With Sandro Tonali’s suspension nearing its end, the football star paid a visit to students at a sports school in Bari, Italy, to speak about his journey to recovering from gambling addiction. The meeting was organised by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
Tonali’s gambling struggles came to light not long after he was transferred to Newcastle in 2023 when an investigation led by the FIGC uncovered that he had wagered on football games while playing for AC Milan. This eventually resulted in a ten-month ban from professional football, and he was ordered to pay £17,000 and receive treatment for gambling addiction. Recently, Tonali also faced scrutiny from the Football Association (FA) of England for bets placed during his time as a Newcastle United player. The news of his misconduct broke on March 28th, 2024, and at the beginning of May, the FA announced that he was handed a suspended two-month ban and a financial penalty of £20,000.
As reported by Italy’s SportMediaset, Tonali told the students of the major risks of betting and how he had been wrong for hiding his gambling struggles. He further stressed that hiding “is never the solution,” that opening up and getting help is something that needs to be done, and that for him, being surrounded by people who love him is his true wealth.
The Newcastle midfielder also shared that, during a recent visit to a factory, he was able to understand “many precious things.” He spoke about how he could reflect on the fact that many people work ten hours a day to make ends meet and that their entire families would be affected should they lose their jobs. He then added the following:
“Well, this is also why I consider myself lucky. I made a mistake, but I didn’t lose anything.”
Tonali has received the full support of Newcastle and is undergoing treatment. He is set to return to the field this August.
The Warnings Attached to Gambling Ads Should Be Improved, Says GambleAware
The advertising and promotion of gambling has become a controversial topic in the UK, partly as a result of cases such as Tonali’s, with the Big Step campaign calling for betting sponsorships to be completely eradicated from British football.
The potential harm that gambling ads can lead to and how this must be tackled has also been addressed by the independent charity GambleAware. This week, in particular, saw GambleAware argue for new health warnings to be introduced when it comes to the promotion of gambling.
The charity came to the conclusion that change is necessary after a recent GambleAware-commissioned study highlighted the inadequacy of current messaging surrounding gambling harm. Namely, the “Take Time To Think” (TTTT) slogan has been deemed ineffective in showing consumers just how dangerous gambling harm is, and the results also revealed it does not properly show how one can get support.
If GambleAware is successful in making its proposal a reality, the TTTT slogan will be replaced by three messages: “Gambling can be addictive,” “Gambling comes at a cost,” and “Gambling can grip anyone.” Researchers measured the effectiveness of these messages by how many individuals were convinced to set up the lowest deposit limit before they began gambling.
According to Bristol University lecturer Dr Raffaello Rossi, who was one of the co-authors of this research, warnings that can effectively underscore the addictiveness of gambling are “absolutely vital.” He also stressed that proper warnings should also be accompanied by “clear, unambiguous signposting” that will give individuals information on how to find help.
- Author
Daniel Williams
