"Support is Available" - Laura's Story

“Problem gambling is real, it’s an issue, and so few people are educated about it,” Laura shared.

30 years ago, she was married to a man who struggled with problem gambling and alcoholism. He would disappear for days at a time, gambling away $2,000 or $3,000 in one weekend. He maxed out multiple credit cards and used every cent he could get his hands on to gamble.

Meanwhile, Laura was scrimping and saving to support their family. He expected her to spend as little as possible on essentials like groceries, buying only generic brands and never name brands. She even quit smoking just to save a little money.

One day, she took a small amount of money from their bank account to buy groceries for her and her daughter. But her small withdrawal reduced the amount he could spend on gambling. Furious, he drained their shared bank account and gambled the money away. 

Laura was forced to get a second job just to keep them afloat.

After over a decade of struggling, they separated. With her daughter and dog in tow, Laura started her life from scratch. It took her years to get out of the debt her ex-husband had left her with.

While it was a painful journey, Laura was finally free of the stress and pain she’d experienced with her ex-husband.

“A few months after we separated, I was shopping for groceries with my daughter. She put a bag of generic-brand chips in our cart. But it hit me: we didn’t have to live this way anymore. I told her to put them back and get the name-brand chips.”

Her ex-husband’s problem gambling hadn’t just affected him—it had affected their entire family in large and small ways. Even buying name-brand chips felt like an act of healing. 

After her own experience, Laura worries about the future of gambling in Wyoming.

“When Wyoming brought in legalized gambling, I don’t think we were ready to deal with problem gambling. People need to know that problem gambling exists and that it can be devastating to families.”

Most importantly, they need to know that help is available.

“It’s not about banning gambling—plenty of people can put a dollar into a slot machine and be done when the dollar is gone. But we need to be ready to help people when their gambling becomes a problem. People know about Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, but do they know about the support available for people who struggle with problem gambling?”

If you struggle with problem gambling, support is available. Learn more about problem gambling and find help: https://wyomingcpg.org/getting-help