For many of us, the absolute limit of our gambling is the flutter of “a few bob” on the Grand National every year. It seems harmless, and probably is. And we would put into the same category, popping a few coins into a fruit machine to pass the time.

But Pete Keogh, a man who has seen the effects of the other side of the industry, has a stark message.

“Gambling is a killer,” says Pete, who speaks from devastating family experience.

Just over three years ago, on the first of November, 2013, Lewis Keogh, the youngest of three boys of Pete and his wife, Sadie, took his own life after his gambling addiction took hold.

Lewis was 34, a fine talented sportsman, academically bright, personable and had a superb relationship with his family.

So who could have known that his apparently innocent enjoyment years ago of spending a little pocket money on machines in an arcade after school would eventually lead the former Portora boy down a tragic path of addiction?

Their heartbreaking loss has led Pete and Sadie to tell their story and join a campaign to help others by trying to curb the excesses of the gambling industry. They also want to raise awareness of the potential effects of people taking the first step on the gambling ladder.

Last week, the Fermanagh couple met Conservative MP and Minister, Tracey Crouch as part of a campaign for tighter legislation on gambling. They found not only a sympathetic ear, but a willingness by Government to do something, which has the personal interest of the Prime Minister, Theresa May.

But, despite high level support, added to by the stories of families like the Keoghs about the human personal impact, and what we would consider the rightness of their argument, campaigners know this won’t be an easy battle.

Because the betting industry is a rich and powerful lobby which will resist change.

Gambling at many levels is almost part of and parcel of society nowadays, but technology and marketing have combined to make it easily accessible to the point of being “in your face.”

For those who watch sport, particularly football, on satellite television the proliferation of advertising for betting is incredible. And anyone tempted to bet will find it very easy; it’s available widely online and how many people, of all ages, have you seen using their smartphones to bet?

The gambling companies push their services hard. Offers of free bets vary from £5 to £500; indeed, when Sadie Keogh was researching the subject, she found one company offering a bet with a free stake of £3,000.

Just to get punters in. And once in, there is a high level of temptation.

“It’s not just about winning and losing,” Pete points out. “American research has shown that the effects of gambling can release chemicals into the brain to give a hit similar to crack cocaine.”

Another aspect of easy gambling is the temptation of FOBTs. These are Fixed Odds Betting Terminals which seem to be everywhere, and frighteningly, Pete points out that people can pump £100 into these machines EVERY 20 seconds.

Yes, 20 seconds, £100 gone.

Yet, when television news reported this week that there was consultation over a proposal to limit a bet on these machines to £2 a time, a betting industry spokesman dismissed the plan as “flawed.”

Pete says: “We know we have a battle on our hands.”

It’s a battle they have taken on because of personal circumstances, and the impact of the loss of a child is something which many of us can only imagine.

“I can’t put it into words,” says Pete. “Like being hit by a bus, a knife through the heart, numbness; put all the clichés together and you’re starting to come close.”

This writer has known the Keogh family for years and respected them for their integrity, character and good humour. Lewis was from the same mould. He loved football, was opening bat and captain of Portora’s cricket team, also opening for Kesh, and was a talented tennis player who represented Ulster at under 25 level.

He went to the University of Teeside in Middlesborough to study sport, but then went into the finance industry and estate management, settling in Leeds where he passed away.

He was a shy lad behind it, but had a great circle of friends, some of whom are now raising funds in his memory for MIND, the mental health charity.

He also kept in touch with his family, Pete and Sadie and his two brothers, Justin and Richard, with regular visits home and phone calls every week.

It’s not too trite to say that if this could happen to the Keoghs, it could happen to anybody; and through the pain, they want to raise awareness of the pitfalls.

Therefore, they’re not just campaigning for legislation to curb the industry, they’re raising awareness so that families know the dangers of gambling.

It cannot be easy for them to open up personally, but it’s a story which every parent, teacher and family should take note of.