Jack Symons Story

Jack founded Gamban in 2015 when struggling with online gambling. He noticed there wasn’t any dependable blocking software available for Mac and wanted to create something which reliably blocks websites and apps, making a positive difference to people’s lives.

Jack’s Story

At university,  not a day went by that I didn’t gamble online, and on many occasions, I was playing up to 14 hours a day. Online gambling is generally much easier to hide than other forms of offline gambling, so I was able to keep it hidden.

One night, I hit a jackpot, but to withdraw the money and satisfy the bonus requirements, I had to continue wagering a significant amount of money. Eventually, I was able to withdraw the funds and had more money in my bank account than I had ever had before.

Once you get a taste for the swings, the high highs, and the low lows, it’s hard to go back. What I was doing was very quickly becoming unaffordable, and before long, I’d lost all the money I had saved.

I tried to stop so many times, but without success. I realised that what I needed was to put a barrier between myself and gambling because willpower wasn’t enough. I installed parental control software, but quickly found it easy to disable.

One evening, my father and I were talking about gambling, and I came up with the idea of a light-touch, cross-platform software that blocked access to nothing but gambling. As I was still gambling, I needed this, so I got to work immediately, and Gamban was born.

You don't have to hit rock bottom to rebuild

In 2017, 888 got a record penalty due to significant failures in their social responsibility and anti-money laundering procedures.​ This caused a media frenzy, and I ended up doing a mini circuit of interviews.

Newsnight was quick to ask "how much did you lose?" and "did you try to kill yourself?".

I couldn't pretend I did, so they went with someone else.

That said, my story has been shared a lot online, and I suppose it's more interesting because I took action when I realised I couldn't stop myself from coming back to online slots and casinos.

I have no idea how much I lost over the years, nor do I care to find out. The figure is irrelevant.

What I lost was my value of money and time, and the impact on my mental health.

I want to offer three platitudes that helped me along the way.

• Recover loudly so others don't suffer silently - Pithy, but some truth to this. I get a lot of satisfaction knowing people who have heard me on podcasts have sought help.
• You don't have to hit rock bottom to rebuild - How far into the abyss do you need to go? Is it enough to 'peer into' or do you have to go all the way?
• ​You lost. That's ok. You won't get it back. Leave it in the past. All that matters is the future. - This involves a degree of self-compassion, but learning the difference between self-compassion, self-forgiveness, and self-indulgence is very important.

Since the start, Gamban has gone from strength to strength, launching on all major devices in every country, recently celebrating its 10-year anniversary. 

If, like Jack, you’re looking for a simple and effective way to block online gambling on your devices, Gamban can help.