Episode Details

Mid 20's and $250,000 in debt. Gripped by a gambling addiction. How do you recover?

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From the outside, it looked like Luke Bateman was living the dream: a professional NRL career with ludicrous pay checks and sponsorship deals.

On the inside, Luke was battling a crippling gambling addiction, deepening depression and a widening chasm between the character he was playing, and his true authentic self.

With immense courage, honesty and vulnerability, Luke takes Hugh, Ryan and Josh through the ups and downs of his recovery journey. Luke unpicks the difference between unconditional love and conditional help from his parents, and why his time in rehab was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Luke speaks about how his journey with addiction impacted his relationship with his mum, and the gratitude he feels for her now, and how learning about internal family systems changed his life forever.

Luke, you are such a beautiful person. Thank you for joining us today.

This episode discusses gambling addiction and suicidal ideation. Please take care when listening.

This episode is part of the BE HOPE Podcast Takeover, bringing podcasts around the world together to explore the themes of hope and how we can continue to make progress in a rapidly changing world - https://globalgoals.org/behope/

🚨If you, or someone you know is struggling with a gambling addiction

• Call LifeLine - 13 11 14
• Register at BetStop - betstop.gov.au
• Gamblers Anonymous - https://bit.ly/3TJ1C6d
• Gambling Help Online - gamblinghelponline.org.au
• In an emergency, always call 000

🩵To hear our chat with Luke about The Manosphere and to join our subscriber community, A Little More Imperfects, follow this link - patreon.com/theimperfects

0:00 – Trailer: $250K of Gambling Debt
1:26 – Be Hope Podcast Takeover Announcement
4:15 – Luke Bateman doesn’t fit in a box
6:06 – Growing up ‘soft’ in Rural Queensland
10:03 – Hiding Books from the Boys
17:11 – The Shame of Reading
19:22 – Chasing a Dream to Fill the Void
22:26 – Money, Drugs & Alcohol in Professional Sport
27:40 – Lies, Debt & Betting Company ‘VIP’ Treatment
30:26 – Should Gambling Sponsorship Be Banned?
31:11 – Rock Bottom
33:18 – The Phone Call That Saved His Life
39:45 – Rehab, Recovery + Relinquishing Control
43:40 – Inside Rehab “Get a Real Addiction”
47:21 – Recovery Is Not Linear
50:21 – Internal Family Systems: Healing the exiled child
56:05 – Generational Masculinity: Why Men Struggle to Connect
58:19 – Denial + Corporate Greed
1:03:13 – Luke’s Honesty Policy
1:06:08 – Unconditional Love vs Conditional Help
1:10:18 – Sharing Shame with Teammates
1:11:37 – Luke’s Message to Anyone Struggling Right Now
1:13:03 – Finding Your Way Back

🫖Imperfects episodes mentioned on this episode

• Jack’s Gambling Addiction Story - https://bit.ly/4hFQmk1

📚Things to read

• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo - https://bit.ly/46FkS7v
• Keys to the Kingdom, by Garth Nix - https://bit.ly/4AnBxKB
• The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig - https://bit.ly/4d2Ozmx
• No Bad Parts, by Richard C Scharwtz - https://bit.ly/46FSGkU
• You Are The One You’ve Been Waiting