Kyle Picknell is a recovering gambling addict. He detailed his experiences in an unflinchingly honest recent article,, external detailing how the habit had cost him relationships, stability and nearly his life, in addition to tens of thousands of pounds.
“Despite everything, I don’t miss football. Sometimes I catch myself hoping that’s it, forever, and football doesn’t come back,” he wrote.
Picknell says an absence of live sport during the nationwide lockdown has made his recovery easier in some respects.
“For me, the biggest trigger in my gambling was waking up each day checking fixtures on the Livescore app on my phone,” he told BBC Sport.
“Not having that in the mornings, not seeing those matches as to look forward to, not having any football to look forward to at all, I am almost grateful for it, it takes away all that temptation.
“As soon as I started looking through individual matches, I used to be coming up with bets in my head – goal totals, an underdog, specific goalscorers, whatever – you are just constantly thinking about it.
“When you have a gambling problem, it is not about finding a specific bet, it is any bet. Any bet on any game will do, no matter the division, the league or how interested you are in the players.”
The suspension of sport has been so widespread that the Belarusian Premier League is the only live action football market available with most bookmakers. The league’s decision to continue has been described as “not comprehendible” by Fifpro, the world players’ union.
For those still in the depths of an addiction, Picknell thinks that being confined to home will exacerbate their problems.
“I dread to think what it would have been like if this had happened a year ago when I was still betting heavily,” he added.
“People are not really spending money on clothes, going out drinking or socialising; instead they are buying their food from the grocery store and that’s it.
“There is this disposable income, and nothing to do with it. I imagine it is impossible as someone with a gambling problem sitting at home to resist.
“It certainly would have been impossible for me in this situation a year ago.”
Picknell used a self-exclusion scheme to prevent himself from accessing betting websites online.
GamCare operates the National Gambling HelpLine, providing information, advice and support for anyone affected by gambling problems. Advisers are available 24 hours a day on Freephone 0808 8020 133 or via web chat at www.gamcare.org.uk.
It also offers a range of free treatment across England, Scotland and Wales, as well as a moderated forum and daily chatrooms so that people can speak to others experiencing similar issues and seek support.