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Rick Campanelli released his memoir, \u201cTempted: My Story,\u201d on Sept. 1, 2026. (Photo credit: Instagram\/Rick Campanelli)<\/p>\n
On Breakfast Television on Tuesday, Campanelli spoke out his personal battle with a previous gambling addiction that almost tore his life apart.<\/p>\n
Campanelli said his addiction stemmed from the high he received from entering the winning contests as a young person.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved entering contests back in the day. I would enter any contest that I came across, whether it was winning a stuffed bunny for a colouring contest, winning a contest at a grocery store that sent me away to visit an NHL hockey team. I just loved winning. And it wasn\u2019t about the prize as much as about just winning, being that person,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
In the second half of the interview, Campanelli said \u201cthat luck turned unlucky\u201d for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like a double-edged sword you\u2019re right because I\u2019m winning, I\u2019m feeling good but it\u2019s also creating this addictive personality in me towards an addiction, which I fell into and it got out of control. I liked winning and I always thought, \u2018okay, well anything I approach I\u2019m going to win,\u2019 so that\u2019s when the gambling started taking over my life and I became addicted to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the obsession with winning reared its \u201cugly head\u201d and \u201cit just took over and I lost control for many, many years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Campanelli said his gambling addiction also led to him being arrested after landing in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had planned a scheme to borrow some money from some Las Vegas casinos at the time \u2026But it was a scheme that I really didn\u2019t think too in-depth about because I failed to pay back these people when they wanted their money back. I was always going to pay them back, but it was just taking longer than I thought, so they wanted their money, these big boys wanted their money, and I didn\u2019t get give it to them so I paid the consequences and I spent some time in jail,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think I would have learned my lesson at that point for you. \u2026I continued shortly after to gamble,\u201d he explained, adding that it was his wife, Angie, who got him through it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it wasn\u2019t until Angie, God bless her, because she\u2019s my rock and she\u2019s still with me. She stands by me. She supports me. She helps me each and every day. I continued to gamble and she found out and we got the help we needed, in CAMH, in Gamblers Anonymous. That would have been rock bottom, losing Angie. If I had lost Angie, I don\u2019t know where I\u2019d be today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Campanelli said one of the main reasons he penned this book now is to raise awareness of how a gambling addiction can ruin a person\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
\u201cA main reason why I\u2019m putting this book out now, many reasons, but one of the main ones is that online gambling is on the rise and it\u2019s a multi-billion dollar industry. And listen, it\u2019s going to be around for a very long time because these companies are making lots of money. But this young generation I fear for because I don\u2019t want them to go down these same roads that I went down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was out of control with my addiction. I was living paycheck to paycheck. Money was coming and money was going. That\u2019s not the case anymore. \u2026I\u2019ve been able to manage and control my addiction over these last 17 years or so. And I\u2019ll never go back to those dark days because I lived them, I experienced them. I don\u2019t want anyone to live those days. So knowing that will keep me on the straight and narrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Need help with a gambling problem? Click here<\/a> to find a counsellor in Canada via Responsible Gambling Council.<\/p>\n The official launch of the book will be held at the El Mocambo in Toronto at 8 p.m. on Wednesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tBreakfast Television reporter Rick Campanelli. <\/p>\n \t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n Add CityNews Toronto as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/RickCampanelli-september1-1024x513.jpg\")
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