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Mum jailed for stealing thousands after gambling addiction
12 Jan
Summary
- Sian Mclear-Dyer was jailed for stealing over £320,000 from her employer.
- Her gambling addiction began with a free bingo app promotion.
- She now works to help others combat gambling harm after turning her life around.
A devastating gambling addiction led Sian Mclear-Dyer to steal over £320,000 from her employer, resulting in a prison sentence. What started as an occasional flutter escalated into a full-blown addiction after she discovered a bingo app in 2015. Secretly gambling through the night, she funded her habit with loans and credit cards before resorting to embezzlement, believing she would repay the stolen funds.
Her life took a drastic turn in 2018 when she lost her job and discovered her pregnancy simultaneously. This dual crisis motivated her to seek help, leading her to Beacon Counselling Trust, a charity that provided crucial support. Mclear-Dyer served just under a year in prison from 2019 to 2020, during which time she was separated from her infant son for four months.
Following her release, Mclear-Dyer earned a degree and now works at Beacon Counselling Trust, assisting professionals and prisoners with gambling harm. Her experience highlights a significant increase in gambling addiction on Merseyside, prompting a new public health campaign, "If I only knew," aimed at exposing manipulative gambling tactics and encouraging help-seeking.
