Parents whose footballer son killed himself after getting hooked on gambling and racking up £55k debt slam FA’s deal with betting giants
- Lewis Keogh, 34, took his own life after getting £55,000 in debt from gambling
- His father Peter, 72, said the FA’s tie-up with betting firms was ‘shameless’
- The deal allows fans to watch FA Cup games on gambling sites if they place a bet
Lewis Keogh, 34, took his own life in 2013 after secretly getting about £55,000 in debt from online gambling
The parents of an amateur footballer who killed himself over online gambling debts yesterday attacked the FA’s controversial bet-to-view deal which they said ‘beggars belief’.
Peter Keogh said the tie-up with betting firms that allowed fans to watch FA Cup games on gambling sites and apps – if they placed a bet or created an account – was ‘shameless.’
The Daily Mail highlighted the deal last week as part of our Stop The Gambling Predators campaign, which is demanding greater protection for viewers and gamblers alike.
The news prompted an outcry from politicians and campaigners.
Mr Keogh, 72, and his wife Sadie, 73, are involved with the Gambling with Lives group, set up by family and friends of those who committed suicide, to raise awareness of the dangers of gambling addiction.
Their son Lewis was aged 34 when he took his own life in 2013 after secretly getting about £55,000 in debt from online gambling.
Speaking about the FA’s deal with betting firms, Mr Keogh said: ‘My wife and I were absolutely appalled. It just beggars belief.
Peter Keogh, 72, and his wife Sadie, 73, attacked the FA’s controversial bet-to-view deal which they said ‘beggars belief’
‘The idea of having to open an online account with Bet365 and others to watch your favourite football team, I really don’t know where our society is going for the FA to allow someone to negotiate that deal with anyone.’
Their son Lewis was a facilities manager who lived in Leeds and played football for the amateur side Headingley AFC.
Neither his family nor his team-mates or friends had any idea of the turmoil he was in and the ‘double life’ he was leading.
The club now carry the Gambling with Lives logo on their shirts and hold a memorial match in Lewis’s honour each year.
Mr and Mrs Keogh, from Enniskillen in Northern Ireland, said they have since discovered Lewis ran up huge debts mainly from playing online poker, but also did bet on football.
The Daily Mail highlighted the deal last week as part of our Stop The Gambling Predators campaign, which is demanding greater protection for viewers and gamblers alike (featured on Football focus)
His parents were appalled to discover about ‘half a dozen banks’ had effectively fuelled his addiction by lending him thousands of pounds.
Mrs Keogh said: ‘I always say the only people who knew he was a gambling addict was himself and the banks.’
In the wake of the backlash over the FA deal, seven gambling companies which bought the rights for £750million through the sporting rights agency IMG offered to give up their exclusivity.
And many of the matches will now be streamed for free. But Mr and Mrs Keogh believe a lot more must be done within the industry.
Half of Premiership clubs have a gambling company on their shirt and this statistic was condemned by the Keoghs as ‘terrible.’
Mr Keogh said: ‘We took a major decision as a country to stop advertising cigarettes, this is a similar killer.’
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123, visit a local Samaritans branch or see www.samaritans.org for details