So what drives footballers to gamble with their careers?
LIVES CAN BE RUINED AT THE TURN OF A CARD
ANYONE who watches football knows gambling plays a big part in the sport: fans love to bet on games, and sponsorship by betting companies is huge business for clubs.
But while cash from gambling companies can fill the coffers of football teams, for footballers themselves, it can ruin careers.
This week came the high-profile ban of former NUFC midfielder Joey Barton, whose Premier League career was effectively ended by the FA’s 18-month ruling.
Barton, who played for the Magpies between 2007 and 2011, has been open and frank about what he calls “a problem with gambling” – he even nods to the idea that it could border on addiction.
Speaking about his charges, he said: “I am not alone in football in having a problem with gambling. I grew up in an environment where betting was and still is part of the culture....
“I love competing. I love winning. I am also addicted to that. It is also the case that professional football has long had a betting culture, and I have been in the sport all my adult life.”
Barton says his gambling, while fairly regular – he placed more than 15,000 bets across a range of sports since 2004, with a little more than 1,200 being on football and therefore against the rules — has stayed within fairly small amounts for a man earning the sort of money Barton can expect, an average bet of around £150.
His ban came due to rule-breaking: he put bets on football, breaking FA rules which ban players from betting on matches, no matter their involvement in a particular game. Worse, he put 15 bets on his own team, Burnley, to lose – although the