Category Archives: Gambling

The owners of Betfred have been criticized because of their ties to both the flagship British betting company and Health Assured, a company with multiple government contracts, some of which pertain to gambling treatment.

The names of Betfred owners Fred and Peter Done have been cited in a new development related to the treatment of gambling addicts, the Guardian reported. According to the newspaper, the brothers, who are also big Tory donors, have been making millions off the treatment of gambling addicts.

The pair are owners of Health Assured, which is a government-picked company tasked with the provision of health and well-being services to staff. Amid the dozens of contracts, several arrangements targeting the treatment of gambling addicts have surfaced prompting indignation.

According to The Guardians report the Dones have claimed 5.2 million in dividends from their health business so far. The newspaper also noted that the brothers have donated 375,000 to the Conservative Party since 2016.

A number of government officials and MPs have spoken against the arrangement, including Jon Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, who stated outright that the Dones brothers had an unacceptable conflict of interest, providing both betting products as well as treatment to vulnerable players.

The National Health System (NHS) chief, Claire Murdoch chimed in speaking of tokenism and hypocrisy, and that measures would need to be taken. According to The Guardians analysis, the services provided by Health Assured may be reaching tens of thousands of government employees as of this moment.

Murdoch urged players who experience issues with gambling to visit one of the newly set-up NHS clinics offering gambling problems help. Murdoch has also been vociferous in urging gambling companies to avoid trying to retain players who exhibit problem gambling issues.

In a recent letter addressed to gambling bosses, Murdoch said that she has seen first-hand the devastating effects that gambling addiction could have on mental and financial well-being. This view is also shared by Gambling Commission boss Arthur McNeil who just this week announced a credit cards gambling ban, citing concerns about the financial well-being of players.

Murdoch stressed on addiction in general, explaining that whatever the source of the addiction drugs, drinks or gambling should be addressed and be a national concern. Another critic, Ian Duncan Smith, who is the chair of a cross-party gambling group, said that it was cynical to both create a problem and try to amend it.

Betfred has been criticized on several other occasions as well. Last year, the company reportedly underestimated the pay it owed to employees and ended up underpaying without notifying staff members once the mistake was discovered.

In October, 2019, the company was slapped with a 322,000 fine by the UK Gambling Commission, after failing to meet money laundering norms. The company was also affected by the introduction of the fixed-odds sports betting terminals restrictions, with Betfred estimating that it might close down up to 500 shops.

Its worth noting, however that Betfred and Health Assured operate as completely separate businesses with no legal ties outside of their owners. Yet this detail has been enough to prompt criticism.

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Betfred Owners Have Government Gambling Treatment Contracts - GamblingNews.com

Blockchain is the new emerging technology in the gambling and betting business. Today industries from almost every sector, starting from academics to finance to retail, are deciphering the various benefits that blockchain technology can bring into for their betterment. Yet even, with the advent of the internet, playing online poker and bitcoin games have become a lot easier, without the need to visit a casino or a gambling club physically.

Online gambling is a flourishing industry with its own set of bottlenecks. Implementing blockchain technology can eliminate these bottlenecks and bring in more transparency in the industry. Innovative development is the utmost important factor that can drive the online gambling industry and today the most advanced and innovative technology is the blockchain. How blockchain technology is gradually taking over the gambling and betting industry is explained below.

Truth has always been a key issue in gambling and online casinos. Gamblers expect fairness in the calculation of odds and protection of their money along with the protection of personal data. The attributes of blockchain technology have the robust potential to resolve these issues that the modern-day gambling industries are facing. Being a decentralized technology, it removes the centralized control that brings in legitimacy in the gambling industry. Certain details like the payouts, winning frequencies, etc. are not revealed to the gamblers and also, they are not open to the public, which results in the lack of trust. However, with the help of Blockchain, this problem can be solved. Blockchain technology is a distributed ledger where everyone in the system can have access to every information. Thus, integrating Blockchain technology with online casinos can ensure an overall transparent system.

