'Prize draw addiction left me hungry and using tissues for tampons'

'Prize draw addiction left me hungry and using tissues for tampons'46 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleSteve JonesYorkshireBBCPrize draws and competitions are a "significant and growing market", the government saysPrize draws and competitions seem to be everywhere, from social media feeds to adverts on TV, but gambling support organisations have warned of their addictive potential and say they are having to help and support people who have fallen foul of the lure of luxury rewards. Lisa, whose real name has been withheld, said she found herself in thousands of pounds worth of debt, hungry and having to use tissues for tampons due to a lack of cash after becoming addicted to such prize draws."I lay awake one night and just felt like I didn't want to continue life because of this awful secret: debts building up, nowhere to turn. I was so ashamed," she said.Lisa, 33, a single mother-of-one who had previously struggled with gambling addiction, explained that she had initially started taking part in raffles on Facebook before she came across more official competitions advertising bigger and better prizes like houses, cars and cash.In association with such larger competitions, many websites also offer instant-win draws, which are available to play 24/7 for as little as one pence and which allow someone to enter as many times as they like.Lisa said she found these temptations too enticing to ignore."You win £20 credit and £30 instant win prizes and it keeps you going and feeling, 'oh, this is fun'. It's like when you play a slot machine," she said."I'm not a mindless gambler. These do offer an incentive and I'm in it for the incentive."Lisa said that with no spending limits in place, she reached a point last year when she was spending so much to chase her losses that she could not afford basic essentials like shopping.She said that in one week she spent her entire monthly disabilit...