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A recovering addict has warned that the return of sport could potentially be a 'perfect storm' for problem gamblers.

The Premier League begins again on Wednesday after a three-month hiatus.

For many it is reason to celebrate, but for those with a gambling addiction the feast of sport on the horizon is a worrying prospect.

Bray Ash, 27, reached rock bottom before admitting himself to a Gordon Moody Association residential centre in February 2018.

He now provides peer support to other problem gamblers and is concerned about the affect the return of major sport could have on those struggling with addiction.

'Now in football you can bet on the next corner, a goal inside the next five minutes, everything,' he said.

'It's a quick fix, I want the money now. People have been furloughed or lost their jobs and have financial pressures they didn't expect to have. It means they might be more likely to do things like bet in play with sport.'

Could the return of sport, coupled with people's changing financial circumstance and the loneliness of lockdown, be a perfect storm?

'Absolutely it could,' Mr Ash said. 'When the Premier League comes back it's match after match, there's no break and it's all on TV, you can bet constantly.'

Mr Ash started betting at school, going to the bookies after lessons but developed a gambling addiction while studying for his degree.

'When I went to university it got worse,' he said. 'I was not going to lectures but going to casinos. I could be spending hundreds, thousands of pounds a day. I remember one time I got my student loan and I gambled that away within 24 hours.

'It depended on how much money you had, that would go and then I'd be borrowing money, banks, loans, payday loans, anything. In the moment, all you want to do is gamble.'

The Gordon Moody Association, a charity which assists people with gambling addictions through residential treatment and support, has seen the number of people contacting their service increase eight-fold during the lockdown period so far.

While a YouGov survey indicated overall participation in gambling has decreased in lockdown, some engaged gamblers are spending more money in different ways. The fear is that this problem with be exacerbated by the return of sport.

David Hollingsworth, an outreach worker and therapist at a Gordon Moody centre in south London, where residents stay for 14-week spells, believes the noise around the return of the Premier League will be damaging to problem gamblers.

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'I'm not so concerned about the people who have already received our support,' he said.

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'But it is the ones waiting to be residents I'm fearful for. I don't think they have the coping skills to manage the bombardment of advertising around the return of the Premier League. And it's not just the marketing either it's the conversation, it's all anybody will be talking about, you can't escape it.'

The Universities of Stirling and Glasgow are conducting a joint study to investigate the impact the COVID-19 lockdown has had on gambling behaviour, including among potentially 'high risk' groups.

Dr Heather Wardle is one of the researchers and will observe how the return of sport and land-based betting like casinos and high street bookmakers affects these high risk groups.

The major betting companies agreed on a self-imposed break from TV and radio advertising during lockdown but this has now ended.

'There's a real chance they will come back hard and fast,' said Dr Wardle. 'With the message that 'sport is back and gambling and sport go hand in hand.'

'There has been a seismic shift in peoples' life circumstances. Some people may have had a positive experience in lockdown and enjoyed the break, but for others they have lost their jobs, lost their income and if they gamble, that makes them more vulnerable.'

Purchasing loot boxes in video games is equivalent to gambling, according to a House of Lords committee, which recommends that the controversial products be regulated under the Gambling Act.

Loot boxes can be purchased in many games - including those popular with younger players such as FIFA - and offer randomised rewards, some of which would be worth far more than the cost of the purchase itself.

The way the purchases offer mystery in-game rewards to players means they should be classified as gambling, according to a new report by the House of Lords Gambling Committee.

The committee called for the government to 'act immediately to bring loot boxes within the remit of gambling legislation and regulation'.

Globally, the market for loot boxes in games is estimated to be worth £20bn, with the UK market valued at £700m.

In the case of football game FIFA, made by Electronic Arts and one of the UK's top-selling game franchises, they are trading card-style packets that can be bought with either real money or a digital currency earned by playing.

But some games have removed them after intervention from governments - Fortnite got rid of its version of loot boxes last year after Belgium and the Netherlands declared them to be illegal gambling.

Also last year, the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) published a report revealing that some young people felt addicted to purchasing the items.

The RSPH report found that a majority of young people see both purchasing a loot box (58%) and taking part in skin betting (60%) as forms of highly addictive gambling.

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Children are spending hundreds of pounds 'chasing their losses' on money spent on loot boxes, according to the children's commissioner for England, Anne Longfield.

And back in October, MPs also called for them to be banned.

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Console makers Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo recently pledged to force game publishers to disclose the likelihood of particular items being discovered in loot boxes.

However, currently, video game packaging only sports an icon warning of the potential for extra purchases, which do not always involve an element of chance.

Ms Longfield, who talked to 29 gamers aged 10 to 16, said last year: 'Children have told us they worry they are gambling when they buy loot boxes, and it's clear some children are spending hundreds of pounds chasing their losses.

'I want the government to classify loot boxes in games like FIFA as a form of gambling. A maximum daily spend limit for children would also be reassuring for parents and children themselves.

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'With 93% of children in the UK playing video games, it is vital that the enjoyment they get comes with tighter rules that protect them from straying into gambling.'