Footballer highlights gambling addiction problems

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by Change | 1 Sep 2009

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A top footballer has admitted he has struggled with a gambling addiction for over 15 years and his testimony demonstrates the problems that gambling addicts can face.

Former Premiership footballer Kevin Kyle has admitted to a 15-year gambling addiction, demonstrating the dangers of getting hooked on gambling can have.

The 28-year-old Kilmarnock star has kept his gambling addiction hidden for many years and explained that his compulsion originated not from a desire to have more money, but through boredom.

His problems became particularly serious when he suffered a hip injury and began gambling more as a way to relieve the boredom of being unable to play football for a period spanning nearly two years.

"A counsellor once told me that a footballer's buzz comes from playing on a Saturday," he said. "When you are injured for two years, you don't have that buzz and you turn to gambling."

However, the former Sunderland striker now believes he has got over the worst of his addiction and is conquering the problem thanks to an addiction rehabilitation programme.

His experiences demonstrate how quietly a gambling addiction can take hold on a person's life, with them becoming addicted without realising it and then being unable to do anything about it without specialist help from a rehab clinic or similar facility.

There are growing concerns that more people could become gambling addicts over the coming months, as the recession results in many more people becoming out of work and desperately gambling in a bid to win their way out of poverty.

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