Wayne Rooney, gambling, and online casinos

While Wayne Rooney has had an amazing career, coming from a young and talented kid to be the manager of Derby County, he did have his lows during his yearsa at Manchester United. Notably, the football star had a lot of problems with gambling once his career ended.

If you want to learn more about how Rooney got into and got out of his gambling addiction, hop on this short read. You’ll also learn more about how to escape the pitfalls that cost the star so much and a bit more about CasinoHEX Australia and what it does for gamblers.

Wayne’s career

Wayne Rooney is a football legend in both his home country of the United Kingdom and worldwide. He was named the youngest person to score a hat-trick in a Champions League game and the youngest player to get a 20 million pounds contract when he transferred from his first team, Everton, to Manchester United.

Rooney who was only 18 at the time he transferred to Manchester United in 2004 and started setting records, he was being paid around 50 thousand pounds per week — more than any other 18 year old in the UK could have dreamt of. That not only helped him build up his net worth, but also opened him up to temptations.

As Wayne himself later commented on the issue, he was only a young lad at the time and he came into the sort of money he never knew what to do with. This is when his infatuation with the blackjack tables probably started.

Gambling problems

As with many young people who come into a lot of money, Rooney started spending it rather recklessly. He started gambling at blackjack tables in London, and apparently was enamoured with his initial success. He later commented at the time he was winning so much he thought that was effectively “free money.” As Rooney learnt rather soon, the more he played the more he ended up losing.

Soon enough, this turned from hobby to an addiction as Wayne started chasing the losses and trying to bet even more in an effort to regain the money lost. In the end, it turned out to be a losing strategy and a couple of years back, Wayne was reported to have lost half a million pounds in one night while playing in one of the high-end London casinos. That casino was later fined 13 million for failing to protect its VIP players, so it’s safe to assume Rooney wasn’t the only one to have lost outrageous sums while betting there.

Luckily, his net worth didn’t come crashing down as it is the case with some other celebrities who love gambling. He was able to stop gambling recklessly without going into financial ruin. The last time he was spotted in a casino, he reportedly lost only 200 quid before leaving. As the football star puts it himself, his wife Coleen played a crucial role in his reformed behavior.

Family solutions

One of the key factors that helped Wayne stop behaving recklessly and start treating his gambling hobby seriously was his wife Coleen. She is reported to have a kind heart but a strict attitude to her family’s failings. Once Wayne started having trouble with gambling, she reportedly tried to reform him and failed repeatedly. It was probably around the time that Rooney lost half a million in a span of a single night that she put her foot down and the man seems to have dropped gambling that big ever since.

This is actually representative of a typical reformed gambler story as family is often a very important factor in them getting the grip on the sad reality their habit has become.

Online casinos

Despite having dropped gambling, at least as a high-stake player, Rooney’s life is still tied rather closely to the world of casinos. The thing is the newest sponsor of the team former player turned manager now presides over, and one to be featured on the jerseys, is a gambling website. 32Red is a UK-based gambling and betting website that has both sports betting and regular casino slots as entertainment options on the site. The sponsorship went as far as giving Rooney the number 32 in the Derby County team to promote the site. Their logos are now proudly displayed on D.C. jerseys as Rooney retires from playing and started training the team.

Ethical concerns aside, we hope that the new sponsor does not prompt Rooney to return to wasting too much money on spinning slots and betting on red in roulette.

How to keep your temper in check

Now, if Wayne’s story resonates with you, here are some reminders for you on how to keep your gambling in check and not end up in a financially dire place after a night of reckless gambling.

The most important thing is to not gamble when you’re frustrated or want to cool off by winning a few quid. This is reportedly what Wayne himself did quite a lot — engaging in a night of gambling and drinking after the team lost. This is absolutely the worst thing you can do as once you start losing, you won’t be able to leave the table or the website in an effort to win back that money and feel good for once.

Another important thing you should do if you feel like you can’t control yourself once you start having a bad time with gambling is to cap your daily losses at a certain sum. What that means is take exactly the amount you want to spend with you and not spend a penny over that. If the man worth 170 million pounds can waste 200 quid and call it a day, you can too.

The last point is to stay close to your family and friends. When you become sad and bitter after losing, they’re the ones to point out to you that you’re doing something wrong with your life as was the case with Wayne.

If you’re playing in online casinos, there’s also the issue of quality. While it’s highly unlikely that a land-based casino that is tightly regulated walks away with your money, a random online website can afford to do that without caring too much about their reputation. This is why websites like CasinoHEX are out there writing reviews on casino sites and bringing to light the ones with stellar reputation and good record of paying their players fairly.