With the implementation of blockchain technology in the gambling industry, much-needed transparency across the online industry would be delivered, along with the verified and permanent records that cannot be manipulated. With blockchain technology, the gamblers would be able to place bets with transparency. They will also be able to gauge that the odds for each bet are generated fairly, which will, in turn, produce fair results.

With the advent of technology, the world has become a narrow place. Likewise, the innovative technology of blockchain eliminates the geographical restrictions that the gamblers face. There is no need to visit a casino or a gambling club; one can enjoy the cozy corners of their homes and play the betting games and make the payments online by a single swipe on their smart devices.

This term is familiar with the brick and mortar casinos, where the winner needs to pay an average share to the casino owner, so whatever he wins, a good portion of the winning amount goes to the casino owner. This is a serious bottleneck in the emerging gambling industry, where the gamblers are looking for a better alternative where their winning amounts remain exclusively theirs without the need to pay anything to the casino owner. This problem is solved by the blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies as the winning amount gets directly credited to the account of the winners.

Some gamblers who dont want to reveal their identities in public, prefer online casinos. When the gambler initiates a payment through the existing electronic payments transfer involving his bank accounts, all his personal details that are linked to his bank account come in the forefront, which he did not want to actually. However, integrating blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies can eliminate these issues. If he uses cryptocurrencies and the online casino also accepting crypto payments, then this problem can be solved. The gambler can make the payments using a hid crypto wallet where he does not have to reveal any of his personal details for making any payments. Also, the use of cryptocurrencies relieves the players to wait for the long processing times that the banks take to initiate the payments. Even sometimes, there are bank charges involved, which are eliminated with the integration of blockchain technology to the online casinos.

Blockchain eliminates the issues related to accessibility that the conventional gambling industry faces. Blockchain integrated gambling allows the complete withdrawal of the winning amount in just a few minutes, which cannot be done in conventional gambling. This ensures that the gamblers can easily take part in online gaming without worrying about the money.

Therefore, blockchain and its inherent innovative attributes are changing the fabric of the online gambling industry. Blockchain technology has given a highly disruptive solution to the problems faced by the gambling and betting industry.

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How Can Blockchain Technology Revolutionize the Gambling Industry - FinanceLong

Illinois Lottery earnings drop with other types of gambling become available in the state.

It's like anything else. People only have so much money to spend on non-essential items. For example, for a long time, the only way you could legally gamble in Illinois was by playing the lottery. Now, you have slots, casino, and soon to come, sports betting. Plus, don't forget about legal recreational cannabis.

According to chicago.cbslocal.com,

"In the last six months of 2018, the lottery pumped 344 million dollars into the state school fund. In the last six months of 2019, it fell to 280 million. An 18% drop totaling 64 million fewer dollars. And some are forecasting it could get worse before it gets better. Illinoisans use discretionary dollars to spend on the lottery, and a big new lane of discretionary spending emerged.Illinois has surgically focused on casinos and marijuana lately. The choice is do people want to get high or do I want to gamble? When economic times get tight they probably cant do both."

What do you spend your entertainment dollars on?

Video:How Many Peeps Can You Fit in Your Mouth?

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Gambling Competition And Legal Weed Hurts Illinois Lottery Sales - q985online.com

HARRISBURG A legal showdown played out in state court Wednesday on whether state police should be barred from seizing Pennsylvania Skill machines, slot-machine-style games that are unregulated, untaxed versions of games of skill proliferating across the state and within Lancaster County.

Capt. James Jones of the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement testified in Commonwealth Court that a decision in the case could prevent his unit from raiding illegal establishments that have a Pennsylvania Skill machine present.

Jones testified before Judge Ellen Ceisler in an emergency injunction petition filed in December by Pennsylvania Skill operator Pace-O-Matic, a company based out of Georgia. The company asked the court for relief after state police in December seized suspected illegal gambling devices from five bars in Dauphin and Cumberland counties.

