The brother of Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton has opened up about his struggles with a gambling addiction that nearly drove him to suicide. Nicholas Hamilton released a book titled “Now That I Have Your Attention” that details his “all-consuming” problem that led to him having to sell possessions to try to clear his debts.

The 32-year-old explained how all of his trouble started with a ￡2 ($2.49) bet on Arsenal and it spiralled into a six-month-long spree that saw him spending major sums of money gambling at online casinos from his bedroom.

These struggles really came to the fore in 2017 when he had to sell a luxury Mercedes car that his brother gifted him so that he could pay a tax bill. He spoke about the shame of having to do so, saying that he felt like he had “practically stolen the money from my brother and I have never forgiven myself for that.”

eventually sought help from the Samaritans helpline

This was when he hit rock bottom and he thought about jumping off his apartment’s balcony. He eventually sought help from the Samaritans helpline as he didn’t want to reveal his struggles initially to his family. Gambling is no longer an issue for Nicholas Hamilton and he’s now trying to shed light on the issue to help others.