Football doesn’t want to fix its gambling problem. There’s too much money at stake
I KNOW exactly the mess Kyle Lafferty is in at the moment. I was in it too.
The Hearts footballer revealed a serious gambling addiction last week and told how he ended up shouting down the phone to his bookie after being cut off.
You know it’s bad when even the bookmaker won’t take your money.
Good for Kyle for speaking up. It takes real courage to come forward and admit you’ve got a serious problem.
It’s so tough to do while you’re still playing – I couldn’t do it.
If he gets a grip of his addiction then he’ll still have a career and some cash in the bank.
My own problem went much further – I gambled away at least a million quid and even sunk so low as to end up stealing money from my dying nana to fund my habit.
I wanted to kill myself before I got a grip and got some help. But Kyle is far from the only player with a problem.
If you somehow managed to catch all the players putting a coupon on at the bookies this coming Saturday morning and dished out an instant ban then there wouldn’t be a game at 3pm.
There’s a culture of gambling among a lot of clubs. It is an epidemic.
I go to Gamblers Anonymous and do talks for clubs about the dangers so I see first hand the damage this is doing.
You might suspect it’s bad but, make no mistake, it’s much worse.
Fortunes are being lost, families torn apart and lives are being destroyed, but we don’t hear about it.
It’s throughout the game – players are caught in a helpless cycle, chasing bigger and bigger losses.
But I know from bitter experience that more is never enough.
The clubs with a lot of foreign players tend to be better. That’s because it’s the British players who have a real problem.
It’s a problem with British society.
Don’t get me wrong, I take full responsibility for my addiction. The bookie didn’t make me put a bet on. It’s just everywhere.
The beautiful game isn’t beautiful any more – it’s just a way to make money.
The gambling cash is pouring into our game and it’s part of the reason wages are going up and up.
And the range of bets you can put on now is ridiculous. You can put a bet on when a ball is going to go out for a throw in. That’s really dangerous for the players.
My manager at Motherwell, Billy Davies, used to tell me at kick-off to launch the ball out of play into the corner so we could immediately push up the park.
You can put a bet on that now – and I would have if I was still playing. Of course I would, I’d have made a fortune.
I don’t think footballers are special cases, though. Yes, they’ve got time and money but the way I see it our whole society has a gambling problem.
At my meetings I see doctors, lawyers and nurses who are leading a manic lifestyle, unable to press the “collect” button.
Football isn’t football any more, it’s just a big gambling industry.
The game isn’t interested in sorting itself out because too many people are lining their pockets off the back of betting.
You won’t meet a more passionate family guy than me, but I put them through real heartache, and Kyle will have done the same.
The toughest part is taking that step forward and admitting you need help.
His family are standing by him, which is a major help. My heart goes out to them because they’ll have been through the wringer.
I put my family through the wringer.
If you’re a compulsive gambler then you’re likely to be a compulsive liar, too. It’s hard to trust someone after that.
Kyle will feel guilty. I certainly was after what I did to my family.
These days I’m thankful. My painting and decorating business is going well and I’ve got a beautiful wife and child.
When I told my dad about my problem he said it was the proudest of me he’d ever been.
Can you believe that? He watched his son make a career of being a professional footballer but he knew I had a problem with gambling.
I’d never cried in front of him but I cried then.