A young man who ran away from home after becoming overwhelmed by thousands of pounds in gambling debts now speaks against the dangers of betting ads.
Dillon Duffy started gambling at 17 years old by placing £5 or £10 on slot machines. Within months he was playing roulette and blackjack, using up all his salary the day after he received it. At 18, he borrowed around £5,000 in loans in an attempt to cover his losses.
After accumulating £4,000 in debt, Duffy boarded a train to London and planned to never return as he thought the “easiest thing to do would be to get away” rather than talking to his parents.
‘I didn’t know what to do’
Looking back, the now 19-year-old told The Independent that it was “all just too much”, explaining: “I didn’t know what to do, I’d tried everything”.
He said he felt “disgusted” with himself, spending ten days sleeping in parks and stealing food from supermarkets.
When Duffy logged on to his Facebook account, he discovered that a group of people had set up a page about his disappearance, and he contacted his father to pick him up.
He now speaks about the dangers of gambling advertising and the need for more support for those who are struggling.
Gambling ads
Earlier this month, Labour MP Dr Beccy Cooper told the Prime Minister that young people must be protected from the harms caused by gambling advertising.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Dr Cooper highlighted gambling addiction as a “serious public health harm”, and criticised industry giants for spending billions on advertising, often targeted towards the vulnerable.
Problem gambling among children aged 11-18 doubled between 2023 and 2024 – equating to around 85,000 young people nationwide. Research shows that almost 90 per cent of 13-17 year-olds have been exposed to online gambling promotions.
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