An online gambler who racked up almost £7,000 in debts is backing new gambling reforms from the Government. David Rixon, 22, started buying scratch cards aged 16 before turning to online casinos.

His gambling became a problem when he was forced to take time off work after a mugging and motorbike accident. David spent his £96 weekly statutory sick pay to play on online casinos and won £17,000.

The former fish and chip bar worker, from Plymouth, then spent his winnings and another £8,000 from several credit cards on a massive booze and drugs bender.

This week the government announced the amount of money people can place on a single online slots bet will be restricted for the first time. Under the proposal those aged 25 and over will have a £5 per spin limit and there will be a £2 per spin limit for 18 to 24-year-olds.

David, has been gambling sober for to years and has placed himself under a 12-month debt relief order (DRO) to clear the rest of his debt, welcomed the news. He said: “It’s a good idea what they are doing. The £5 limit I agree with. I was putting £150 per spin.

“That was dangerous. If I lost that’s £150 gone. They should limit how much people spend in a day. But it’s not the amount that people are spending that is the issue – it’s the advertising of gambling.”

He added: “Scratch cards shouldn’t be on show. People see it at a younger age.”

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David says gambling has been “normalised” since he was younger. He added: “At aged 13 and 14 people get you scratch cards for your birthday. People don’t realise kids bingo is gambling.

“I started buying scratch cards at aged 16. When I turned 18 I turned to gambling on slots.”

David was only spending £10 or £20 on slots every so often but after he was mugged in September 2021 his addiction took hold. He was on statutory sick pay after he broke his foot when his motorbike fell on it during a road accident.

He said: “I was living at home with no bills as such and the money I was getting – £96 a week – was going into gambling. I lost a lot but I always knew I’d have another £96 to put in next week.

“I was sat at home bored and I made about £17.5k in those four months. I opened eight credit cards and maxed those out too and although you’re not allowed to gamble with credit cards, if you withdraw money from a credit card and put it on your debit card, you can gamble.

“It was an addiction but I wouldn’t call myself an addict.”

In May 2022, David spent all the money he’d made from the credit cards and gambling on a two-week booze and drugs bender, then at rock bottom, in October 2022, David decided to quit gambling and alcohol. He has managed to pay back £6.500 in debt and has now put himself on a debt relief order to clear the rest of his debt.

David will get a fresh start next May when his debt is wiped. Online gambling slots have surged since the Covid pandemic and the NHS have seen referrals for people with gambling problems double.

David said: “The Government are doing the right thing. I wonder what they are going to do for the businesses losing money. I think it’s beneficial but they could be doing more.”