Paul Ifill, Wellington Phoenix’s legendary forward, has opened up about his struggle with gambling addiction. During his time as an active player, Ifill lost millions of pounds to gambling.
Appearing at James Marshall’s What A Lad podcast, Ifill commented on this dark period of his career. His worst time was in the mid-2000s when the popularity of gambling on sports exploded. In his estimates, Ifill has lost around £2 million to sports betting.
Ifill attributed his addictive behavior to the large sums of money he made as a professional soccer player and the changing room gambling culture. Remaining transparent during the entire podcast, the ex-forward revealed that he had even placed bets on himself to score first in games, as illegal as this was.
During his time with Sheffield United and Crystal Palace, Ifill reached a point where he would spend thousands of pounds on sports betting every day. His biggest bets would reach £5,000, sometimes even £10,000. He would sometimes spend all his money, return to the bank and get more for betting.
Ifill Became Indebted in Spite of His Salary
Despite his huge soccer salary, Ifill would sometimes gamble more than he could afford.
There were days I’d do £10,000 and then go the next day and do the same. Then you’re borrowing money to get through to the end of the month, so it just racked up.
Paul Ifill
According to the player, he kept on borrowing and getting credit. When he won, he would have enough money to “get him across the line for a little bit.”
Ifill was not the only one on his team with a gambling addiction. His roommate during his time with Sheffield United, Keith Gillespie, had gambling problems of his own and lost millions of pounds during his career.
Now 44, Ifill seeks to make things right by leveraging his own negative experience to warn others about the dangers of gambling. After the premature end of his career, Ifill started touring rugby clubs and educating professional athletes on the risks associated with excessive betting.
Gambling harm among athletes is, sadly, nothing new. A recent scandal, for example, led to the suspension of several high-profile soccer players who were found guilty of wagering on sports. This included Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Fagioli. The latter player admitted to being addicted and is currently being treated by a professional.