I wrote about him before. He's back again. My favorite idiot gambling addict Richard Mahan who stole his parent's credit cards and ran up debts of £158,000 is back in the news. Mahan was in court last week testifying to his addiction.

I know what you're thinking, that I should be more sympathetic to the gambling addict. I should fill my shirt with tears and plead his case that it isn't his fault and he didn't know what he was doing and it is the internet casinos fault.

The problem is that it is his fault. He made a horrible stupid choice. He didn't follow good money management. As a matter of fact this guy is pretty much the poster boy for bad choices. Richard Mahan stole his parent's credit cards and gambled away £158,000 in an hour. That's right, an hour. What's worse? He could have stopped when he was up and walked away with £90,000.

Full story: Mahan went to his favorite online gambling site and started to play. Within one hour he had won £90,000. During the night he continued to play and chased his losses (which is the worst thing you can do). While chasing these losses, a lot like a dog chases his tale, he took his parents 13 credit cards and continued to deposit and max each card. In the end he lost a total of £158,000. He then attempted suicide. It's a tragic story whatever way you spin it. 

The news sites don't give much real information on this story. What I want to know is what sites? Every online casino site I know of has a deposit maximum well under £158,000 per week and only allows a maximum of 10 cards to be inputted at any time. I'm also curious to know if he was on something while he was making these brilliant decisions. Instead the news sites are focusing on beating internet gambling with a stick with quotes.

According to Sheriff Kevin Veal, “If £150,000 can be lost in 50 minutes under clandestine conditions in the early hours of the morning, it is an issue so great that it needs to be addressed by the wider community. It is a social issue.” Clandestine conditions? Excuse me? He wasn't gambling in secret, he was gambling in his parent's house for crying out loud. In that case I work in clandestine conditions because I work from home and typically the only one around while I'm working is my six month old son and he's not talking!

Would the press be so interested in this case if he had been clever and walked away when he was ahead £90,000? For some reason I seriously doubt it.

“Initially he’d made over £90,000 in profit but within an hour he continued gambling and started to lose money heavily until the credit cards ran dry. He then tried to commit suicide. The credit card companies indicated that unless the matter was reported to the police the insurance cover would not come into place and the parents would have to pay back the money," said Brian Bell, the procurator fiscal.

Mahan's lawyer John Clancy, is of course doing the 'my client is a victim' dance. “The court should be aware that internet gambling, along with alcohol and heroin, is the scourge of the 21st century because it is unregulated,” he said. “It also raises questions about the wisdom of credit card companies allowing borrowing levels to be raised without any real checks." He added, “My own firm is seeing more and more cases of bankruptcies every week arising from addiction to online gambling.”

The credit card companies told the parents that they had to file a police complaint against their son if they want this problem covered by their insurance. As they certainly could not afford to cover such an amount on their own they complied. Sheriff Veal agrees with the credit card companies, “One can understand the line that the credit card companies took because of the sums involved. The quantum is so great that a prison sentence may have to be imposed in the public’s interest.”

One would think that a representative for the internet gambling industry (no stories state that this is the site he spent his money on) would help the industries cause. However, they didn't. Instead William Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe, helped those against the industry by pointing out that there was no way to really verify the authenticity of the player. “The Government regulates gambling in this country and we do what we are required to do and more." He added, “How could anybody know he was not who he said he was or that the credit cards were not his? If I spent £90,000 on a car with my credit card, would anybody criticize me?”

Like I said, not the angle I would have taken. Instead I think I would have focused on how he needs to be held responsible for his actions and choices. That his judgment and honesty is obviously lacking as he felt it was ok to steal his parent's credit cards.

This story has been all over the news. At least Mahan found some of the man in him and pled no contest in court. However, had he demonstrated good money management this story would have been no where. Had he won the £90,000 and cashed out it may have been published on a few internet gambling portals, but it would have stopped there. The ones without a problem are never honored by the media. They prefer to vilify the online gambling industry.

It's all about decision making and the individual. Blaming the object for its misuse is not going to solve the problem. Promoting better judgment and personal responsibility should be the key here. The online gambling site is a victim in this situation. A victim of the offenders honesty and for it they will suffer a sever charge-back and heavy fines from the credit card company. This isn't something the internet gambling industry wants. Let's be realistic here on whose to blame.