OPINION We can’t turn a blind eye to the epidemic of gambling

Gambling addicts are estimated to be 15 times more likely to take their own life than nongamblers

When you consider the gambling industry’s omnipresence today, it is difficult to believe betting shops weren’t even legal in the UK until 1961.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that if you take a walk down the once bustling high streets of Scotland’s poorest towns in 2020, bookies are everywhere.

Governments are increasingly waking up to the devastating cost of gambling addiction and the destruction it can wreak within families and society at large.

Mind-boggling billions are being sucked out of the pockets of punters into the coffers of a handful of firms with an insatiable appetite for ever greater profits.

Football fans were always going to be prime targets, and it is no surprise the industry spends millions on advertising and sponsorship around the game.

The Sunday Mail’s revelations today that the SFA has been forced to slap secret bans on players over gambling is more evidence of this ugly side to the beautiful game. Strict rules prohibit professionals from betting on the sport anywhere in the world, yet we have learned authorities have had to take action against at least one international star who developed a serious addiction.

He was g iven an eight- match ban and suspended for si x games by the football authorities.

His out- of- control habit had seen him rack up huge debts with team-mates and friends.

The SFA should be c omme n d e d for prioritising the welfare of t he i ndiv idua l involved. However, it is concerning that this resulted in fans being kept in the dark.

Last week, we told how Hamilton Accies boss Brian Rice had fallen so far into the grips of addiction he was placing bets on Iran’s Under-19 women’s team.

If these are the problems created within the game at the highest level, it doesn’t bear thinking about the scale of the financial misery among fans who lose control.

Gambling addicts are estimated to be 15 times more likely to take their own life than non-gamblers.

The relaxation of betting laws in the UK began in the 60s but accelerated under Tony Blair’s Labour government of the early 00s.

At the time, it would have been difficult to imagine the potential human cost when combined with technology and the internet.

The huge amount of tax income generated by gambling firms has created a barrier to tighter legislation over the last decade.

But there is mounting evidence the cost of inaction is now too great to be ignored.