PAUL REES talks to Mark Potter about his fall and rise after gambling addiction

When Mark Potter tells sportsmen and women that gambling can ravage careers, he is speaking after a harrowing experience that very nearly ruined his life. What started as a couple of pounds on the horses spiralled out of control to the point where he faced going to prison and borrowed money from a Dublin-based gangster.
The low point for Potter came when he sold his wife’s engagement ring and children’s possessions to fund his addiction. It was then that he realised that, at the age of 32, he ...