A 13-year-old schoolboy blew £80,000 ($10,6792) gambling online using his father's business credit cards to fund his addiction.
The youngster, from Lancashire, started placing bets after seeing adverts for online bookmakers while watching a football match at Wembley.
He took pictures of cards on his mobile phone and set up a betting account using his company director father's identity.
He became addicted to sports gambling, placing hundreds of bets a week on football matches and horses, staking as much as £3,000 ($4,004) each time.
The teen told the Mirror: '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.'
He had to see a psychotherapist to help curb his addiction after it almost tore the family apart.
The boy's story comes as new Government figures reveal 25,000 children aged 11-16 are addicted to gambling.
MPs are calling for tighter advertising regulations to prevent child gambling.
The number of 16-year-olds hooked on gambling has risen by a third in the last three years, according to Government regulator the Gambling Commission.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
