.jpg?quality=80&format=jpg&crop=105,1,536,768&resize=crop "Ex-gambling addict from South Yorkshire urges people to ‘resist peer pressure’ during Euro 2024")
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Rotherham man Kieran Smith turned his life almost six years ago
A South Yorkshire man – who tried taking his own life after gambling too much during the World Cup in 2018 – is urging people ‘to resist peer pressure’ over the next month.
Kieran Smith – from Rotherham – stopped gambling five & a half years ago after getting help for his addiction – & has been speaking to us ahead of Euro 2024.
The 33-year-old says he reached his lowest point once he realised how much money he’d lost betting on matches during the 2018 World Cup in Russia:
“I would’ve been all over tournaments like this in the past.
“I would’ve seen this as a massive opportunity to gamble every day.
“I’d have been opening accounts here, there, and everywhere, and I’d have been loving it – until I lose and then my world starts falling apart around me.
“Please don’t give in to peer pressure from friends or family.
“You can still enjoy football without a bet on it. When you strip everything back, football is still exciting without gambling.
“By talking, and giving yourself chance to turn your life around, you can go on to have a very happy life.
“You can just be in the moment enjoying live sport, without betting on it.”
Euro 2024 starts this Friday in Germany.