"Mum, everyone gambles." Sandra’s son started placing the odd bet. Soon, he’d lost $70k. – Mamamia

"Then it's just a barrage of betting ads with movie stars advocating for how wonderful it is, and making it seem as though this is normal, that this is what everybody does and you'll have a great life if you gamble."

After opening up to friends, she realised she wasn't alone as a parent of a gambling addict, either.

"Shockingly, they had really similar stories," she said. "There are so many people out there that, because of the shame of it, don't speak."

Eager to channel her situation into something productive, Sandra has written to representatives at various levels of government and clinical experts urging them to advocate for raising the legal gambling age, ideally to 25.

"We often read about the prefrontal cortex [the region of the brain responsible for executive functions like planning, problem-solving and impulse-control] not maturing until mid 20s," she wrote, "and, of late, society is accepting this to some degreeand making allowances for poor decision-making or, better still, guiding young men to making better decisions."

Sandra would also like to see gambling ads banned from television, or at least relegated to late-night time slots after sporting matches and family programming are over. (She encourages people to visit endgamblingads.org.au and sign the petition.)

Again, she's not blaming government. She knows it's down to William, at 20 years old, to take responsibility for his addiction and be accountable for his behaviour. And she's cautiously optimistic that he's on that path, that a day will come where she can trust him again.

"It's only about three weeks since he last fell off the wagon. So I think it's just a little bit early to be totally blinkered and nave about it," she said.

"But he's spoken of his real hope that this is it; that he's done with gambling. I hope we doregain that trust."

If you or a loved one is engaging in problem gambling, support is available. Call the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858, or visit Gambling Help Online for more resources or find a service near you.

If you are thinking about suicide or experiencing emotional distress, help is available. Call Lifeline on 13 11 14 to speak to an experienced crisis counsellor.

*Names have been changed.

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"Mum, everyone gambles." Sandra's son started placing the odd bet. Soon, he'd lost $70k. - Mamamia