The requested injunction, if awarded, would prohibit state police from seizing any Pennsylvania Skill machines. Pennsylvania Skill games are not video gaming terminals or slot machines, although the functionalities are similar. The machines, located throughout Lancaster County, can be found in bars, convenience stores and fraternal organization posts.

Ceisler, the sole jurist hearing the case Wednesday, did not issue a ruling on whether state police will continue to be blocked from seizing Pace-O-Matics machines. Ceisler said she would rule soon and wants the court to move quickly.

The Commonwealth Court already ruled in November that games of skill cant be regulated under state game code. This current court case is to decide whether the machines can be regulated, and thus prosecuted, under state criminal code as illegal gambling devices.

The Pennsylvania Lottery has criticized the so-called skill machines, estimating the agency lost $138 million in sales in 2019 to these games (although the Lottery still had a record-breaking year of $4.5 billion in sales in the 2018-19 year).

The casino industry also opposes the machines because casinos are required to pay effectively 52% tax on slot machines, which is not required of the Pace-O-Matic games.

I understand why casinos dont like it, or the Lottery and Pennsylvania State Police dont like it; it makes their jobs harder, said Matt Haverstick, an attorney representing Pace-O-Matic. That they dont like it doesnt make it illegal. You dont assume conduct is illegal.

Haverstick also argued that keeping the machines up and running is beneficial for small businesses in Pennsylvania like fraternal organizations.

In response, Pennsylvania State Police attorney Karen Romano said these businesses arent rubbing pennies together.

They're getting a cut of the money, she said, arguing thats why these businesses want to keep them up and running.

Ceisler said several times during the hearing she believed the Legislature, not the courts, should decide the legality of skill games.

That could soon be on the horizon, with Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre County, just last week issuing a co-sponsorship memorandum about legislation he will introduce to align games of skill regulation with that of video gaming terminals, moving them under the oversight of the state Gaming Control Board.

Lancasters Republican Sens. Ryan Aument and Scott Martin are co-sponsors of legislation pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee that would ban skill games.

It seems like theyre spreading like wildfire, Martin said in June about the skill games.

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Commonwealth Court to decide whether 'games of skill' are illegal gambling devices, if State Police are allowed to seize the machines in the future -...

CHICAGO (CBS) Something troubling is brewing at the Illinois Lottery.

And its leading to millions of dollars missing for the state.

As sports wagering emerges in Indiana and online gambling expands in Illinois, the outfit that gets us to scratch and win may be scratching their heads.

CBS 2s Chris Tye has the story youll see only on CBS 2.

If you believe lotteries sell hope, business is spotty.

CBS 2 dug in and found out that in in the last six months of 2018, the lottery pumped 344 million dollars into the state school fund.

In the last six months of 2019, it fell to 280 million. An 18% drop totaling 64 million fewer dollars.

I think the progress report has come in with these numbers, said David Greising of the Better Government Association said the progress report is for Camelot, the private company hired to run Illinois lottery for 26 million dollars a year.

Whose general manager 18 months ago predicted to Crains Chicago a 3.5% sales increase.

These numbers are new, but these problems at the Illinois lottery are not new, said Greising.

Lottery officials claimed a late year infusion of revenue wasnt included in the state report. It wouldve cut the 64 million dollar dip by more than half.

And a record breaking Mega Millions in 2018 artificially boosted that years numbers.

And some are forecasting it could get worse before it gets better. Illinoisans use discretionary dollars to spend on the lottery, and as we all know, a big new lane of discretionary spending emerged in Illinois.

I have this kind of fun money. The choice is do people want to get high or do I want to gamble? When economic times get tight they probably cant do both, Greising said.

Illinois has surgically focused on casinos and marijuana lately, but it may just be the 46-year-old Illinois Lottery in need of a check-up.

If as some think a recession will hit in late 2020, those numbers will really start to go down, noted Greising.

CBS 2 asked the lottery and the private company now managing the lottery to go on camera Tuesday. Both declined the request.

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Lottery Sales Sink As Other Gambling Options Take Off - CBS Chicago

With sports gambling recently being passed through legislation in Michigan, now seems like as good as time as any to look at how betting the Detroit Pistons has looked and could look moving forward with this season.

