Kieren Smith was just eight-years-old when he experienced the bright lights of a seaside arcade for the first time. His grandma would often take him down when he’d visit during the summer.

The sounds of the machines and people winning around him had an huge impact on the young boy’s mind. “I remember asking the person I was with to buy some bingo cards,” he recalled.

“I played a couple of games but didn’t know what I was doing. I was desperate to keep on playing though.

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“This was the start of my journey from bingo to fruit machines. I would think I was a millionaire when I won, and it wasn’t long before I didn’t want to go to the beach anymore – I just wanted to go to the arcade.”

Gambling went on to become a consistent part of Kieren’s teenage life. By the time he’d turned 19, he already sensed it was becoming a problem and admitted his feelings to his grandma.

“I knew gambling would never be a normal activity for me, but I also knew I wasn’t ready to get help for it at the age of just 19,” he added.

Around the same time, Kieren began visiting bookies and eventually delved into the world of online gambling.

He had received a number of inducements to sign up to different online platforms to place his bets.

“I still preferred going to the bookmakers as I could see what I was spending – I was initially put off online gambling as the money didn’t seem to last as long,” he said.

After a brief stint away from it, Kieren, now aged 33, rediscovered the world of online gambling in his mid-twenties while working as a HGV driver.

“The hours were long, but I was getting paid well for it and it created this false sense of security that I had money to gamble,” he continued.

“So, I would be on the roads most of the week and started to gamble while working. My long hours meant that my wife was worried about me being tired, but it was the addiction that was consuming me.”

Online gambling meant he could do it all hours of the day, even in bed, and was easier to hide from people when gambling than in the local bookies.

As his dependency on gambling deepened, Kieren began falling behind at work. “Being a logistics driver, you are working to highly timed deliveries and there’s a lot of pressure to meet your timings,” he said.

“But I would just sit there gambling for three or four hours at the side of the road. The companies would ring me to see what was going on and where the deliveries were, but I just didn’t care. I only wanted to gamble.”

Due to his addiction, Kieren would go on to lose a number of HGV roles over the next few years.

By his mid-twenties, his mental health was spiralling – but he fell deeper into gambling to cope with it all.

“At this point, gambling for me was an escape,“ he said. “When gambling has got you in its grips, there is always this need to justify why you are putting on a bet.

“The escape it offered was enough to justify why I was doing it. It was a vicious cycle. I would gamble to win, lose and escape but then have to face the real-world consequences and escape again.”

With his partner unable to work at the time, Kieren was the sole earner in this household. Though he looked at alternative ways to make enough cash to cover the rent and bills, including payday loans and borrowing money from friends, ultimately it was gambling Kieren turned to in an effort to support his family.

“The financial difficulties added another justification for gambling and I needed to make money to pay the rent,“ he continued.

“A friend bought me a car. I had it for six months and then put a loan on it. I then lost that in an afternoon due to gambling.

The financial downturn was becoming more prominent. I could see the people around me getting stressed because of what I was doing.

“At this point, the walls began to close in. I realised that one of four things would happen to me: I would either lose my partner, lose my life, end up in prison or I would stop gambling.”

While Kieren, from Rotherham, had never considered crime to fund his gambling habits, the thought entered his mind as he worried he wouldn’t have enough to keep betting.

It wasn’t a side of himself he recognised and he’s thankful to this day he didn’t pursue it.

Above all, Kieren wanted all the financial difficulties to stop, especially for those closest to him. He knew he had to stop gambling.

Though he hoped he could live without gambling in the future, that glimmer of hope felt distant and unreachable.

“I started to go to peer support meetings and I had a new desire to stop,“ he said. “I realised that my gambling was making my difficulties worse and not improving them. I thought to myself, ‘just for today’, if I don’t gamble for the day, I can get through.“

Kieren eventually contacted the National Gambling Helpline and was referred to one-to-one support with a trained professional in his local area. With the help of the service, he spoke to someone once a week for several weeks.

“It was great talking to someone on the Helpline as I could check in time and again as issues built up,“ he said. “When I felt like I was struggling and that the temptation was building, I knew I could call at any time and let it all out, and ultimately not feel alone and wind up resorting back to gambling.”

One night, while he was just a short while into recovery, Kieren found himself alone and with an opportunity to gamble.

Tempted, he weighed up the pros and cons, and after a lot of deliberation, chose not to break his recovery. He still hails the morning afterwards as one of the best feelings in his life.

“The difference that morning – when I realised I hadn’t lost a month’s pay overnight, when I didn’t have to tell my partner there was another slip and that we’d be behind this month again – that feeling was better than any feeling I’d ever had while gambling,“ he said.

Since stopping gambling, Kieren has self-excluded from gambling websites through GAMSTOP and has used bank blockers to help restrict access further.

Now four years into recovery, he’s also recently got his own bank card – which he’d previously been reliant on his partner’s as an extra precaution.

“It’s great to be at the stage where I can have my own card now,“ he added. “If I want to go out and buy my wife flowers to surprise her, I can.”

Since he stopped gambling, Kieren has discovered a number of new hobbies which have offered him a focus.

He has launched his own YouTube channel where he talks about gambling harm and has also given talks around schools in his local area on the potential dangers that come with gambling.

He acknowledges he still feels triggers but that talking to people about it has helped.

To this day, Kieren estimates he is in around £30,000 of debt due to his past gambling.

On the links between the cost-of-living crisis and gambling, Kieren says: “It’s extremely worrying as, if people find themselves under added financial strain, there’s not many solutions people can turn to other than changing jobs.

“And if this isn’t possible then gambling could easily be something people turn to try and top up their income, but if they start to fall behind and chase their losses they could be turning down a slippery path.“

Kieren’s advice for people struggling with their gambling is: “If people around you are telling you that you may have a problem with gambling or they can see that you are struggling, please do not dismiss them.

“Get help, speak to a friend or even a stranger and try and envisage what life would look like in five to ten years if you carry on and speak to your future self. I know it’s easier said than done, but don’t be scared of being judged.”

Kieren will be celebrating half a decade bet-free on December 27 – but says the festive season is still one of the hardest times of year for him. He will also be working through Christmas as a HGV driver to help pay off the debts he has from past gambling.

With paydays often falling earlier in December, families may face an extended period without income during the financially challenging month of January.

A recent YouGov survey, commissioned by GamCare, has shed light on the unique challenges facing those struggling with gambling over Christmas.

It found around half of those gambling in the last 12 months at harmful levels say they are more likely to feel anxious or depressed in the run-up to Christmas.

Around 41 per cent of those surveyed who gamble at harmful levels admit their gambling can distract them from spending time with family and friends over Christmas.

About 42 per cent of those who gamble at harmful levels have previously used presents they’ve received for Christmas to gamble.

Samantha Turton, head of remote support services at GamCare, says: “We recognise that the festive season, traditionally a time of joy, can bring unique challenges for those affected by gambling harm. The alarming statistic that almost half of those experiencing gambling harm have used money intended for Christmas presents to gamble underscores the severity of the issue.

“We are ready to support anyone struggling throughout the festive period. As well as our Helpline, our Live Chat and WhatsApp are there to support those who may not be comfortable talking while with family and friends. As the festive season approaches, let us extend a helping hand to those experiencing gambling harm, reinforcing the spirit of compassion and support.”