James Arthur has been banned from gambling apps after winning "crazy money".
James Arthur
The 32-year-old singer enjoyed a number of "massive wins" from betting on football results, which led to a major bookmaker removing his account from their site and others that they own.
He revealed: "Last year I got a couple of massive wins on football accumulators on a couple of different apps — crazy money I won.
"I predicted five results or something like that. 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.’ " But that would be much less likely to happen with this list top gambling sites on captaingambling.com.
But the 'Say You Won't Let Go' hitmaker thinks it has been a "blessing" because it's stopped him from pursuing his gambling habit any further.
He added to the Metro newspaper's Guilty Pleasures column: "So I can’t go on any of the apps any more because I won so much money. It was kind of a blessing, it forced me not to gamble. I deleted all the apps."
Meanwhile, James has seen his 2016 track 'Train Wreck' enjoy a recent surge in popularity and he thinks the lyrics to the song, which he wrote at a professional low point, has resonated with those who have found this year challenging.
He said: "It was before 'Say You Won’t Let Go'. I’d lost the faith of the public, I’d gone off the rails, lost record deals, scandals and all that — I was making that album for a desperate attempt to stay in the game.
"Lyrically 'Train Wreck' was a true reflection of where I was at in my life. It’s connecting with people and where we are all at. The cream will rise to the top if it’s a good song."
In other James Arthur news, the 32-year-old singer ignited speculation he was feuding with the 'Someone You Loved' hitmaker Lewis Capaldi after he blocked him on Twitter, but James has assured fans they are just joking with each other.
Speaking on Hits Radio Breakfast, he explained: "There's never been any beef. Me and Lewis have banter back and forth.
"There's no beef with me and Lewis, I've said a couple of things in jest like, 'I've taught him everything he knows' in an interview and people think it's me like having a dig, but it's just a bit of fun."
And when radio DJ Fleur East asked if he would consider collaborating with the 23-year-old singer, James quipped: "I wouldn't want to show him up! Who knows, who knows!"
It comes after Lewis penned James' latest single with Sigala 'Lasting Love' and revealed he handpicked James for the lead vocals.
The track was Sigala's first post-lockdown single, and while many people have struggled being stuck inside during the pandemic, he's enjoyed the time at home.
Sigala said: "The song came about last September when I was sent a demo from Lewis's team.
"We had to find somebody to sing it and it was cool, because he wanted to be involved in that process and help look for people to make the song the best it could be.
"We agreed that James was number one on that list."
And now the DJ is hoping any bad blood between the pair is in the past, and he would love all three of them to collaborate.
He added: "It would be great to get us all together. Maybe him and James can do a duet of the song."
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