The Pistons opened the season with a win total set at 37.5, +2500 to win the Central Division, +10000 to win the Eastern Conference, and +20000 to win the NBA Finals (odds courtesy of The Action Network). The odds for the Central, Eastern Conference, and even NBA Finals all make sense seeing as the Pistons never declared themselves as contenders and also share a division and conference with the Milwaukee Bucks among other quality teams. The Pistons are currently on pace to win only 28 games, with the back end of the schedule looking tougher than the front. This would clearly cause a big miss on their win total of 37.5, which many thought early on was low for a team who won 41 games the past year and strengthened their bench.

What wasnt expected and what may have caused a lot of the misery in betting the Pistons this year has been the injuries. The roster has been quite depleted as many know and that has clearly affected the gambling aspect of the Pistons season. Obviously, these things go hand in hand. When the team doesnt perform, they dont cover, and Detroit hasnt covered their line often.

Again, they are the leagues worst ATS. The Pistons are 8-13 ATS when at Little Caesars Arena which coincides directly with their record at home. This leaves them at 6-13-1 ATS when visiting opponents. No team has covered less on the road. If you bet trends, you may be catching on a bit. Betting against the Pistons away would have netted a +200 unit profit this first half of the season.

The Pistons opened the season at Indiana, winning a positive moneyline of +260 and covering a +7.5 line. Since, much like the season has gone, the Pistons went downhill from a betting perspective. Maybe most notably against the spread, the Pistons saw their biggest line as +14.5 underdogs when they visited the Lakers at the Staples Center. Detroit covered by losing the game by 7 points in a hard fought battle away from home while 60% of the public had bet the Lakers.

Moving on to point totals (Over/Unders), the Pistons also have a clear trend in this department. They are tied for the most overs hit throughout the season with Miami at 24. They are 24-17 in total for Over/Unders. Just as betting against Detroit away from LCA would have been lucrative, betting their over at home has been quite productive, hitting 14 out of 21 games. Theyre an even 10-10 away. Holding a poor defensive rating of 111.7 is likely to blame for most of the games going over the point total, but the Pistons themselves have also not elapsed 100 points in just 9 of their 41 games.

To have such a discrepancy in ATS totals and Over/Unders only tells you that Vegas and the line creators are just as confused with this team as we are. The team has drastically under performed, and evidently, the lines are still favoring the Pistons perhaps more than they should, especially with the direction the team is moving towards. With a roundabout lineup that is constantly shifting, injuries still plaguing Detroit, and the young guns getting more and more minutes, its truly almost impossible to know what to expect, let alone what to bet on this team moving forward.

Though there are trends, the lurking uncertainty of the teams future will also have a huge hand in what to bet on this team throughout the rest of the season. My best advice; dont bet on the Pistons this season.

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An in-depth gambling analysis of the Detroit Pistons - PistonPowered

Spelinspektionen, the gambling regulatory body of Sweden is now looking to amend the countrys rules to ban its licensed gambling operators from presenting odds on rule violations such as a technical foul in basketball or a yellow card in football.

Currently in draft form and undergoing a consultation process, the regulations are aimed to prevent match fixing in sports by dis-incentivizing athletes and referees from committing or calling rule violations to help fix matches. By banning bets on disqualifications, cards, and other penalties, Spelinspektionen expects that the impact of fixers on individual athletes or referees would be minimised and the integrity of sports betting can be retained.

The ban on rule violations is the first of three new rules Spelinspektionen wishes to introduce. Bans on bets that pay out only when an athlete or team loses as well as on bets that pay out based on the performance of an athlete under the age of 18 are also being considered by the gambling regulator.

According to Camilla Rosenburg, the director general of Spelinspektionen, the introduction of the new rules is aimed at minimising the risk of match fixing. Rosenburg stated that the regulatory body was working with the Match Fixing Council to analyse data gathered by gambling and sports betting firms as well as sports bodies to detect possible match fixing.

