- the following is a sponsored article

It is very true to say that anybody can be tempted to pay a visit to a land-based casino and get stuck into playing any type of game of chance, but when a celebrity or a well-known football player decides to visit such a venue, their visit can generate a lot of interest.

You may have visited a casino before, and not even noticed it was being visited by a football player, for due to their excessive wealth the casinos usually usher them straight into the VIP or High Rollers area of the casino which ensures their gaming action is kept well away from prying eyes!

However, having said that there have been some very famous and not so famous footballers that have been spotted in casinos over the years, and in this article, I will be looking at just which players have been spotted, along with letting you know just which games they appear to have a passion for play too. Playing online casino is legal if you are from UK as long as the casino room holds valid license. Have a look at this Casino Sites UK website to find out list of licensed and legal casino rooms.

Kyle Lafferty

One player who has spoken many times of his passion for playing slot machines in his youth and then his passion for playing Roulette as he got older is Kyle Lafferty.

He is a Striker for Hearts and the Northern Ireland national team and he admits that he has often played for some very high stakes when at the Roulette table.

It is also true to say that many players from the UK will have started their gambling careers playing fruit machines and slot games in amusement arcades in their teen years and that is something that Lafferty has mentioned in the past that he did.

Paul Merson

Paul Merson has had and continues to have a very illustrious career in football, he started out as a professional football player, then he moved into team management and now is a football pundit who can be seen on television and heard on radio too.

He did have an overwhelming passion for gambling when in his football playing years and was often spotted in casinos playing high stake card and table games. In fact, many people did spot him out gambling as he never made any attempt to hide his favourite pastime.

Matthew Etherington

Another player that did have a passion for visiting casinos, however not to play the usual game such as Blackjack, Roulette or slot machines but to play high stakes Poker was Matthew Etherington, and he was certainly not afraid to lay the cash down when he thought he had a winning hand.

During his professional career he played for Stoke, Spurs and West Ham, however it became apparent that his skills at gambling were not as good as he thought they were, for he did unfortunately rack up some huge debts at one time and had to be bailed out by one of the teams he played for.

Eiður Guðjohnsen

With huge salaries and plenty of spare time, many footballers can find gambling is a way for them to fill the hours of the day or night when they have nothing else to do.

Another player that did visit a lot of casino was Eiður Guðjohnsen, in fact it was during a spell on the side lines when injured that he would regularly visit such venues. He played for Chelsea and was then transferred to Barcelona where it was reported that he continued to visit casino and gamble at all hours of the day or night.

Paul Gascoigne

Paul Gascoigne or as he is much better known, Gazza, has had something of an unusual life, he did of course play for the England Nation football team amongst others, however he always had a passion for gambling and visiting casinos, and he did and still does enjoy a drink too!

Over the years many of his fans have spotted him in casinos and have also been photographed with him, he remains to be something of a character but is sadly someone who does need to take account of his current lifestyle for his behaviour and alcohol problems have been a concern for many of his former team mates over the years, and many of them have banded together to get him into rehab at one time or another!

Football Manger Has His Stag Do in Vegas

When Bristol Rovers were dramatically promoted from Division Two of the English Football League the exhausted manager Darrell Clarke announced that he needed a well-deserved holiday.

In fact, he combined his well-deserved break away from the team HQ in Bristol with his Stag Do and decided to head over to Las Vegas, and during that Stag Do he and his mates were spotted in a handful of casinos in and around the Las Vegas Strip.

Casino Games Now Themed Around Football Players

Many footballers have also been able to cash in from the casino industry, for many of them now have their faces as the symbols found on the reels of slot machines and fruit machines that come with a football theme.

So, the next time you are playing slot machines in any playing environment, you may just end up playing a slot on which some famous and long retired footballers can be found, so do look out for them for those footballers may just line up on the reels and by doing so you will be thanking them for helping you win what could turn out to be a small fortune!

Football Teams Now Sponsored by Casinos

You will often see many land based, online or even mobile casino sites being advertised on the shirts of a range of different football teams, for such companies are always eager to cash in on the popularity of certainly footballers and the teams they play for by becoming the shirt sponsor.

Whilst some countries of the world are looking at ways to stop such companies sponsoring the kit of football teams, it is big business for the football teams can get paid millions in sponsorship fees by such gambling related companies.