Top 10 Famous Pro Athletes Who Took Gambling Too Far

Gambling is a popular activity that most people worldwide are free to participate in. However, due to their professions and career choices, some people are legally subjected to strict betting regulations; top on the list are pro athletes.

Sports players are specifically banned from wagering on events or competitions related to their sports. This rule is put in place by sports regulations to protect the integrity of their games and the mental well-being of the players. 

However, several athletes have succumbed to gambling vices to the detriment of their reputations over the years. While some directly infringe their league’s betting rules, others can’t keep their gambling in check.

Either by betting irresponsibly on sports, poker, or other casino games, here are the top 10 famous pro athletes who took gambling too far. 

10. Wayne Rooney

[Source: irishmirror.ie ]

Rooney suffered from compulsive gambling in the early days of his professional career. At age 25, around the time he joined Manchester United, he fell into a gambling addiction which saw him lose almost one million pounds. 

Before that, he was embroiled in a £700,000 debt dispute with Michael Owen, who accused Rooney of losing the amount when they placed wagers on football, horses, and dogs. 

Although he eventually settled the debt, Rooney didn’t learn from the lesson as he continued to gamble away a large part of his earnings. 

However, it’s been some time since Rooney appeared in the news for gambling. It almost looks like the international soccer star has finally curbed his gambling addiction and is now using his position to help problem gamblers.

9. Alex Rodriguez

[Source: guestofaguest.com ] 

Almost everyone would agree that Alex Rodriguez, “A-Rod” or  “A-Fraud” to some people, was a power to reckon with on the field. But this former baseball shortstop player, like most of his leading counterparts, was not without issues. Several scandals rocked his career, and many of them were gambling-related. 

In 2005, Rodriguez allegedly had been involved with several illegal, underground high-stakes poker games. Although he was not suspended from the game, he was warned severely by the New York Yankees and the MLB to desist from such activities. However, Rodriguez still gambles, as he has been sighted in casinos playing high-stakes games several times.

8. John Daly

[Source: the-sun.com ] 

One thing about top professional athletes is that they make money many can only dream of. However, if they don’t keep their vices in check, they tend to lose big too. Such is the case of John Daly, an American professional golfer. 

In an interview with Yahoo’s In Depth with Graham Bensinger, he admitted losing between $50 million and $60 million from 1991 to 2007. This equates to about $3.4 million per year in 12 years. He was able to rack up this high gambling loss due to his expensive betting choices, like playing simultaneous hands of blackjack for $5k to $15k per hand. 

According to Daly, he lost his substantial bankroll over the years because of “stupidity”. However, the golfer still bets big due to the fat paychecks he still receives on and off the course. 

7. Charles Barkley

[Source: reviewjournal.com ]

Charles Barkley is a former professional basketball player who has been battling gambling addiction for decades. The American had a great career that earned him millions of dollars; however, his gambling problem had seen him lose a large chunk of his estate. 

In 2006, he admitted to ESPN to losing $2.5 million in a two-hour window. His uncontrollable gambling behavior has syphoned over $30 million from his finances. He was once taken to court by a casino for failing to meet up with a $400,000 loan. However, he paid back the loan with an additional $40,000 in attorney fees. 

With his bank account in the red, Barkley knew he had to do something about his gambling addiction. 

In 2022 Barkley announced that he would take a break from gambling to join Micheal Jordan and Tiger Woods in a “golfing” rehab. However, there are indications that Barkley has gone back to his earlier gambling ways. 

6. Paul Hornung

[Source: jsonline.com ]

Paul Vernon Hornung was one of the “poster boys” of the NFL in the middle 90s. He was so good on the field he was nicknamed “the Golden Boy” by his admirers. However, at the peak of his career, he engaged in illegal gambling activities that temporarily stalled his career. 

He was accused of betting on the NFL games and associating with gamblers alongside All-Pro tackle Alex Karras. 

