eddie owes R15,500 and has no clear way of repaying the debt.
He lives in constant fear that lenders may come unannounced to confiscate his belongings. As a father to a toddler, Eddie acknowledges that his addiction has tightened its grip since December 2018, making it difficult to provide for his son. He recalls the moment it all began with devastating clarity. “On the first day, I won R1,300 with just R30 on soccer. Because I was not working at that time, I thought I could make a living through it,” he said. “I relocated to Pretoria and managed to pay rent and food through gambling.”
However, those early wins proved to be a cruel illusion. What followed was a steady descent into compulsive betting and escalating losses. Eddie was later introduced to Spina Zonke, a popular online wheel-spinning betting game that he describes as particularly destructive. “They are highly addictive and almost impossible to win,” he explains. In one of his deepest regrets, Eddie sold his family’s R40,000 plot of land, only to lose the money to gambling.
His family is aware of his addiction and has tried, unsuccessfully, to help him stop. Despite everything, Eddie insists he wants others to learn from his pain. “I would tell anyone thinking of gambling that it is not worth it,” he says. “Gambling is like being in love with a beautiful woman. You get obsessed and always think of things to do to make her happy. She becomes the only thing you care about. That’s how gambling is.”
The obsession never rests. “Betting is the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thing I think of when I go to sleep,” Eddie admits. The compulsion is so powerful that he believes he cannot be trusted with money at all. “I feel like I’m cursed. Whenever I have money, I have to spend it all in the same day.”
In a desperate attempt to protect himself, Eddie has considered sending any money he receives to a relative for safekeeping, fearing what might happen if he keeps it. “I feel like this will end with me dying because people will come for their money,” he says. For Eddie, gambling is no longer about chasing a win; it’s about survival, fear, and the desperate hope that he can still break free from this spiral before it’s too late.
