It was so easy to bet at 13 but it’s as addictive as drugs

The boy, from Lancashire, said: “I had no idea that gambling could be an addiction like smoking, drinking or drugs. It seemed like fun and I thought I would make money too.

“It was just far too easy. I just had to put in dad’s name, address, date of birth and card details and checked a box saying I was 18 – it took literally seconds to register and start gambling.”

His spiralling losses were discovered six months later when his father got a call from the bank questioning transactions and money missing from the account.

By this time, the lad had already accumulated losses in excess of £20,000.

Confronted by his parents, he instantly confessed.

Following psychotherapy, his parents assumed their son had learned his lesson.

But several months later he went on a weeklong gambling binge using the same card details, this time building up debts of a further £60,000.

Now the parents say they can never trust their son again as they are crippled by loans they were forced to take out to pay debts.

Their son still only 15, said: “I am sorry for what I have done. I feel like I’ve ruined everything and our lives will never be the

same again.” He spoke out with the agreement of his parents who want to warn other families about the dangers of online gambling – at any age.

He said: “I remember being at Wembley seeing all those adverts, hearing guys around me bragging how much money they’d won and figured I’d give it a go. It seemed fun and easy.

“I knew dad’s business was doing well and thought he’d be less likely to spot that than money coming out of a personal account.”

His father’s groundworks firm had a turnover of over £30,000 a month and dozens of contractors so his betting went unnoticed at first.

He said: “I started off placing small £5 or £10 bets on football matches and horses, and had a few wins, which was a massive