On the latest episode of iGaming Daily, Neosurf’s CEO, Andrea McGeachin, took the reigns as Craig Cornforth, Senior Business Development Manager for EPIC Global Solutions, joined her to share his journey with gambling addiction and recovery.

Reflecting on his experience with problem gambling, Cornforth explained that it began for him during the rise of online gambling.

He said: “The emergence of online gambling really suited my personality. The challenge of that and the accessibility, I think, was the main difference for me. So it manifested in me [losing] my house, my job and I very nearly went to jail.

“I had a really good job that I loved and was very successful at, and I ended up stealing money from that business to fund what became the only thing in the world that was important to me which was gambling.”

Cornforth began his road to recovery in October 2017 when he placed his last bet and since then he has joined EPIC Global Solutions, a company that delivers solutions to prevent gambling-related harm through lived experience.

As well as working with the industry, EPIC also delivers safer gambling training to children in schools and professional athletes and teams. Cornforth explained that the overall aim of the training is rather than “pulling people out of the river” once they are impacted by problem gambling, they are instead “going down earlier to stop them getting in”.

In detailing his experience as a safer gambling consultant, Cornforth spoke about the need for the industry to change its mindset over the work of companies like EPIC and view them as a help rather than a hindrance.

“We need almost a click of the dial to the mindset of the industry to not think that we are a threat,” he explained. 

“I’ve been a car dealer all my life, I love profit. We shouldn’t be afraid to say that we want our customers to be customers forever, not [just] for that World Cup. I still believe that there’s a gap in that, both from an operator and payment provider [perspective]. It’s [something] that there just seems to not be that symmetry together.”

As mentioned, EPIC’s work centres on learning from the lived experience. Of the over 50 employees at the company, over half have suffered from problem gambling.

“We can’t go and employ a thousand people that come and do the job,” said Cornforth.

“We could get the work for it but you don’t advertise my role. It has to be somebody who does [that] has a passion and it feels more than a job to everyone. [They] have been where I have been and have been in the darkest times with gambling addiction.

“But nobody blames anybody other than themselves and are all passionate about trying to make it better.”