Former Arsenal striker John Hartson admits gambling addiction almost cost him his marriage and children
Wales hero says going to Gambling Anonymous 'saved' him after he ended up treating real cash like 'Monopoly money'
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JOHN HARTSON has opened up on his gambling addiction and revealed it almost cost him his marriage and children.
The former Arsenal striker and Wales hero was spoilt by betting companies and he ended up treating real cash like "Monopoly money".
Ignoring wife Sarah and their kids, he would rush in front of the television to watch a horse race, cricket match or golf tournament he had £5,000 on.
Celtic icon Hartson made millions during a 15-year career but left his lady unable to pay the bills.
Opening up to the Daily Mail, Hartson said: "It’s when you start opening accounts with the betting firms that the roof starts falling in for people, like me, who are addicted gamblers.
"It’s like Monopoly money then, because it’s all on account. You’re not holding the notes in your hand. You’re not seeing it go.
"I had accounts with seven or eight different companies in the end — StanJames, William Hill, Ladbrokes, Sunderlands and others.
"If one account runs down, you can use another. And the accounts mean you can hide what you’re doing very well. You can place a bet while you’re sitting down to dinner with your family or having a conversation with your wife.
"In my case, that’s Sarah — the woman who kept things on the road for us in the most challenging times you could imagine eight years ago.
"I’d been diagnosed with cancer and while I was in hospital, in and out of consciousness after major brain surgery, she was the rock of our little family.
"She was pregnant, she looked after the children, she ran the household and then — despite everything she had done — I came out of hospital and carried on with the gambling.
"This was a man who earned millions. My wife couldn’t pay the bills."
And it is second wife Sarah, who Hartson married in 2009, that he credits with saving him - but only after she walked out.
Hartson, who said he has taken calls from six Premier League managers in the past six months asking him to help a player with gambling problems, added: "It was because of Sarah that I stopped in the end.
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"She’d had enough of my walking in from trips, ignoring her and the girls, going straight to the TV and turning on a cricket match, golf tournament or horse race I had £5,000 on.
"She made a decision to pack her bags and leave me. ‘I won’t put my girls through this,’ she said. I remember those words like it was yesterday.
"So the penny dropped then. I ended up at Gamblers Anonymous and it’s saved me. I’ve found other ways to protect myself, too."
