Football and gambling have a lot in common. It must be said that almost all segments of the population play gambling, from ordinary workers to famous footballers. And there is now a massive selection of casino gambling around the world.
The closest thing to gambling is football. Just like in casinos, football players fall into a gamble that makes them commit acts that are inconsistent with logic, from the mere observer’s standpoint. However, it is these actions that help players win matches.
Professional athletes are almost universally adrenaline junkies, eager to compete in anything all day long. This is why many of them often become regulars at UK casinos reviews, poker rooms or betting shops.
Poker
One of the noblest card games has long been popular with players. And athletes, contrary to stereotypes, achieve considerable success in poker. For example, a defender for CSKA Moscow Vasily Berezutsky relatively recently won a major tournament for 400 people. Gerard Pique, player of the great and terrible Barcelona, came third in a major offline tournament two years ago and won 41,000 euros. Ex-Manchester United striker Teddy Sheringham has gone on to become a professional player, with career winnings totalling close to half a million pounds. The occasional paparazzi catch the likes of David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Francesco Totti and Gianluigi Buffon at the gaming table.
Betting
Most European countries have passed laws in the last decade forbidding professional sportsmen to gamble on bets. This makes sense: The temptation to gamble on your own team’s defeat, which you could easily secure, is immense. Nevertheless, there are still those who want to play with the law. Tottenham midfielder Andros Townsend has been handed an £18,000 suspension and a fine for regularly betting on football – but without ever betting on his team’s matches. Far more serious is the transgression of former Southampton manager Klaus Wundekum, who has admitted to forcing the right players in his team to receive yellow cards – of course, before that, the functionary made a big bet on this event. Things are even worse for the once famous midfielder Matthew Etherington. The lad, once regarded as a future England star, is now undergoing treatment for gambling addiction. Chaotic betting on all sports, including horse racing, and haphazard gambling in casinos has resulted in Etherington losing an insane £1.5 million.
Online casinos
The development of internet technology has led to a mass migration of players to online casinos. Really, why get set up and caught on camera lenses when you can play your favorite games from your home computer and under an abstract nickname? According to the media, almost half of the England team, and in particular the Three Lions’ leader Wayne Rooney, play roulette and blackjack over the internet. By the way, Rooney knows some secret: he almost always stays in the blackjack and has already won a total of 65,000 pounds. Not bad for a guy who is not a professional.
Footballers’ fascination with online gambling is causing discontent among coaches. Former Newcastle United coach Alan Pardew once complained that his players do not respect the regime: allegedly, young boys prefer not to sleep the night before the match, and play roulette. Then it affects the results. Given the way Newcastle performed before Pardew’s dismissal, there is at least some truth in that accusation.
So, poker in particular, and gambling in general, are very closely linked. If any player hasn’t started playing poker yet, it’s only a matter of time, as football is essentially the same gambling game, where the chips and cards are the players themselves.
As we have already mentioned, online gambling is a popular pastime, and there are many sites on the Internet. So many that one can get confused and end up at a site where players either have no chance of winning money at all, or simply can’t wait to pay out large sums of money.

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