Hornung admitted to wagering NFL games but never on his team at that time, the Packers. He and Karras were suspended from the entire 1963 season for violating the league’s betting policy. He was reinstated in 1964 and, a year later, won the NFL championships with the Packers.

5. Rick Tocchet

[Source: ctvnews.ca ]

It is one thing to be an addictive gambler; championing an illegal sports betting ring is another; Rick Tocchet was both. Richard Tocchet Is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. Seeing him on the pitch coaching NHL’s Vancouver Canucks team, one would agree this man is worth his mettle. 

However, this Canadian hockey star had been the subject of a series of criminal allegations some years ago. In 2006, he was accused of funding and promoting a nationwide sports gambling ring based in New Jersey that accepted bets for several current NHL players. 

On May 25, 2007, Tocchet pleaded guilty to promoting gambling and was sentenced to a two-year probation in exchange for his plea bargain. Two years later, he was reinstated by the NHL and given a strict order to refrain from gambling. 

4. Michael Jordan

[Source: dailystar.co.uk ]

While as a player and even after retirement, Michael Jordan was involved in several scandals, especially gambling-related troubles. He is known to “blow millions” and rack up debts while gambling. He once lost over one and a quarter million dollars while playing golf with Richard Esquinas, whom he still owes today. 

However, his biggest case of taking gambling too far was when he was caught by Buzz Peterson trying to cheat his mother in cards. Peterson, Jordan’s former North Carolina teammate, had invited him over to play a friendly game of cards with his mother.

At one point, Peterson's mum got up to use the bathroom, and while the old woman was doing her business, Peterson caught his friend trying to outsmart them. Yet, there was no money involved in the game. 

3. Antoine Walker

[Source: boston.com ]

Antoine Walker is a former NBA player who was also severely stung by a gambling addiction. Walker was in the hole for gambling losses for most of his career. Between July 2008 and January 2009, Walker lost $178,000 and was estimated to have lost over $ 1 million annually.

In July 2009, the former American basketball star faced criminal charges for failing to pay his gambling debts. 

According to reports, he had run up to $882,500 in gambling debts at three different casinos on the Las Vegas strip. He was also indicted for writing bad checks to the affected casinos to cover his losses. 

In 2010, Walker filed for bankruptcy, having lost over $100 million from gambling and bad investments. However, he has since opened up about his gambling addiction and has been debt free since 2012. 

2. Pete Rose

[Source: calltothepen.com ]

An American former baseball player and manager, Pete Rose, didn’t just end his career on a bad note; he was banned from baseball for life. He also set the record as the only living person permanently ineligible for the Hall of Fame. 

Rose’s professional woes started in 1989 when he was found to have gambled on baseball games while serving as a player and manager of the Cincinnati Reds. He was also accused of betting on and against the Reds. These actions contradict MLB’s rules as it questions the integrity of the outcomes of the team’s games. 

Although Rose denied this allegation for years, he finally admitted to betting on the baseball and the Reds “every night” in 2004.

1. Art Schlichter

[Source: msn.com ]

Like other athletes such as Paul Hornung, who gambled and later went on to achieve greater feats, Schilchter’s career story didn’t have such a happy ending. 

Schlichter was a promising quarterback in American football in the late 90s. However, his lack of self-control when gambling was his undoing. He was a chronic bettor who couldn’t stop betting and losing money.  

It was alleged that when he joined the Colts, he was paid a signing bonus which he gambled away before the half of his rookie season. He also stole and borrowed money from friends and strangers to fund his gambling habit. 

By the end of 1982, Schilchter’s account was in the red, and he was up to his neck in a $700,000 debt. His gambling addiction subsequently led to his suspension from the NFL. 

In 1987, he was arrested for his role in an illegal sports betting operation. Between then and to date, Schilchter had been involved in various litigations ranging from writing bad checks and committing fraud to possessing hard drugs. It’s safe to say that Schlichter’s woes started when he took gambling too far.