If there’s one trait that all professional athletes have in common, it’s that they’re wildly competitive. They need this drive to excel in their sport. In addition, most athletes also remain competitive in their personal lives. It is therefore often said that football and gambling go hand in hand. To some extent, winning a game of chance feels almost as good as winning a match. In addition, there are many games in a sweepstakes casino, where you really have to think carefully. Some examples of this are roulette, poker, and blackjack. These are games where it is possible to predict the outcome.

Gambling as a competition

Many see playing at an online casino as a kind of thinking sport, similar to chess. You are constantly calculating what the next card will be or which cards someone has in his hand. The only difference with chess is that there is a risk that you can lose money. But that also makes it more interesting for footballers, because they also have to live every day with the risk that they could get injured.

It’s a feeling they’re very familiar with. Just look at Sergio Agüero, for example, who can never play professional football again due to health problems. In addition, athletes cannot stop being competitive after they have stopped playing a sport. It’s just in them to keep winning. This makes gambling at the online casino, an ideal hobby. But many players prefer to keep it to themselves when they are gambling. There are several reasons for this, such as:

• Anonymity: Some footballers prefer not to let others know what they are doing in their personal lives.
• Taboo: Gambling is still seen by many as a taboo activity, which you should not talk about too much in the open.
• Personal reason: Footballers may also have their personal reasons why they prefer not to talk about their hobbies.

 

ALSO READ: The Importance of Muktu Verification When Betting on Sports

 

Gianluigi Buffon

Italy has always had a love-hate relationship between football and gambling. But that didn’t stop Buffon from practicing his favorite hobby. The most legendary goalkeeper in the world is a big fan of the casino online. Although he was accused of illegal gambling for a number of keren, he has never been found guilty. In this period he never lost his passion for gambling. A few years ago he was even the ambassador of the largest gambling provider for online poker.

It was interesting how bookmakers kept a close eye on the veteran goalkeeper in 2019. At the time, various predictions were made as to where Buffon would go. There were odds for a new contract with Juventus, Parma or Juventus. It eventually became Parma. In addition, it does not look like he will stop any time soon.

Wayne Rooney

Manchester United have won the most awards in all English leagues. Part of this they owe to the great Wayne Rooney. In 2008, it became big news when 23-year-old Wayne Rooney lost a whopping 65,000 pounds in 2 hours. At the time, Rooney wasn’t terribly disturbed by it, as it was only a few days’ salary for him. Then everyone had forgotten this story, because Manchester United still played very well.

Since then, Rooney has still kept gambling as a hobby. Fortunately for him, he has gotten better at it. Nowadays he is even sponsored, as the coach of Derby County, by an online bookmaker. In his most recent interviews, he has claimed that he has started gambling less, to focus more on his new career as a coach.

Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt

It is well known that Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt were both fanatic gamblers during their football careers. Both players were former teammates in the Dutch national team. In addition, Sneijder was brought in at Ajax and Kuyt at Feyenoord. It was a remarkable friendship that came together through a passion for gambling. Over the years, Sneijder and Kuyt have regularly participated in exclusive games of chance behind closed doors. It got them into trouble for a number of things, but nothing ever came of it. It had been found that some of the games of chance they had participated in were affiliated with a criminal organization. This was before the time that online gambling was legal in the Netherlands.

Sneijder and Kuyt still work together, but nowadays as football analysts at RTL 7 and no longer as players. Wesley Sneijder is still actively involved in the gambling market. He is the ambassador of the largest online casino in the Netherlands. You can see him regularly on posters. Dirk Kuyt claims in interviews that he has distanced himself from gambling. You can read about this in his biography about his football career.

 

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