Updated.
April 26, 2020 06: 30:49
The coronavirus pandemic has actually had a terrible effect on so many Australians.
Lives have actually been lost, jobs and services have actually been wiped out, and individuals have needed to come to grips with being separated from family and friends.
No industry has felt the pressure more than bars, clubs and casinos. From March 23, they needed to close their doors at short notification, tossing the lives and livelihoods of 10s of thousands of Australians into turmoil.
But for some Australians these closures have proved a true blessing rather than a curse.
The Alliance for Gaming Reform states more than $1 billion has been saved in poker device losses in the previous five weeks.
ABC Investigations has touched with hundreds of people impacted by problem betting, and we asked whether coronavirus shutdowns have changed betting practices.
Many of them have described the previous 5 weeks as one of the most peaceful durations they can remember.
Here are 3 of their stories.
The mineworker
Corey is a mineworker from Queensland. He knows too well the discomfort that a gaming dependency can trigger.
His father lost the family home through betting on the horses when Corey was a small boy.
” All these years later on, it still triggers fights in my household,” he said.
” Understanding my family history, I became a strong anti-gambler. I ‘d never even bank on the horses.”
The 29- year-old prevented the problems his dad