Jonathan, a Ghanaian church leader, has described how his gambling addiction caused him to lose Ghc800,000 and put him in debt for the rest of his life.
The young man described how he went from possessing three mansions and a fleet of automobiles to losing everything, including his wife’s savings, and owing more than Ghc100,000, all because of sports betting.
According to Jonathan, he was a rookie who got lucky and won the first time. But the thrill of knowing he could make easy money drew him into a deep pit from which he is now battling to escape.
“A friend introduced me to betting, and my first stake was Ghc5000. I was a novice, but the guy who introduced me was good at sports analysis, so I had a profit of Ghc3900,” he said.
He told Giovani on the 3FM Drive that he continued to place large sums of money on bets after his first win and went ahead to win up to Ghc80k on his third attempt. That was when he lost his sanity to betting.
“The second time, I placed a bet of Ghc3000 and won Ghc5000. On the third time, I staked Ghc20,000 and won Ghc80,000. I asked God, where has this been all this while and I have been suffering. I didn’t know there was such an avenue to make me rich, and that day the betting spirit sank deep into my spirit and blood,” Jonathan said.
Jonathan said his woes began when he invested the entire money he made on the third day into getting and losing it all.
That was only the beginning as he went ahead to borrow monies. He also used life savings and money from his business. He lost it all!
He has now become an advocate preaching against gambling addiction.
