Under the Irish FA’s gambling rules in Northern Ireland, players are prohibited from wagering on any fixture connected to their club or competition, including men’s, women’s and youth football. They are also forbidden from asking someone else to bet for them.
Michael Carvill, who leads the Professional Footballers’ Association in Northern Ireland, said he had observed the problem during his 15 years at the highest level of the Irish League.
The PFA is collaborating with the Irish FA and a group of former players through the Gambling Support Group, with a strong focus on education and assistance.
Carvill highlighted the experience of his former Crusaders colleague Matthew Snoddy, who works with the group alongside Hogg, Aaron Traynor and Michael Ruddy.
Carvill said he sat next to Matthew for seven years without realizing that his teammate was struggling. He added that players’ emotions could noticeably shift when they looked at their phones immediately after matches.
He described it as deeply troubling that teammates could share a dressing room, train together three evenings each week and play alongside one another without recognizing what someone was experiencing.
Carvill said the situation should serve as a warning that the issue will not simply disappear. He explained that the project was created to provide an effective system of support and treatment.
He also stressed that gambling now extends well beyond conventional sports wagering, creating what he believes is a greater level of risk.
Carvill referred to online prize platforms and television competitions, adding that gambling-like behavior is appearing among academy players in Northern Ireland through video games and in-game spending.
Hogg, whose Irish League career began in 2006, saw directly how the gambling industry evolved and how those developments affected footballers.
In the past, people generally had to visit a betting shop to place a wager. Smartphones now allow users to gamble at any hour on an almost unlimited variety of outcomes.
Hogg said modern betting options have become increasingly sophisticated, offering an experience similar to roulette in which results and rewards can feel nearly immediate.
He explained that gambling behavior has changed significantly, noting that it had a more social character when he first began his career.
According to Hogg, the ease of access available today has made gambling an increasingly common concern among footballers.
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