The new rules are a significant compromise from initial reports that indicated Spelinspektionen would be taking a more restrictive approach, involving a restriction on licensed gambling operators to offer odds through a centralised directory of competitions and events, where licensed gambling operators. This tack was later abandoned by Spelinspektionen due to concerns that it would increase the appeal of unlicensed gambling operators to prolific sports bettors.

The consultation period for the new rules will be until February 14; Spelinspektionen will consider all feedback received regarding the proposed regulations.

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has expressed its scepticism on the proposed regulations with respect to their effectiveness in curbing match fixing. The IBIAs chief executive, Khalid Ali stated that while they were willing to work with regulators regarding match fixing, they believe that the proposed Swedish regulations are unjustified and ineffective.

Ali noted that the Swedish betting market is too small for match fixers to operate in, increasing the odds of their being caught. He went on to say that if Spelinspektionen decides to impose such regulations, the consumers would bear the brunt of the rules and not match fixers.

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Spelinspektionen Seeks to Amend Gambling Rules - Legal Gambling News

A more inclusive society

Our Catholic social teaching compels us to speak out as part of this months National Migration Week for a more inclusive society that supports and respects all its residents. Despite the fact that Omaha has a rich heritage of welcoming newcomers, including immigrants, refugees and newly naturalized citizens, we find our city is facing a growing tendency in some who are viewing newcomers as burdens or suspects rather than individuals who are our sisters and brothers.

We are called to overcome a growing lethargy about this refugee crisis that includes failing to learn the facts and failing to use our voices and our votes for change in systems that continue to create unwelcoming systems.

In the spirit of the theme for this years Catholic National Migration Week, Promoting a Church and a World for All, we Notre Dame Sisters reject dismissing or isolating the stranger. Our current immigration system is morally broken, and so all of us need to advocate Congress for systemic reform that honors the innate dignity of all human persons.

Sister Margaret Hickey, Omaha

Why we need the wall

Anne Carroll, in the Jan. 10 Public Pulse, stated that the wall is a poor use of federal funds and we could better use the money to provide shelter for the homeless, stock food pantries, fund teacher pay raises and update aging bridges.

I agree with her when she says that not all illegal immigrants entering the U.S. are murderers. But some are, and she should ask the families of those citizens who have lost a loved one killed by an illegal immigrant if they agree with her.

We are a nation of laws. We may not agree with all of our laws but we have to obey them. And illegal immigrants entering the U.S. without permission or proper documentation have broken our laws, and that is not something to ignore.

Also, Ms. Carroll should understand that most of the illegal drugs consumed here in the U.S. come across that porous Southern border, contributing to our opioid crisis, which is costing our taxpayers billions each year.

The wall is costly but necessary.

Electoral College has value

The gentleman from Ogallala (Electoral College failures, Jan. 9 Public Pulse) should review his civics lessons. The U.S. is a democratic republic and not just a democracy. Would you like the government to be run by the states of California and New York? Under a pure democracy, those states having the largest population would always control election outcomes.

Give our forefathers some credit.

Trump is a disaster

In response to Sharon Struves Jan. 10 Pulse letter, Ill quote Rev Martin Luther King: Nothing is more dangerous than sheer ignorance. A good example of that is actually thinking Democrats are angry because Trump won no, theyre angry because hes stupid and he illustrates that on a daily basis.

I did not realize that it was a presidential duty to spend one day out of three days at his properties, and one out of five at his golf courses, spending enormous sums of taxpayer money for the travel and security of his family to do so. Or that before he could get us out of these endless wars, hed feel compelled to commit murder to start another one.

He has insulted our allies, imposed tariffs that will come out of our pockets, kissed up to all the dictators that he actually thinks like him and made us the laughing stock of the world! Democrats, erstwhile, have passed hundreds of pieces of legislation that are still sitting on the desk of Mitch McConnell instead of being put up for a vote.

Try a little fact-checking. Our congressional delegation is already doing a bang-up job of spouting ignorance all by themselves.

