![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2_2NEW-MIRROR-EXCL-MAIN-1200x675-copy.jpg\")
A former student gambling addict opens up over their battle with addiction<\/p>\nA 23-year-old university student opens up about their harrowing journey with an online gambling addiction, which began with playing video games as a 12-year-old<\/p>\n
07:00, 02 Jul 2025Updated 08:33, 02 Jul 2025<\/p>\n
A former student gambling addict opens up over their battle with addiction<\/p>\n
As a university student,<\/a> Niks Kolosnicins, 23 was thousands of pounds in debt, severely isolated and trapped in a vicious addictive cycle of online gambling<\/a>. Unfortunately, his story is part of a severe and growing problem.<\/p>\n According to a study commissioned by the UK Gambling Commission in partnership with Ygam <\/a>and Gamestop, almost half (49%) of university students in the UK have gambled in the past 12 months. With 17% at high risk of experiencing gambling-related harm.<\/p>\n Niks was just 12 when he first got into gambling. And it started off with something many kids and teens engage in every day. \u201cI got into gambling through playing video games<\/a>,\u201d he says. For Niks, it was Counter Strike: Global Offensive, a popular shooting game available on Playstation<\/a> 3 and Xbox 360.<\/p>\n \u201cBasically you have things called loot boxes,\u201d he continues, \u201cwhich are quite integrated within the game. So I opened a few loot boxes, which is very normal for kids who play that game, everybody does it.\u201d<\/p>\n Loot boxes in video games are similar to blind boxes, which are items players purchase before they know exactly what\u2019s inside them. The risk comes from the possibility of reward. You can either receive a high-value item or a low-value one.<\/p>\n He was then able to use those items that he bought in blind boxes to sell on an online market and gamble on unregulated websites that “don’t have any age verification.” He explains: “Even though it’s not real money, technically, it’s like an in game currency that you’re basically gambling, but it’s very easy to convert those items back into real money.\u201d<\/p>\n For more stories like this subscribe to our weekly newsletter, <\/strong>The Weekly Gulp<\/a><\/strong>, for a curated roundup of trending stories, poignant interviews, and viral lifestyle picks from The Mirror’s Audience U35 team delivered straight to your inbox.<\/strong><\/p>\n His parents didn\u2019t suspect anything because it just looked like he was asking for money to spend on a video game. \u201cBut in reality, I was using pretty much all my pocket money just to gamble,\u201d Niks says.<\/p>\n The problem escalated as he came further into his teens and began placing bets on Esports via illegal websites. It was a vicious cycle \u2013 and one that consumed his life.<\/p>\n He would spend his entire day betting until his accounts were down to zero. Then once he ran out of money, he would plan his next bets. He says he was isolated from friends and it took a toll on his schoolwork.<\/p>\n But it only got worse once he began university. \u201cIt was a much more isolating experience because you’re learning independently,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are no teachers to tell you to go to class or to study. It became much more difficult for me to manage. I didn’t feel like I had much support coming into university.\u201d<\/p>\n Just three months into starting his degree, he says he dropped 25 kilos due to his addiction. \u201cI was about 95 kilos when I first started, then I dropped down to about 70,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Financially, he was also struggling. He admits he gambled his student loan the summer before he even arrived at university. He didn\u2019t have enough money to pay his rent. But he was too afraid to tell his parents. \u201cI was very ashamed that I gambled all of my money. I didn’t want to upset them. I was scared how they would react.<\/p>\n \u201cIt affected my uni studies, but also just everything, mentally, socially. I wasn’t involved in university life whatsoever, because I was completely consumed by gambling and chasing my losses.\u201d He failed his degree twice because of how much time he was spending on his habit.<\/p>\n On top of gambling his student loan, he took up work a delivery courier. \u201cFor me as a gambler, this job was the worst thing, because there was no time delay with getting paid,\u201d he says. He could spend it straight away.<\/p>\n \u201cI would deliver even when it was pouring down raining and I wouldn’t stop. I would keep going because I wanted to continue gambling.\u201d He admits he spent most of his student loan and the majority of his earnings on betting. He wasn\u2019t able to pay for his accommodation and he ended up in around \u00a37000 in debt.<\/p>\n Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We’d love to hear from you!<\/strong><\/p>\n His friends eventually encouraged him to attend Gambling Anonymous meetings, but these didn\u2019t stop the addiction. It was only after he attended a rehabilitation centre for three months that he was able to stop. There, he didn\u2019t have access to his phone or Internet, which meant he wasn\u2019t able to access gambling sites.<\/p>\n Now, he has managed to complete his second year of university, he firmly believes that more awareness should be spread over the dangers of gambling. \u201cIt\u2019s a very normal thing for people to gamble, and I didn’t understand, didn’t have awareness at that moment, that it is very addictive and is very difficult to overcome,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Zo\u00eb Osmond, CEO of GambleAware<\/a>, told The Mirror<\/a>: \u201cIt is vital to protect students and young people from the misconception that gambling is harmless fun. ” She added: “More regulation is needed.<\/p>\n “We have been calling for restrictions to be put on gambling sponsorship and advertising – including a ban on gambling marketing at sports events, which are often attended by younger people – and health warnings to be put on all gambling adverts to make the risks clear and signpost people who are worried about their gambling to where they can get help,” she added.<\/p>\n The Mirror has reached out to Xbox and Playstation for comment.<\/p>\n Anyone worried about how gambling makes them feel can search GambleAware or contact the National Gambling Helpline, available 24\/7 on 0808 8020 133 for free and confidential advice, tools and support.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 23-year-old university student opens up about their harrowing journey with an online gambling addiction, which began with…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":40219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[26448,16759,210,517,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-40218","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-debt","9":"tag-gambling","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1_Boy-Playing-with-videogames-joystick.jpg\")
Niks’ addiction began with purchasing loot boxes in a popular video game(Image: Getty Images)READ MORE: Horrifying rape video game which encourages players to sexually assault women banned from Steam<\/a><\/p>\n![\"young](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5_Brits-experience-loneliness-monthly-but-are-too-ashamed-to-admit-it.jpg\")
University proved to be an isolating experience for Niks(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n