Australian Football Star Says He Has Problem with Online Gambling

A football star from down under has gone public together with his difficulty in controlling his online gambling and horse race wagering, saying he needs counseling.

Brendan Fevola, a celebrity forward for the Brisbane Lions of the Australian Football League, came forward and said problem gambling had put him deep in debt and driven him to hunt counseling. Fevola says he lost millions of bucks betting on horse racing, slots, and online gambling, especially Internet poker.

Fevola adamantly denied his troubles had in anyway affected him as a football player, and said he had never bet on a football game. He says he told his coach of his difficulties in January, and started undergoing therapy the next month.

Fevola is solely recently a Lion, as he was received in trade from Carlton after embarrassing the team with public drunkenness and crude behavior. Scientists have found that impulse control with gambling is in general related to broader control problems, equivalent to substance abuse and alcoholism.

"I have a gambling issue and that i need to knock it at the head," said Fevola at the AFL Footy Show. "It hasn't affected my footy, but by addressing it I AM HOPING I WILL BE ABLE TO pop out the opposite end a greater person."

According to reporters at the Australian TV show, Fevola owes over $100,000, including debts to a few bookmakers. Some sources say the debt is definitely over $300,000, but lawyers for Fevola dispute that, saying $100,000 continues to be high.

Published on April 29, 2010 by PrestonLewis

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