Ex-Liverpool FC star Dominic Matteo is using his past gambling addiction to help UK soccer and rugby players. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Sharing his story

Ex-Liverpool FC legend Dominic Matteo has revealed the details of a past gambling addiction in an effort to raise awareness among other at-risk UK soccer and rugby players.

pressure to pay back the £500,000 “without the family knowing.”

According to a Mirror exclusive, the former defender racked up £1m ($1.2m) in gambling debts, with half of that owed to one bookmaker. Scotsman Matteo, 50, spoke of the pressure to pay back the £500,000 (£646,495) “without the family knowing.”

The stress of past gambling debts is central to the work Matteo is doing with gambling harm prevention specialist EPIC Global Solutions, which shared the soccer star’s story via X:

Matteo, who went bankrupt in 2015, is set to share “his gambling hell” with players in the English professional soccer leagues, the Scottish Premiership, and rugby franchises.

Life after Liverpool

According to the Mirror exclusive, Matteo’s introduction to gambling began when he was growing up in Southport, UK, where he “would bet a few pence on the slot machines at the fairground.”

The journey from slot machines took a major twist when Matteo progressed through Liverpool’s junior ranks to sign a pro soccer contract.

it felt like everyone was betting on horses”

“We’d have card schools on the bus back from away games and it felt like everyone was betting on horses.” Matteo said that during the 90s and early 2000s, soccer pros from all franchises would attend the big horse races at Aintree and Cheltenham, and that he once bet £200,000 ($258,610) on a single race.

Matteo was one of Liverpool’s defensive stalwarts through the 1990s, making 127 appearances. His gambling problems, however, escalated long after he left Liverpool in 2000. His pro career started fading after joining Blackburn Rovers in 2004 and, not helped by injuries, Matteo had more time on his hands.

The former Scotland defender said not playing was the worst, “because you have time to think about which bets you’re going to place.”

“I bought some horses with Gary Flitcroft, my Blackburn team-mate. I’d have bets and got caught up in that whole world.”

Matteo said the size of his bets increased in relation to the money he earned playing soccer. The problems came, the Scotsman said: “when you finish playing and aren’t earning that big money but still betting heavily.”

Problems at home

The decrease in earnings while still gambling caused problems at home. Matteo said this was the turning point for him: “when I started to affect the people around me.”

Matteo had surgery for a brain tumor in 2019 but doctors have since given him the all-clear. The Anfield legend paid tribute to his wife for nursing him through his illness.

“My missus has been my rock and we’ve had to become a team again – and I don’t think we were for that period when I was gambling.” In the exclusive interview, Matteo said he was in now “in a good place” with his wife Jess and three children.

“As a family we’re a team and Jess will be getting involved with EPIC to tell people how my gambling addiction affected her too,” he said.