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I believe these events took place long before Burgess was manager. So he can't use that as an excuse.

sussexdiamond wrote: Wed May 17, 2023 6:52 pm I believe these events took place long before Burgess was manager. So he can't use that as an excuse.

Correct, he was sacked because he couldn't fulfil the number one need for managing at this level - know players who will come and play for you.

Has deleted his tweet now, but still has replies from none other than Mitch Austin.

Bad judgment on his part for putting that tweet out. Never been one to engage his brain before speaking.

Missed the tweet before it was deleted but do know there were rumours of betting from players who were close with Ivan Toney

Given how easy it is to get a new number - sim cards are free and some have data already on them.
Given how east it is to get a new email address - which if you need to verify it you can use a free sim.
Given how you can buy second hand smart phones so easily and cheap without needing to prove your identity.

It would be easy for a footballer to ask a trusty friend if he can use their betting account or sign up for one in their name, if it's a not so well known footballer he could ask a family member if he could use their account, he could even offer to pay the friend or family member and give them a share of his profits.

Practically everybody knows the above, you can threaten them with a lifetime ban but doing something like the above could be discreet and if you don't have loose lips you probably would never get caught, so for these reasons, I believe there will always be gambling in sports, at lower league level footballers need the money so I can see how it appeals to them, at the higher level players don't need the money but they have still done it.

I know some people think the FA should ban gambling companies sponsoring teams but I don't think seeing the logo on a shirt is what gets a footballer into betting because the logo doesn't have a list of odds, it's more likely the constant ad's online, on TV and on the radio etc.

'You're listening to Talk Sport - here's the latest odds - by the way you can get a free bet blah - be gamble aware blah' and you hear that regularly during match commentaries.

Apart from betting companies flagging up the odd irregular betting pattern, I would bet there are a lot of non league players doing it.