Paul Fennessy THERE IS significant evidence to suggest the issue of gambling in football is more pervasive than ever.
“I think the advertising of gambling is a problem,” McGuinness tells The 42. “I think it should be banned from sport in general. I don’t think you should be allowed to have sponsors on the front of your shirt. Irish football is not immune from this problem either. Northern Ireland international Kyle Lafferty has been open about his gambling issues. And last September, Ireland U21 international Dylan Duffy was fined by the FA after admitting to the charge of alleged breaches of anti-betting rules.
“The FT estimates that the sponsorship deals of the eight Premier League clubs sponsored by a betting brand are valued at around £60m of annual revenue which the clubs would need to replace by the beginning of the 2026//27 season.” “I don’t think sport helps itself by allowing betting companies to be part of it, to be part of the sponsorship, and we’re lucky in our league that it’s not as bad as in the UK.
“I’ve seen how it’s destroyed some of our members over the years. Some of our most decorated players have ended up being bankrupt and broke on the back of having a gambling addiction.” “It used to be, you just couldn’t bet on your league,” he explains. “Now you can’t bet on football worldwide.“The sanctions for that are heavy and can ruin their careers.”