In Italy, England and even France, numerous cases have been revealed since the start of the year.
“The more time passed, the more my debt became an obsession.” Nicolo Fagioli, Juventus Turin midfielder, was forced to confess in court in mid-October. The Turin player is suspended for seven months by the Italian Football Federation, due to illegal sports betting. Having become addicted, he only bet to pay off his huge debts. “I cried when I saw my debts. In September 2022 they were 250,000 euros, then they reached more than 2.7 million,” said Nicolo Fagioli, whose life changed at just 22 years old. This is the case for many players, particularly in France, victims of a gambling addiction called ludopathy.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney also became addicted, to the point of betting on his own team. During a podcast broadcast on the Youtube channel “The Diary of a CEO”, the Englishman spoke about money management when you are a young professional footballer. “Having so much money at our age is a bit like saying ‘What do I do with all this?’ I don’t come from a family with a lot of money. It’s like you have to manage yourself and assume that making bets is a good thing.” Addictologist Marie Grall shares the same idea. “They don’t necessarily realize that people work a long time to have such an amount, it distorts the value of money”she confides to franceinfo: sport.
An easily influenced entourage and omnipresent advertising
Especially since football, the most popular sport in France, is the one that attracts the most bets in France. In France, 56% of sports bets were made on football in 2022, the year of the World Cup, or 4.6 billion euros, informs the National Gaming Authority (ANJ). A subject mastered by professional players, encouraging them to bet. “They think they have knowledge about the game that will help them predict better”adds Marie Grall who also highlights the influence of their environment, which is decisive among the youngest.
The Italian Nicolo Fagioli notably followed his compatriot Sandro Tonali, also involved in the same affair, but suspended more heavily. “He [Tonali] was doing it and told me that I could do it too, because the movements were not traceable. From that moment on, I started betting also because others were doing it.” he confided. A recurring phenomenon among young people according to the addictologist. “In young adults, there is a strong influence from others, and there may be a tendency to imitate their behavior, because it provides positive emotions. The influence is considerable in this age group”, she assures. In addition to their entourage, footballers are exposed to sports betting posters, everywhere on social networks and on television, like the general public.
Advertising is omnipresent. This is the result of an increase in the marketing budgets of online gaming operators estimated at 7% in 2022, for a total of 485 million euros according to the ANJ. Like any viewer, football players have heard these famous slogans on television: “put the daronne sheltered” Or “everything for the lady”. A targeted (and prohibited) message aimed at young people.
We must not lose sight of the fact that the typical profile of the bettor, a man (89% of cases) under 35 years old (72% of cases), according to the ANJ, resembles that of the vast majority of professional footballers. Some of them sometimes wear the name of an online betting platform on their own jersey when they are on the pitch. In France, in Ligue 1, 13 of the 18 teams have at least one sports betting operator among their sponsors (8 of them have the site’s logo on the jersey or shorts).
They are also sometimes asked to promote sports betting despite the ban on gambling, like the Paris Saint-Germain players in a spot for Parions Sport. A harm for young footballers according to Jean-Michel Delile, president of the Addiction Federation. “Advertisements are often carried by their colleagues, people with whom they can identify,” did he declare. “They used this image to attract vulnerable young people, with a very urban atmosphere, an identification with famous professional footballers who come from somewhat the same backgrounds”adds Jean-Michel Delile.
To warn professional footballers of the risks, the ANJ explained to franceinfo: sport “that there are more than 1,000 people [sportifs, arbitres, procureurs] raised awareness per year in France”. The figure will be increased to 100,000 in preparation for the Olympic Games in 2024.