Gambling Talk

Gambling talk with Tony O’Reilly

By Colm Kavanagh

On the 22nd of September our whole year gathered for a talk about gambling with a man called Tony O’Reilly. He had previously recovered from a serious gambling addiction that left him with time to serve in prison. This talk was not just informative but it also gave a different perspective on an addiction to gambling. As gambling is so deeply embedded in our culture, it is almost impossible to stay out of. While many people gamble, not many have an addiction to it. 

This made us think what’s so dangerous about a gambling addiction? Well, it’s the fact that anyone can very easily hide an addiction to gambling unlike an addiction to drugs or alcohol. Due to this fact it can get very serious and lead to huge mental health and financial problems. 

Tony also talked about the science of gambling. When you win a bet a “feel good” chemical called dopamine is sent to your brain. People can easily get addicted to the feelings produced. The fact that you can develop a tolerance to this is even more dangerous as you need to bet large sums of money to get the dopamine. 

Gambling can also act as a form of escapism for people addicted. They rely on it. From this point on, it is very hard to escape the gambling cycle. Tony managed to get a very strong and important message to us all through his life story and unfortunate encounters with gambling. 

This talk was very beneficial and will be useful to remember in the future.