Threat to gun rights

On Jan. 8, State Sen. John McCollister of District 20 introduced into the new session of the Nebraska Legislature Legislative Bill 816 to Provide for information and training on firearm safety and suicide prevention and place restrictions and requirements on certain transfers of firearms. On Jan. 10 this bill was forwarded to the Judiciary Committee for consideration and review.

In reading this bill, I am struck as to how similar it is to the bills in front of the Virginia Legislature. Was LB 816 introduced here in Nebraska at the behest and support of Michael Bloomberg, active in promoting gun control, as were the bills in Virginia? What will Senator McCollister gain by introducing this bill?

It may be time for the good citizens of Nebraska to begin the establishment of 2nd Amendment Sanctuaries in our cities and counties as a mechanism to stave off these totalitarian enactments that do nothing but criminalize honest, law-abiding citizens.

Republican Party led astray

I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldnt lose voters, stated President Trump. In order to distract attention from his impeachment process he caused the murder of a high-level Iranian government official and further solidified Ayatollah Ali Khameneis political support base. Indirectly, Trump caused the death of 176 people on the commercial plane flight out of Tehran.

And sure enough, Trumps support base seems strong as ever, even from Republican senators who will soon be faced with the greatest ethical/moral issue of their lives: to vote based on facts for removal of Trump from the presidency.

If Trump is permitted to stay in office, this is a huge turning point in the more than 200-year political experiment to determine whether people, through their representatives in government, can control their country. Once our freedoms, especially of the press, our Constitution and our system of laws have been breached by the president, there will be no turning back.

I say, Weep not for me, an old man (age 87) if Trump remains in office, but for my children and their children. The Republican Party of Lincoln will be banished from history.

William A. Pettinger, Cumberland, Iowa

Gambling concerns

I am disappointed to see Omahans urging the state to legalize gambling in order to capture local money that supposedly is flowing into neighboring Iowas casinos.

Unfortunately, they are laboring under a widespread misconception, because casino profits do not remain in local economies. Instead, they flow out of state to major gambling corporations. Actually, casinos are more likely to hurt than help a states economy.

Most casinos draw their customers from within a 50-mile radius. The money they lose is money that wont go to local merchants, restaurants and gamblers families. All the problems associated with gambling would likely increase.

According to an article in the Atlantic magazine entitled A Good Way to Wreck a Local Economy: Build Casinos, No one should look to the gambling industry to revive cities because thats not what casinos do.

The article continues: As casino expansion reaches its limits, the towns and cities that turned to gambling to escape their problems may discover that they have accepted a suckers bet local economies that look worse than ever, local residents tempted into new forms of self-destructive behavior and a dwindling flow of cash to show for it all.

Also, casinos dont encourage non-gambling businesses to open nearby, because the people who most often visit casinos do not wander out to visit other shops and businesses.

Truly, gambling is a suckers bet for Nebraskans.

Bob Copperstone, Wahoo, Nebraska

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The Public Pulse: Immigration policy; Gun rights; Gambling concerns - Omaha World-Herald

CLEVELAND (AP) - Gambling revenue at Ohios four casinos and seven racinos rose to a record $1.94 billion in 2019, according to figures reported by the states lottery and casino control commissions.

Continuing a year-to-year upward trend, it brought the total to $11.9 billion in gambling revenue since Ohios first casino opened in May 2012, Cleveland.com reported. That sum accounts for the money left after facilities pay out winnings for slot machines and table games, but it doesnt include profits from horse wagering or food sales.

The total gambling revenue for last year was up more than 4% from $1.86 billion in 2018. The "racinos", which offer only chance-based slot machines, brought in $1.1 billion, an increase of 6.2% from 2018. The casinos saw a smaller increase of 1.6% and logged $851 million in gambling revenue.

Taxes and fees send about one-third of the revenue or about $650 million last year to the state.

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Ohio gambling revenue rises again, to record $1.94B in 2019 - 13abc Action News

Gambling is a problem that for long has been causing trouble for footballers. Various high-level players have spoken publicly about the fact that gambling can lead to financial losses and emotional trauma.

