Betting on football is a lucrative market. In the UK in 2023, £9.6 billion was bet on the beautiful game, and many people made a lot of money from it. Not everyone can bet on football, though, and the key people who can’t are footballers.
Sandro Tonali, Ivan Toney, and Daniel Sturridge are linked by more than just being Premier League players, but are also three footballers who have been found guilty of betting on the sport and have faced fines and bans.
Tonali served a 10-month suspension for breaching Italian betting regulations and breaches of the Football Association’s (FA) betting rules in 2023/24. Toney received an eight-month ban from football for breaching the FA’s betting rules in 2023. Sturridge was banned for four months in 2020, also for breaching the betting rules.
So, what is the rule that stops footballers from betting on football? Why are footballers not allowed to bet on football? How do footballers get caught betting? And finally, are footballers allowed to bet on other sports? We take a look below.
What are the rules around betting?
Footballers are not allowed to bet on football matches, for what the FA says is to ‘help protect the integrity and future of football’. The rule does not just apply to footballers but also managers, match officials and club staff, basically anyone who is directly involved in football.
There is a worldwide ban on betting - both directly or indirectly - on any match that takes place in the world. The ban is not just for matches, it also applies to football-related matters like transfers, hiring or sacking managers and team selection.
The person involved in football is not allowed to use or pass on insider information for the purpose of betting. As said, the rules are there to protect the reputation and integrity of football.
Why are footballers not allowed to bet?
Footballers can not bet because they may be able to directly influence an outcome in a match for a bet, or use their knowledge of what is yet to be announced to win bets. Both actions directly compromise the integrity and reputation of football.
The betting rules are in place so that the authorities can stop match fixing and bribes, which are linked to betting.
How do footballers get caught betting?
Footballers are mainly caught by the betting operators and the Gambling Commission, who regulate betting in the UK. The betting markets are monitored for any irregularities that they can see with data and patterns of betting analysed to see if anything unusual takes place.
This is what happened with the Lucas Paqueta betting investigation. Around 60 bets were placed on Pacqueta receiving a yellow card in four Premier League games in 2022 and 2023. The accusations are that Paqueta was getting booked deliberately so that his friends and family could benefit from the bets. Most of those bets can be traced to Paqueta Island, Lucas Paqueta’s birthplace and where his name comes from. The people who monitor betting patterns had noticed this, and the volume of the bets and could draw their conclusions from it.
Are footballers allowed to bet on other sports?
Footballers are, however, allowed to bet on other sports. The Professional Footballers Association (PFA) has outlined this in their rules and regulations that players can gamble on ‘non-football-related betting markets’.
The PFA do warn players to gamble responsibly as studies have shown professional athletes are more likely to develop ‘problem gambling habits’.