Irish League goalkeeper Aaron Hogg bravely opens up on gambling addiction which was 'like a disease' in hopes of raising awareness

In an article published on FIFPro on Wednesday, PFA NI General Manager Michael Carvill described gambling as an “epidemic” with a “high volume” of local players, including one who was doing £500 roulette spins on his phone, reaching out to the organisation for support.

Gambling is rampant throughout sport worldwide, but also at home with multiple bookmakers providing sponsorship of clubs and tournaments, while a series of studies have shown problem gambling runs at a higher level among elite sportspeople than the general population.

Former Glentoran and Portadown goalkeeper Hogg, who is now playing for Championship outfit Dundela, has spoken out about his own experience, which started out with small football bets and a love for horse racing before becoming addicted to roulette.

"It got really bad at one point,” he told The Nolan Show. “That's why I thought I would get involved with this and I'd speak out.

"I've never spoken out publicly before and I thought this was the right time.

"The Irish League is something I've been involved in for 20 years and as a player you didn't really have that support network where I could go when it got really bad for me.

"I thought if I spoke about it, told a bit about my story - if that can help one or two players struggling in the league then that's why.

"It started like most people...it might start with a scratchcard or you're into sport so gambling comes hand-in-hand with sport.

"You start doing £5, £10 and going into the bookies doing your weekend football bet...it wasn't until a betting company gave me £200 to play in the casino.

"I'd never played roulette or blackjack, so when they gave me that money I won a five-figure sum in about 20 minutes.

"That was the biggest win I'd had gambling and in my head it switched to 'why spend 90 minutes watching a football match or hours picking horses when you can hit a button?'. My life revolved around roulette.

"It flipped a switch on me...at the start you don't see the signs and when you're talking that sort of money your bets start to get bigger. That's when it becomes a problem.

"It progresses where you're not just using your own money, you get loans, credit cards, payday loans, borrowing and it's amazing how it takes over your life. It's like a disease that spreads and you can't get away from it."

The 37-year-old no longer gambles with regular visits to Gamblers Anonymous helping Hogg, but he opened up on the challenges of a journey which included losing his house.

"I lost as much as I had in my hand everyday,” he added. “The house, the car, everything was gone through debt and gambling.

"I lost everything due to gambling and roulette. I didn't pay any bills - all the money I got was put into online.

"I used to get paid monthly and you had it gone by the time you woke up the next day and had to spend the rest of the month in survival mode.

"I'm six-and-a-half years debt-free now and I have my family back and relationships back, but it's a difficult road to start and hard to get that back.

"This is why I want to get the awareness out.

"Before it gets that bad, if I can share my story that if somebody wants to come and open up to me, I can give advice and point in the right direction."