59 h. ago I used to judge my mother’s gambling addiction. Now I think she was longing for a fairytale ending

Toni Jordan’s mother gambled fast, ferociously, without any sense of fun. The author has come to realise she was dreaming of a bigger life My mother, Margaret, died in 2018 at 75. It was a good death, all things considered. The very end was savage, as endings often are, but she was in her own home and on her own two feet until the final week. For a woman who’d smoked two packs a day all her adult life, who’d never exercised or even walked to the shops, who refused to drink water (“I’d spew!”) and lived on Coca-Cola, paté on toast, jubes and green olives from a jar – considering all that, she did OK.During my mother’s final days, I had it easy. My sister, Lee, lived closer and is, to be honest, a more nurturing person. She’s caring. Patient. Lee is also better with money than me, but I thought I should at least attempt to help – so at the end, I took charge of Mum’s bank accounts. She lived on the pension and died with a run-down brick veneer villa unit in an over-50s complex, an old...

Events

4 d. ago NatWest manager stole £344,000 from cash machine to fund 'hidden' gambling addiction

A NatWest bank manager was spared jail time after stealing £344,000 from cash machines to fund his gambling addiction, but experts have warned that his case is a 'tragedy that will keep repeating'

Economics

6 d. ago Taylor Swift's fairytale engagement dress is still in stock– but not for long

Searches for Taylor's engagement dress are already going wild

Politics

1 week ago When my birth mother rejected me, another woman’s words helped me heal | Corin Hirsch

I struggled to cope with her refusal to meet me, until a straight-talking judge gave me a new perspectiveSometimes we learn the deepest truths in the most quotidian moments. One afternoon when I was six, I watched a character give birth in an army tent in the sitcom M*A*S*H. I immediately rushed from the den into the kitchen with a very important question for my mother. “Did you give birth to me in a tent like that?” I blurted out, hoping to learn my origin story.Unexpectedly, my mother dashed from the room in tears. When she returned, she sat me down and broke the news I had somehow always known. “Your Uncle Ana brought you home from the hospital to Mommy and Daddy,” she said. “You’re adopted, which means we chose you.”Corin Hirsch is a writer who covers food, drink and travel Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Colin Farrell stars as gambling addict in new film from Conclave director

Watch Colin Farrell portray a gambling addict in the trailer for a new Netflix film from the director of Conclave.

Politics

1 week ago Do you have a high street full of gambling shops breeding poverty and addiction? I have a way to fight back | Dawn Butler

Communities feel powerless because the law gives betting firms the upper hand. But a simple change could transfer power to the people• Dawn Butler is MP for Brent EastWalking down their local high streets, people in Britain are increasingly unlikely to come across a local butcher, baker or grocery shop, and more likely to find betting shops, casinos, adult gaming centres (AGC) and so-called bingo venues, where traditional bingo is muscled out by money-sapping slot machines. These establishments are taking over our town centres at an alarming rate. From talking to my constituents in Brent, west London, and residents across the capital, I know that people have had enough.That’s why this summer I have launched a campaign for urgent reform of our gambling laws. Ministers must give local authorities and people greater power to tackle this issue and reclaim our high streets. Currently, billionaire-owned overseas corporations have too much power, and local people have none. That needs to c...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘My buyer’s guilt is insane. It’s $1,300 on trash’: the adults addicted to blind box toys like Labubus

Grownups get thrills from opening these collectibles they buy without knowing what they’re getting – but experts warn the craze is akin to gamblingJess has never touched a slot machine, played the lottery or bought a scratch-off, but she fears she may have a gambling problem nonetheless.This July, the 28-year-old found herself spending up to $270 a week on blind boxes – that is, surprise items that are sold in sealed, opaque packaging. Activewear companies, bookshops and even candy stores all sell mystery bundles of their products, but the brands currently dominating the market produce collectible toys with cute but unusual names. If you want a complete collection of Labubu, Smiski, Dimoo, Pucky, Skullpanda or Sonny Angel figurines, then you will have to buy blind box after blind box, sighing at every duplicate and praying the next package contains the creature you need to finish the set. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Tracy had a good job and enjoyed luxury holidays and expensive cars. Then the 52

Adverts that target women and too-good-to-be-true offers have sparked a rise in female gambling. One online addict's favourites were Jackpotjoy and Foxy Bingo (pictured).

Politics

2 w. ago 'I would gamble my wages away as soon as I got them': How I lost £50,000

Adverts that target women and too-good-to-be-true offers have sparked a rise in female gambling. One victim tells Steve Boggan how she became an online gaming addict

Economics

2 w. ago Judge orders ICE to release mom who came to the US as an unaccompanied minor a decade ago

‘In the court's view, the irreparable harm to separating a nursing mother and her child is self-evident,’ judge says

Events

2 w. ago Moment serial romance fraudster is arrested after he conned women out of £40,000 to fund his gambling addiction as he is jailed for nearly three years

Ben Millin, 32, spun elaborate lies about dying relatives, frozen bank accounts, job interviews and serious health conditions to swindle four women out of up to £40,000.

Economics