A player from the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has revealed that the majority of Scottish football players bet on matches regardless of the fact it is not permitted to do so and risk facing a punishment.
For the time being, Scottish football players are not permitted to place bets on any football match in any country. However, an anonymous player has shared that players in almost every dressing room not only do that, but some even bet on themselves to get booked. The player, who preferred to remain unnamed, also shared that there had been players betting on their team to win, but the ones betting against themselves were not so many.
According to the footballer, the number of players who do not participate in gambling activities, and this trend only shows how bad the situation really is.
Most recently, Brian Rice, the head of coach of Hamilton Academical, has been charged by the Scottish Football Association (FA) after his gambling addiction has gotten really bad. At the time when the charge was put into the spotlight, the local football regulatory authorities have been urged to review sponsorship agreements between professional football clubs and gambling companies.
Scottish FA Urged to Ban Gambling Companies’ Shirt Sponsorships in Professional Football
Currently, three major tournaments in men’s football on the territory of Scotland are being sponsored by gambling operators, with all the three deals set to expire at the end of the current season. Apart from that, gambling companies have been shirt sponsors of a number of Scottish football clubs.
The anonymous player who revealed the constant gambling activity of football players shared that extensive advertising does not make things easier for the ones to may face problems to restrict themselves from gambling. He also shared that the ones who want to gamble will find the way to do so, no matter if they are not allowed to bet.
According to him, they would use accounts of their partners, or parents, and some players are not even afraid by entering a betting shop. As long as they bet and people do not recognise them, gambling could be easy even for professional football players. He further noted that hardly any measures are taken in these cases unless it comes to players at the top level of football.
The unnamed player confessed that he had spent massive sums on betting himself. He said that it was so easy at the time but shared that smaller amounts would have probably made him enter a vicious circle from which it is hard to exit. Personally for him, it was the large amounts spent on bets that made him realise he had a problem and he needed a solution.
The player said that PFA Scotland offered support to football players to remind them of the existing rules of the Scottish FA. Also, several players have been punished for violation of those rules recently.
- Author
Daniel Williams
