Footballers Who Love to Gamble in Australian Casinos

Online casinos are one of the most popular pastimes around the world, and Australia is no exception. Even sports stars, who are used to getting their adrenaline flowing on the playing field, are avid gambling and betting fans.

In this blog article, we will go through the reasons behind the popularity of online gambling in Australia, along with John Gold and the professionals at the BPokies company, and mention some of the famous football players who like to play at Australian casinos.

WHY GAMBLING IS POPULAR IN AUSTRALIA?

According to statistics, in 2022, more than 11% of Australians have gambled online in the previous 6 months. This figure is up from 8% in 2020. Gambling in Australia has gained popularity over the years due to several reasons.

The Legalisation Of Online Gambling

The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 allowed Australians to gamble on the Internet. This gave a big boost to the gambling industry.

The Availability Of Online Casinos

With the legalisation of online casinos and gambling in Australia, both demand and supply in the online gambling market have increased. The Australian market has opened up to international online casinos, and underground local online casinos have come out of the shadows and been licensed to operate.

The Popularity Of Sports Betting

Sports betting has always been extremely popular in Australia, but with the emergence of covid, greater accessibility to international platforms, and revelations from celebrities about their love of sports betting and gambling, it is popularity has grown even more.

POPULAR FOOTBALL GAMBLERS

Famous sportsmen have fans all over the world, and many young and aspiring players look up to them. Because of this star power, many online gambling brands want to partner with top athletes and feature them in their commercials. That being said, many athletes like to bet and play casino games. New and reputable gambling sites are often used, and they are not going to shy away from partnering with gambling sites.

CRISTIANO RONALDO

PokerStars is a leading brand in the world of online poker and has worked with celebrities including Rafael Nadal and Neymar Junior., Cristiano Ronaldo has been the main brand ambassador. In 2016, Ronaldo participated in commercials playing poker against celebrities like Miss World and Aaron Paul from "Breaking Bad," winning against both. These videos garnered millions of views.

Interesting to know: In 2012, it was reported that Ronaldo had lost around A$61.000 in a casino in Lisbon.

LIONEL MESSI

Like Ronaldo, Lionel Messi is also known to be a big fan of online gambling. It has been reported that the Argentinian superstar has lost large sums of money in casinos all over the world on numerous occasions. In 2012, it was reported that Messi had lost around A$250,000 in a casino in Barcelona.

And in 2021, major gambling corporation Hard Rock International announced that Messi became the company's official ambassador. The Argentine is the first athlete to sign a contract with HRI.

WAYNE ROONEY

The three main passions in Wayne Rooney's life are alcohol, women and gambling. In his autobiography, Rooney himself admitted that he once lost A$640,000 in a Manchester casino - playing for Manchester United, he patriotically bet on red, but the roulette kept throwing out black.

Rooney started betting back in Everton, and in 2006, the 21 year-old footballer paid a debt of A$0.9 million to "black bookmakers".

He has also been known to gamble in Australian casinos on occasion. For example, in 2012, it was reported that Rooney had lost around A$500.000 in a casino in Sydney.

GIGI BUFFON

This Italian goalkeeper is a fan of poker and even excels at it. In 2012 it became known that Gigi Buffon lost in the casino in Monte Carlo almost 1.0 million Australian dollars. Later he decided to try his hand at online gambling and in the same year he supported Poker Stars.

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIĆ

He is known as a gambling enthusiast and often frequents both land-based casinos and online gambling. However, ZLATAN is always in favor of safe gambling and reliable intermediaries. That is why Zlatan is now the global ambassador of the Swedish betting company Bethard, which is fully legal and safe. And in 2018, he acquired a stake in this betting company.

CONCLUSION

There are many reasons why gambling is so popular in Australia. As you can see, soccer stars are not shy about gambling at land-based and online casinos, including Australian ones.

However, gambling is a risky business. They should be played by those who are willing to risk their money. If you do decide to gamble, remember to set yourself a budget and stick to it.

Beware: If you or your loved one is suffering from a gambling problem, kindly seek help by calling the Gambling Helpline: 1800 858 858.