James Arthur has opened up about racking up £300,000 in debt due to gambling.
The 33-year-old X Factor winner said he didn't have a gambling problem, but admitted that he 'didn't realise' he had got himself into financial trouble until his accountant told him.
Speaking to the Mirror, he said: "I was like £200... £300,000 in debt."
When questioned about what it was that had left in so much debt, he added: "Just lifestyle... bit of gambling, bit of betting on football and s***. There were a few big bets.
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"I didn't even realise I'd got myself in debt. It was my accountant saying, 'You're kinda in the red here'."
Arthur has previously claimed that he won such a massive amount that one betting app booted him off and banned him.
He said: "I got a couple of massive wins on football accumulators on a couple of apps.
"I predicted five results or something like that. Crazy money I won.
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"I didn't have a gambling problem - a lot of football fans will bet on the football on Saturday whether they are into gambling or not.
"I got banned because I won so much money, they were, like, 'We basically don't want you on this app'.
"I got kicked off. So I can't go on any of the apps any more because I won so much money."
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However, Arthur went on to say that it turned out to be for the best, adding: "It was kind of a blessing. It forced me not to gamble. I deleted all the apps."
The singer has also recently revealed that he regrets sleeping around after he first won the TV talent show.
In an interview with the Sun, Arthur said: "I'm not exactly f****** Brad Pitt but I broke a few hearts along the way and I definitely treated some girls in a way that I regret, just because I was getting away with it, I suppose.
"All of a sudden there was no graft involved at all with getting girls.
"You go and do a show, you get a girl and, before you know it, you're just DMing girls left and right and sex becomes the focus. A lot of it is for validation.
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"But you're punching well above your weight. A lot of times I wouldn't even meet up with girls, it was just knowing that they were into me and that I could have had them.
"It's got me in trouble and made me look a certain way in the past."
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