The survey of 1,600 students revealed that nearly 1 in 10 of the students who gambled in the past year used some or all of their student loan for this purpose. If this statistic were reflected across the UK, it would mean that around 100,000 students are using their student loans to gamble.

In discussing the results of the survey, the NUS said that student financial support has fallen behind the rising cost of living, which has pushed some students towards gambling. However, gambling to supplement student loans poses a great financial risk, with nearly half of those who have accumulated gambling debt owing more than £1,000.

The NUS has urged the government to overhaul the higher-education funding system and provide more financial support for students to halt this rising gambling issue. Eva Crossan Jory, NUS Vice-President for welfare, commented that ‘students have said the only way that they can pay rent is to gamble. That is really worrying.’

In response, a Department for Education spokesperson said: ‘Students from the lowest-income households who started their courses this year have access to the largest ever amounts of cash-in-hand support for their living costs.’

One student who understands the pressure to gamble to afford increasingly high living costs is University of Birmingham student Jason Heffron, who lost £500 in just a few weeks in his second year and ended up struggling to pay rent. In an interview with The Independent, he said: ‘At vulnerable times I’d often end up losing money that I couldn’t afford to lose.

‘Rent prices are crazy for most major cities now. Most student loans don’t cover rent, so you need financial support before you even think about living.’

Another UoB student, who competes in poker tournaments, agrees that students feel the need to turn to gambling to supplement their student loan, as ‘gambling seems like an easier way of making money for students who don’t have the time for a part-time job.’ The fourth-year student added: ‘The ease of gambling online worsens the problem.’

A spokesperson from the University said: ‘The University would always want to support students with financial difficulties as an alternative to the potential harm that is caused by gambling.

‘Gambling can be addictive and we would recommend that anyone with or who suspects a friend might have a gambling addiction to seek help.

‘The University provides opportunities for part-time work as a source of income and operates a student hardship fund for students facing genuine financial difficulties.’

More widely, over 2 million people in the UK are either problem gamblers or at risk of addiction, and this worsening statistic has been linked to the convenience of online gambling. This is echoed by Jory, who said that the particular danger of online gambling is that ‘it doesn’t always seem like real money when it is all online.’

Speaking to Redbrick, an ex-employee of a popular bookmaker agrees that ‘the problem lies more in online gambling’ because of the convenience and the fact that you ‘don’t physically handle cash.’