Whether it be football , horse racing , online casinos , the world is full of people who like to gamble and footballers of course are no different. Some footballers have a passion for playing poker or roulette or quite often having a bet on horse racing . Later we look at 5 famous gambling footballers but first it is important to explain what an online casino bonus is and why they are so popular.
Online Casino Bonuses
Casinos are happy to offer new players a welcome bonus in the hope that the player will bet regularly and the Casino can make some money in the long run . There are many variations on the type of Casino bonus that can be offered but one of the most popular is free spins . You will see various types of free spins in advertisements for example , /50-free-spins/ is a very popular offer and generally limited to a specific slot machine and the winnings from this Offer will have to be wagered a number of times before the cash can be withdrawn.
Footballers from around the world love to gamble and some of the most famous or infamous are as follows :
Gigi Buffon
One of the greatest goalkeepers of all time the Italian has had an illustrious career spending most of his club career at Juventus . Known to have a liking for poker Gigi was also an ambassador for a leading online poker site.
Dominic Matteo
The former Liverpool and Leeds star admitted to running up more than £1M in gambling debts in his autobiography and was sadly declared bankrupt in 2015 . Matteo had a passion for sports betting rather than online casino and recalled having a winning £200 000 bet on a horse race !
Paul Merson
The famous ex Arsenal forward now a pundit for Sky Sports in the UK is reported to have lost up to £7M on gambling during a colourful career which included 21 caps for England . Merson was hooked mostly on sports betting also.
Joey Barton
Now manager at Division 1 side Fleetwood Town Barton has played at some top clubs including Newcastle , Everton and Rangers . Whilst playing for Burnley in the Premier League Barton was banned from playing for 18 months after admitting having placed as many as 1260 bets on football in the 10 years up to 2016 .
Phil Bardsley
The former Manchester United full back became embroiled in a famous incident whilst playing for north eastern club Sunderland . Bardsley was celebrating a rare win in a local casino and ended up being photographed lying on the floor covered in £50 notes . Sunderland manager at the time Paolo Di Canio was not impressed and immediately fired the Scottish defender !
