"It’s only £1 a spin – but there were a lot of £1 spins": Stephen Bunting racked up £90,000 in gambling debts in stark admission

PDC
Wednesday, 09 September 2026 at 08:26
Stephen Bunting
Stephen Bunting has lifted the lid on one of the darkest spells of his career. The English thrower, now world number ten, reveals he once racked up £90,000 in gambling debts. His problems with online slots pushed him to the brink of walking away from darts altogether to look for a regular job.
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Bunting endured a particularly tough 2022. The now 41-year-old failed to reach a TV quarter-final that season and went no further than the quarters on the ProTour. His confidence kept ebbing away, while his gambling problem also spiralled out of control.
The Liverpool native mainly played online slots. What seemed harmless at first became a serious issue. “It was crazy. I was playing these online fruit machines and obviously you don’t realise what you’re doing," he said to The Guardian. "It’s only £1 a spin – but there were a lot of £1 spins."
Reality hit when his partner Keila saw the bank statements. Bunting knew he had lost money, but says he didn’t grasp how severe the problem really was. “When Keila received the bank statement I thought: ‘Oh no!’ But I didn’t realise how bad it was until she actually showed me. I was devastated. I’ve never, ever done that again.
Confronted with his finances, Bunting seriously considered life outside darts. “I was on the internet and looking in job centres. I could work in retail or go and work back at the council. I couldn’t cope any more.”

From care provider to the world elite

A return to a regular job wouldn’t have been completely new for Bunting. In his early twenties, he worked outside darts. He delivered incontinence products to care homes. “I jokingly said it was a s*** job but it was good. I was surrounded by nice people,” he says.
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Bunting eventually turned the tide. With help from a sports psychologist and a hypnotherapist, he restarted his mental rebuild about five years ago. That support not only restored his confidence, it also became a key part of his big-tournament preparation.
He still leans on that mental support. “Sometimes twice a week if I’m going into a big tournament, or if things have not gone my way," Bunting explains.
The approach has paid off. In recent years Bunting has re-established himself as a mainstay at the top of the PDC and clawed his way back from a period when he even considered quitting.
Stephen Bunting in action
Stephen Bunting is the current world number ten

Support from his best friend

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During his toughest moments, Bunting could also rely on his best friend Drew, who has a remarkable job: he works in a mortuary. Although Bunting drew great support from him, he would never do that work himself. “He’s been a real support but I don’t think I could do what he does. Being around dead people is not my idea of fun," Bunting jokes.
The pair rarely talk about Drew’s work. When it does come up, it stays strikingly matter-of-fact. “Very rarely. He’ll just say how cold it is in the room or how many dead people are in it,” Bunting says with a smile.
Bunting’s candour shows how deep he once sank. From a player thinking about going back to the council to one ranked among the world’s best: “The Bullet” has walked a brutally hard road to regain confidence and stability.
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