A Nigerian student has shared how gambling his N750,000 school fees on Aviator cost him an extra year in university.
The man, who goes by Lanle (@hiamlanle) on X, posted the story in a thread on November 1. He said it happened two years ago.
He attended a private university, whose name he withheld. According to him, he was never a betting person and barely understood why people got hooked on it.
“But desperation will make u entertain things you would ordinarily avoid,” he wrote.
He started with N20,000, believing he could replace it from his feeding allowance if he lost. The money doubled, and he kept winning.
Then he began to lose. He said N250,000 was gone before he knew it.
Instead of stopping, he convinced himself the next win would fix the loss. He said all he wanted was to recover the N750,000.
After studying previous Aviator rounds for almost 35 minutes, he staked the remaining N500,000. The plane flew away at 1.00X and the money was gone.
He said the loss left him with suicidal thoughts and he did not know how to face what he had done. He stopped attending classes and later took a leave of absence for the semester.
The part that still hurts, he said, is that he will have an extra year to account for when his mates graduate.
Lanle explained that he is sharing the story now for anyone thinking of trying betting or chasing a previous loss.
“I learned the hard way that chasing losses can cost you far more than money,” he wrote.
He urged students to say no to betting and never to stake school fees, rent or any money they cannot afford to lose.
For those who have already lost, he advised against chasing the loss, adding that the next bet is not guaranteed to fix the last one.
“Your future is worth more than any odd,” he said.
Digital Operations Manager at The Students Forum Nigeria.