Most football stars feel the lack of adrenaline during training and at home. The absence of vivid emotions encourages athletes to try their luck in a casino where their emotions go wild every time.

Premier League stars put up to 100,000 on betting websites, and some players even have their own bookmaker who visits the training base.

Injured players often join the bets. This way, they replace the pleasure they get from playing football. Among the most popular types of gambling among footballers are:

Lets remember the most famous football players, who are seriously hooked on gambling.

Attacker Michael Chopra claims to have spent 20,000 a day on gambling. Eventually, he lost around 2 million.

The forward agreed to be treated for gambling addiction after he confessed that he signed a contract with Sunderland only for the sake of significant money, which can cover his large debts.

The first bet is the worst. The more I earn, the more I bet. Sometimes I bet 20,000 a day. As soon as I went out on the field, I was fully focused on football. But in the locker room, I immediately grabbed the phone to see if I won.

When I played in a bookmakers office, I tried to go out on the field as often as possible to get bonuses for that. Sometimes I had to play with an injury.

Paul Merson, famous in the past midfielder of Arsenal and the English national team, could lose up to 30 000 pounds in one match when he was into bets.

He overcame the craving for alcohol and cocaine, but in 2003, Merson confessed that he failed to solve the problem with gambling. Like Chopra, he agreed to treatment for gambling addiction in a specialized clinic of Tony Adams.

I got rid of alcohol and drugs, but gambling defeated me. They are the most dangerous killers in the world. I was thinking about suicide every day at the time.

Winger of Stoke City admitted that he lost more than one and a half million pounds playing poker, as well as betting on races and dog races. Etherington said that gambling is so popular among players that on the club bus, he and his partners could safely lose a weeks salary.

Im looking back now, and I understand how you can tune in to the game if you play cards on the bus for huge money that passes from hand to hand. That was so stupid.

It happens in football, but it is hard to guess who exactly does it. Take, for example, an alcoholic or drug addict when you look at a person, you can immediately understand that one is not okay. But this is not the case with a player. I have not told anyone about my adventures. Most people dont even know what my debts are.

David Bentley, a former winger of Tottenham and West Ham, could make a hundred bets in a day so huge his game addiction was.

He said that his first visit to the betting office took place at the age of 14. But David did not have the habit of stably bet until he began earning good money.

I bet on everything. At first, the amounts were just in pounds, then hundreds and then thousands. Firstly you want to win 100 pounds and then all 100,000.

When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I thought I had to bet, so the football went into the background. All I needed was to bet.

Dominic Matteo, a former Liverpool universal player, told the press in 2011 that he lost up to a million pounds on gambling. He said that his addiction was caused by boredom. Once, he bet 100 thousand pounds on one horse, which eventually lost.

I think that is a big problem for football players. I would say it is an epidemic. The gambling problem is a natural one these days. I was trembling about racing, but one day I opened an account on my phone. Thats when I started betting thousands of pounds just by typing.

Italian football suffers from many unpleasant stereotypes. And numerous scandals with contract matches have not helped this reputation at all. The Italians are so fond of betting that even the first magnitude stars like Gianluigi Buffon are often seen in casinos.

The goalkeeper was twice suspected of making illegal bets before the 2006 FIFA World Cup and in 2012 when it was reported about bets totalling 1.5 million euros.

Subsequently, Buffon was found innocent, but he never hid his love for gambling. He even was an ambassador of PokerStars for a while.

Gambling can be called not only a psychological problem but definitely a brain disease, even if in its simplest form, says Dr. Timothy Fong of the University of California.

According to experts, the borderline daily conditions of depression and euphoria, which often accompany gamblers, are the same for all stakes, regardless of the amounts operated by the person.

Stress on the verge of neurosis, identical in its violent effect on the cardiovascular system, can be caused by losing both $10 and $1 million.

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6 Football Players Who Got Addicted to Gambling - Soccity