'I started gambling at seven - mobile betting was like Vegas in my pocket'

Diane Barnes started helping her granny play slot machines when she was seven.

"I used to stand on a stool and put the money in for her," she says.

"I would try and memorise the reels. Some part of me thought there was a method or logic to it."

The 51-year-old from Crieff in Perthshire went to bingo halls throughout her childhood and later developed a gambling addiction.

Diane says the advent of mobile gambling was like "having Las Vegas in my pocket".

"It's so hard to get away from it," she says. "Every day, I have to make a conscious effort to stay away from that first bet."

The introduction of online gambling in the late 1990s was a turning point.

Diane moved to Lerwick in Shetland in 1998, a place with no bookmakers or casinos. But the lure of her phone was hard to resist.

"When I had the opportunity to gamble 24/7, I realised I wasn't in control. It was too easy."

Diane says gambling became a form of escapism after some "bad life choices".

"I would go into toilets with my phone and sit there and gamble.

"I was lost in the world of gambling. It wasn't about the money, I was constantly trying to fill a void in me that had been there for a long time."

Diane says she tried to take her own life 13 years ago but she has been in recovery for a number of years now for gambling and alcohol addiction, after receiving remote support through Gamblers Anonymous Scotland.

"Now I have peace, serenity and time for my family and friends", she says.

She believes she has spent "half her life" being ashamed, and the other half trying to help people and make amends.

She recently graduated from the University of the Highlands and Islands with a certificate in counselling and feels she has been given "a second chance".

She is calling for more services in rural and island locations where, she says, it can be harder for people to be open and honest about their problems.

She says: "Like any addiction in a smaller place, you worry people are going to make judgements.

"Gambling addiction ruins lives, it ruins families. I know people with credit scores wrecked for lives, all because of something that started so innocently.

"It shouldn't be as hard as it is to get help."

Diane welcomes a new programme from GamCare, the charity that runs Scotland's National Gambling Helpline.

It has launched free treatment sessions for people in Shetland, Orkney, the Highlands and the Western Isles.

The organisation offers online talking therapy aimed at supporting recovery from gambling harm.

The charity is offering free online treatment with trained practitioners using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

The service has funding from the Scottish government, under its share of the UK-wide gambling levy, until March 2029.

Lorraine Hannah, the charity's outreach and engagement practitioner, says online prize giveaways and games were a problem in the Highlands and islands.

"Anecdotally, I've heard it's quite a big issue because of social isolation, boredom and more downtime," she says.

"People can pick up their phones and gamble 24/7."

She says gambling affects people's relationships, finances, and mental health.

The charity provides confidential one-to-one help for over-18s and can also set up software to restrict certain mobile apps and banking blocks for gambling websites.

She adds: "Recovery is possible for everyone. There's no stigma, it's not shameful. Please don't suffer in silence."

Scotland's Public Health Minister Maree Todd said the government was working with partners to tackle gambling harms, with investment of £7.9m announced earlier this year.

She says the focus is on "prevention and improving treatment referral pathways".

The UK government says the new statutory levy is now delivering over £100m a year for research, prevention and treatment.

A statement said: "The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) members continue to raise standards and support measures which aim to prevent and reduce gambling-related harm through a wide range of safer gambling protections, including online monitoring of play, deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion tools."

The Betting and Gaming Council has been approached for comment.