Julie’s story

This is the story of Julie*, a 55-year-old divorced Ipswich professional who turned to gambling to support her adult children under the rising pressures of the cost of living.

With a hefty debt and a heavy heart, Julie reached out to the Gambling Help Service for help. Through consistent counselling, she has found support and understanding, practical skills, and most importantly, hope for her future.

Client’s name has been changed to protect her anonymity.

Julie* is a 55-year-old woman living in Ipswich, Queensland. She’s divorced and, up until recently, lived in an apartment in Ipswich city with one of her adult sons who she supports financially.

She’s unable to work due to a severe mental illness, receiving a modest disability pension that doesn’t cover his medication and other living costs.

Due to a significant increase in rent, Julie and her son could no longer afford to live in their apartment, so they moved in with her elderly mother in her home outside the city.

Julie now spends much of her limited free time assisting with her elderly mother’s housework and maintenance around the property.

Julie’s other adult son is married with two children. With his wife studying and interest rates increasing, they can no longer afford their mortgage repayments, so Julie financially contributes to the family wherever she can.

“They’re really struggling with the rise of interest rates, petrol, and groceries,” Julie explains.

“I don’t want to see them go down the gurgler, because they’ve worked so hard for what they have. So I chuck a bit of money their way each fortnight.”

While Julie makes a reasonable income in her 80-hour-per-week career, the rising cost of living and pressure to support her family led her to turn to gambling to supplement her income. But this left her in thousands of dollars of debt – and in a deep depression.

Pokies are Julie’s go-to, but gambling wasn’t always a way to make money for Julie. It started as an escape; something to pass the time while she was bored and to distract her during her divorce.

“When the gambling started, it wasn’t so serious,” she explains.

“About 10 years ago, when I divorced my husband, I’d hit the pokies out of boredom maybe once a fortnight. It was all sweet. But after a few years, it started getting worse.”

Gambling was no stranger to Julie growing up, as her father gambled regularly. “My dad would come home and say he’d spent all his money on the races. I was brought up in that environment,” Julie says.

Julie’s gambling increased about three years ago when she was struggling with her own mental health. Feeling numb and losing interest in the hobbies and activities she normally enjoyed, Julie found herself on the pokies regularly.

“It would be so bad that I’d be planning around payday how I’m going to get to this hotel and that hotel,” she explains.