Rugby players that are also avid gamblers
Rumours say that professional athletes have a special relationship with gambling. Just last month, Wayne Rooney opened up on his gambling addiction during his England and Manchester United career. He claims to have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds with 32Red casino when he was at the peak of his career earning an eye-watering £300,000-a-week.
Now, while this might be an extreme example, we thought it’s worth looking at some of the great rugby players of our time and their affinity with casinos, poker, and sports betting. If you want to learn more about offline and online gambling, check out Casinostoplay.com, a review site for online casinos and bookies.
David Susigan
David who? Ok, we admit Dave Susigan might not be the most well-known rugby player. The former pro player from Portel Sur Garome in France played most of his matches in the second and third league French league, but he is probably the most successful rugby player turned pro gambler.
Listed with total live earnings of well over $300,000, Susigan is most notably known for winning the FPS High Roller Poker event in Monte Carlo, Monaco, cashing in €126,155. The 30-year-old entered the final table as the chip leader, and although he briefly gave up his leading position, the Frenchman was on form when it mattered.
By the way, if you wondered why the young chap switched the rugby pitch for the poker table. According to Susigan, he was suffering from multiple knees and shoulder injuries throughout his career, and had to retire as a consequence. Looking at his poker talent, you might want to call it destiny.
Mike Tindall
If you didn’t know David Susigan, you surely know Mike Tindall. The retired rugby union player and former England captain played a total of 289 matches in his senior career as well as 75 games for England. As well as winning the 2003 World Cup, he also won the 2003 Six Nations Championship, which he played in a total of eleven times between 2000 and 2011.
After his career, Tindall tried his luck as a professional poker player. However, his life earnings are still at a mere £5000, so he’s not up with David Susigan yet. Nevertheless, Tindall is closely tied to all things gambling. In 2015, he was announced as Betway brand ambassador, putting him in charge to create content for the Betway blog during the rugby world cup and also becoming the face in various media appearances. Him and his wife, Zara Phillips, have also made a nice profit at the Magic Millions yearling sale where he sold a racehorse for $170,000, which he had previously acquired for $80,000.
Rob Howley
When talking about rugby and gambling, we must mention Rob Howley. The former Wales and Lions attack coach famously got banned for 18 months from rugby after placing bets on Wales and breaching betting rules.
Howley was found to have made over 350 bets in more than 1,000 matches over a period of 45 months. Not only did the coach bet on Welsh games but he also used his WRU mobile phone and official email address to place bets, urging one sports betting operator, Betway, to contact the rugby union over suspicion of corruption and breaching betting rules. Next to Betway, Rob Howley also placed bets with Ladbrokes and William Hill. He was sent home from Wales’ World Cup campaign in Japan when the news broke.
