{"id":33122,"date":"2015-05-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.fiveaa.com.au\/uncategorized\/footballers-at-risk-of-gambling-addiction\/"},"modified":"2015-05-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T00:00:00","slug":"footballers-at-risk-of-gambling-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.fiveaa.com.au\/show\/footballers-at-risk-of-gambling-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Footballers at risk of gambling addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

A professor of psychiatry says the traits that make young men good at football can dispose them to gambling problems.<\/h3>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve actually been seeing an increase in footballers coming to our service in the last couple of years with a sports betting problem,\u201d Professor Malcolm Battersby told David, Mark and Jane on FIVEAA.<\/p>\n

\u201cFootballers are particularly vulnerable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Footballers with gambling problems have been in the news after former player and gambling addict David Schwarz revealed he\u2019s been contacted by up to 30 players with major problems.<\/p>\n

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David Schwarz | Image | Twitter<\/h6>\n

Schwarz himself has previously estimated he gambled away about $5 million. <\/p>\n

Professor Battersby said an \u201cimpulsive\u201d personality style helped a player on the field, but could cause problems off the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat actually helps you become a really good footballer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo then they get bored, they\u2019re siting at home and they want that same sort of excitement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there it is right in front of them on their phone,\u201d Professor Battersby said.<\/p>\n

LISTEN to the full interview here:<\/strong><\/p>\n