Are Footballers Banned from All Gambling?

FOOTBALL and betting have come hand-in-hand for years now, with many land-based and online gambling outlets providing sponsorship for teams and leagues. The betting industry is always getting bigger and the world’s most popular sport provides a perfect basis for enthusiastic punters.

For football players themselves, however, they have a much different experience with football betting than those merely spectating. While players are within their rights to visit sites like https://www.mansioncasino.com/uk/, in Scotland especially, they cannot be seen to take part in football betting at any level.

Football and betting

The beautiful game has grown to be funded and held up by the betting industry for years now, with the logos, imagery and advertisements found everywhere. From pitchside boards, shirt sponsors to match programmes, betting is everywhere in football – though it’s expected TV advertisements will change soon.

Football betting is popular pretty much everywhere and in Scotland, it’s no different. Just like the rest of the UK, Scottish football is teeming with betting money and the influence of the industry. The Scottish Premier League itself is known as the Ladbrokes SPL as the betting firm holds sponsorship rights to the competition.

In some cases, this has led to players partaking in betting when they absolutely shouldn’t, as PFA Scotland (PFAS) has clearly outlined what the regulations are for those involved in the sport.

The rules

In the PFAS guidelines, it states: “A club, official, Team Official or other member of Team Staff, player, referee or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall not gamble in any way on a football match.”

This encompasses not only betting on Scottish football, but any football match worldwide that attracts the attention of bookmakers and has odds placed on it. This means any odds, too, with everything from results and scorers to cards received and corners won.

Despite all the regulation, however, it’s still believed a large number of footballers use loopholes or outright ignore the rules in order to bet on football matches. Some ex-footballers themselves have commented on the fact that players are using the matches they play in to get an advantage on betting.

Both Scotland and the rest of the UK’s football governing bodies will look to loosen the betting industries grip on the sport to combat this.

Outside of football

Rules enforced by the PFAS only include betting on football matches around the world and do not entail the act of betting within casinos on games such as blackjack, slots or roulette.

Just like members of the public, football players are free to gamble in a safe environment, whether it be online or in a commercial casino. Wherever this is, it’s recommended that players remember that they are public figures and do not break any rules regarding the betting industry itself.

Both inside or outside of the sport, any player who thinks they have a problem with regards to gambling is encouraged to speak with the PFAS for advice and counsel.