– There is a lot of good help out there. You are not alone!

It started with a bingo win at age 7, and ended with a prison sentence. Now Alexander Holmsve is using his own hard-earned experience to help others who have fallen into gambling addiction.

– I have just given a lecture to a group of high school students, says Alexander Holmsve on the phone from Bergen.

– I started by saying, “The reason I’m standing here today is that I won a bingo prize when I was 7 years old…”

Started as a child

Alexander Holmsve currently works as an experienced consultant at Gambling Addiction Norway , an organization that works to prevent gambling addiction, as well as help gambling addicts and their relatives by offering a helpline, one-to-one conversations, self-help groups and theme meetings.

He himself can still remember the feeling of being 7 years old, and having just won 1,500 kroner at car bingo in Ogndal in Steinkjer.

– I remember being so incredibly happy to have won . My thoughts went straight to the slot machines I had seen adults playing on outside the store. I really wanted to try those too – I wanted to win more, he says.

What is gambling addiction?

• Gambling addiction is a serious diagnosis in which a person becomes compulsively preoccupied with gambling or gaming, despite negative consequences.
• Addiction can affect both physical and mental health, social relationships and finances.

Hooked on online casino

The prize money quickly disappeared as loot to one-armed bandits outside the store, but the experience had sown a seed in Alexander. From then on, gambling and the dream of winning big became part of his everyday life.

– But it wasn't until you could start playing online that it really took off for me. On the slot machines you had to have physical money – you didn't need that in online casinos. It made it easier to play.

As soon as Alexander came of age, he began taking out loans to get money to spend in online casinos.

– Which means that I've had a shaky economy ever since I was 18 years old. The older I got, the worse the gambling got. I couldn't stop, it became like a compulsion. I had to gamble, he says.

– Felt like two people

In many ways, gambling became an escape from other painful emotions.

– It became a way of dealing with emotions. On the outside it probably looked like I was doing well, but inside I was fucking miserable. I felt like two people at the same time, he explains.

– A person who wanted to be proper, sensible and good for those around me, and someone who felt the compulsion to gamble and worked hard to hide it.

Some around him understood that he was having financial challenges, but no one knew that it was a gambling addiction that was at the root of his problems. He received financial help, but quickly took out new loans again to gamble.

Bottom point became turning point

The absolute rock bottom – and later the turning point – came when Alexander got a job as general manager of a small football club.

With the leadership position also came direct access to the club's account.

– I ended up transferring almost 1.5 million kroner which I spent on gambling.

Alexander finds it difficult to talk about.

When the financial infidelity was discovered, he finally laid all his cards on the table and spoke out loud for the first time about his gambling addiction.

"It was definitely a low point, but at the same time I was also happy and relieved to be caught. That was what was needed for me to move on. I decided to do everything I could to get out of the addiction," he says.

Prison sentence

Alexander was sentenced to 11 months in prison without parole. The gambling he had so often resorted to to deal with his bad feelings was gone. So was his job and his football. It was going to be a tough time.

Fortunately, he had managed to start treatment for his addiction at St. Olav's in Trondheim.

– I started going to conversations several times a week. At the first group meeting at St. Olavs we received information about the Gamban betting filter that we could get through the organization Spillvenighet Norge.

What is Gamban?

• Gamban can be an effective solution to take control of your gambling habits.
• Installing Gamban on your devices blocks access to thousands of online gaming sites and gaming apps.
• This can be an important first step towards breaking the addiction and regaining control. 
• Gamban can be easily installed on your phone, tablet and computer.
• Works on both Norwegian and international platforms.
• Gamban can be used without being noticed as there are no visible signs on your device. 
• Read more here!

Join group conversations

When Alexander contacted Game Addiction Norway to get Gamban, he was met by an experienced consultant who could also inform him about the group meetings the organization offers.

– I was encouraged to join a group meeting, and chose to test it out – even though that wasn't really why I contacted them, he says.

