Addict turned his life around thanks to wife
ENGLAND goalkeeping legend Peter Shilton has revealed he spent 40 years secretly hooked on gambling – and “never won”.
The footballing hero lost tens of thousands of pounds backing up to 10 horses a day and would sit up until 3am placing doomed bets.
During the 1986 World Cup Shilton was acting as the England team’s bookmaker.
Yet Shilton, 70, has not had a bet for five years since second wife Steph confronted him with the bank statements cataloguing his losses.
He now plans to work with the PFA to help other addicts within the game beat the habit.
“I had two lives, one as a very dedicated footballer, and another where I was addicted to gambling,’’ said Shilton, who played for 11 clubs and won a record 125 England caps.
“I didn’t realise I was an addict until I finally stopped.
“When you’re a footballer you have a lot of spare time on your hands after training.
“It’s easy to sit around and gamble. It’s so easy just to get on that buzz and get hooked.
“It was thanks to Steph I was able to give up. The penny suddenly dropped.
“I thought: ‘I’m not winning and I never have won. Why should I put myself through this and risk losing Steph?’”
He said his addiction exploded following the birth of online betting – which allowed him to gamble from his computer into the early hours.’’
Shilton and his wife have met
Government ministers to discuss how to tackle problem gambling.
They are also working with the charity Gambling With Lives, which was set up by families and friends bereaved by gamblingrelated suicides.
Shilton now wants stricter rules governing betting and gambling education rolled out nationally in schools. He is also in favour of tighter laws on advertising.