Northern Irish Striker Kyle Lafferty has called on football to reassess its relationship with gambling companies, highlighting the questionable role bookmakers have in the game.
Lafferty is now a member of gambling anonymous and rebuilding his life after coming to terms with his own addiction. For him the game must assess how closely it is associated with the industry:
Everywhere you look there is something to do with betting. In Scotland, it’s the William Hill Cup and the Ladbrokes Premier League. You’re playing a game and Bet365 is going around advertising boards and stuff like that. You can’t get away from it. And the SPFL get money from bookies who advertise. I think people need to look at it.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Lafferty highlighted the spare time available as a professional footballer as one of the reasons he developed an issue with betting:
To be out gambling you need time and money. Footballers have both. You finish training at one o’clock and you have all afternoon and all evening to yourself. It’s difficult if you are in that environment and you get tips sent to you.
Lafferty is currently playing in the Scottish Premiership with Hearts and credited former Celtic and Arsenal striker John Hartson, who has also spoken about his gambling addiction, for helping him come to terms with the issue.
Lafferty is not the first footballer to highlight relationship between football and gambling as problematic. Joey Barton is currently serving a suspension after he admitted a FA charge for placing 1,260 bets on football games between 2006-2016. Barton accused football of hypocrisy in their stance at the time:
I think if the FA is truly serious about tackling the culture of gambling in football, it needs to look at its own dependence on the gambling companies, their role in football and in sports broadcasting, rather than just blaming the players who place a bet.
In the aftermath the FA conducted a three month review and ended long-term relationships with several bookmakers, including Ladbrokes. However that very bookmaker is the same company who sponsor the Scottish Premership, known as the Ladbrokes Premiership.
For Lafferty, he's found a less-damaging replacement to occupy himself, golf.
There is a bookies around the corner from me so if I have to be in a bunker for half a day rather than there, I’ll do that.
You can read the full interview here.
Gamblers Anonymous have a designated organisation in Ireland. More information is available at www.gamblersanonymous.ie or 01-8721133.
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