It turned out to be a good decision:

– I have rarely felt as safe as I did when I came to the group meetings in Game Addiction Norway. It was a place where you could be met with understanding, not condemnation. It was a room with warmth, where everyone wanted to help and a place where I met others who had done similar things to me, he says.

Alexander continued to come to the meetings, and after a few months he became a group leader himself. Since then he has been associated with the organization – now as an experienced consultant. In this way, he can now use his experiences to help and assist others.

Physical and digital self-help groups

Gambling Addiction Norway has physical self-help groups in both Tromsø and Harstad, as well as digital ones. Participation in the groups is free.

– When you know for sure that you are meeting others in the same situation, it has enormous power. The fear of being judged disappears, the shame disappears – everything is put away, says Lill-Tove Bergmo, general manager of the organization.

– There is no time limit on how long you can participate in the groups, and you can go for as long as you want.

Many people are afraid that they will suddenly meet someone they know in the group, but then Lill-Tove reminds them that in that case, they are also there for a reason.

– I experienced in the group meetings that I was not alone – that it was not just me who was in this. I began to look forward to the meetings, and experienced it as a safe place to open up and talk, says Alexander.

Free to play

Today, Alexander has been free of gambling for three years, and he himself believes that he would not have managed it without the help he has received. At the same time, he wants to emphasize that nothing happens by itself : You have to do the work yourself.

– It's one thing to stop gambling , but another important thing is aftercare – staying gambling-free. But it's certain that life without gambling is 100 times better than life with gambling, he says.

Now he uses his experiences in many ways:

– I give lectures, and I am honest about what I have done and been through. Through Game Addiction Norway, I respond to both players and relatives who contact me, and try to meet them with the same warmth with which I was met.

Alexander also works within the correctional services, where he contributes his knowledge to help inmates struggling with gambling addiction.

Free to play

Today, Alexander has been free of gambling for three years, and he himself believes that he would not have managed it without the help he has received. At the same time, he wants to emphasize that nothing happens by itself : You have to do the work yourself.

– It's one thing to stop gambling , but another important thing is aftercare – staying gambling-free. But it's certain that life without gambling is 100 times better than life with gambling, he says.

Now he uses his experiences in many ways:

– I give lectures, and I am honest about what I have done and been through. Through Game Addiction Norway, I respond to both players and relatives who contact me, and try to meet them with the same warmth with which I was met.

Alexander also works within the correctional services, where he contributes his knowledge to help inmates struggling with gambling addiction.

– It's good to talk about my experiences, but of course it's also difficult. There are painful things to talk about, he says.

He has also found a job through football again.

– Through hard work it is possible to recover, and I am grateful for that.

Huge increase in gambling addiction

A survey conducted by InFact for Gambling Addiction Norway shows that 1 in 4 people have had problems with gambling themselves, or know someone who has.

– We are experiencing an increase in the number of inquiries, and most of the inquiries concern gambling . There is a particularly large increase in the number of young boys who experience gambling addiction, says Lill-Tove Bergmo.

– We are contacted by young people who are struggling, but also relatives who are worried.

NRK has also written about the increase in the number of risk gamblers in the country.

– I am sincerely concerned about the younger generation who are now being crammed full of gambling everywhere they go – both in games with betting elements and on social media, says Alexander.

– More people need to understand the seriousness of the situation, and I think it is very good that some schools are addressing the issue in their teaching, says Alexander.

– After I went public with my story, many other stories have emerged from both known and unknown people. It turns out that it is easier to open up when others do. And for me it is also very important to convey that there is a lot of good help . You are not alone.

Gambling in gaming

• Some computer games include gambling elements where the player can wager virtual or real money to win rewards or achieve in-game goals. 
• This may include virtual casinos, slot machines, or other forms of gambling mechanics that mimic real gambling.
• Gambling in computer games can increase the risk of addiction, especially among vulnerable groups such as children and adolescents.
• The random nature of loot boxes and the ability to spend real money on virtual items can lead to excessive purchases and thus loss of control.