Why do footballers prefer online casinos?
The gambling industry opens great opportunities to engage in a hobby not only before everyday gamblers
worldwide. Sporting celebrities, including footballers, are also casinos not registered with gamestop frequenters. For football stars gambling is an entertainment, a hobby, and a chance to show themselves in a new sphere.
Some sportsmen choose online casinos, which provide the atmosphere of land-based clubs; at the same time, one can make bets
and trigger spins without leaving the comfort of one’s home. Others participate in tournaments.
Footballers who play poker
Famous footballers are interested in online poker. The Spanish footballer Gerard Pique from Barcelona
prefers to play this game to unwind from his main occupation. This simple fun activity grew into real passion,
and in 2011 the footballer won EUR 50,000. Experts noted Gerard’s remarkable intellectual abilities. He
featured in WSOP and European Poker Tour, where he managed to win EUR 353,000.
Brazilian footballer Neymar is also an online poker fan. He participated in offline tournaments, but his
maximum win yet is EUR 18,000. The sportsman hones his gambling skills in poker. According to him, after
quitting football he plans to study this gambling game professionally.
Jan Sørensen from the Danish club Odense reached high results in online poker. His achievements include
two world tournament bracelets and a total sum of USD 2 million of winnings. Teddy Sheringham, an English
player, has played poker professionally for several years – his winnings during this time reached USD
127 thousand.
Such Italian footballers as Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Francesco Totti and others have not won special
trophies, but are known for their enthusiasm for poker. The notorious Christian Vieri even swapped the
football pitch for a poker table. However, he hasn’t managed to reach success in professional poker. The
French footballer Vikash Dhorasoo, having aptitude for mathematics, participated in many battles behind the
card table. His winning, although modest – from USD 3 to 15 thousand, were frequent. Dhorasoo managed
to scoop USD 400,000, but the sportsman was unable to cope with his gambling excitement and lost a
considerable sum of money. After that he quit the career of a poker player.
Casino ambassadors
Among footballers, casino ambassadors are known: the famous Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon
represents the PokerStars brand. The footballer is a member of a poker team, participates in charitable
tournaments. He mostly plays online poker and has not reached a high level of mastery yet.
Among other famous footballers who like to enjoy themselves in online casinos are Casimiro, Marcelo (Real
Madrid players), Luis Suarez, Cristiano Ronaldo. They don’t play world-class poker, preferring pleasant
pastime in online poker rooms to huge wins.
