I blew thousands in gambling Hell, admits Blackburn midfielder David Bentley

David Bentley last night confessed to a gambling addiction which cost him tens of thousands of pounds.

The 23-year-old Blackburn and England midfielder made up to 100 bets a day on horses, greyhounds and online poker.

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Bentley's problem was only brought under control when his girlfriend warned him that he was throwing away his career.

Speaking to Rebecca Lowe on Setanta Sports' Football Matters show last night, he admitted: "I was betting on anything. It starts off with pounds, then it's a hundred, then it's thousands. You start off wanting to win £100 and then it's £100,000."

Incredibly, Bentley began his gambling career as a youth team player at Arsenal. He said: "I was 14 when I first went into a betting shop. I used to go with a few of my mates at first and with our dads as well. It was when I started earning more that I started to get really heavily into it. I was addicted to everything — horses, dogs, online poker and the American sports.

"I would wake up in the morning and the first thing I would think about would be to have a bet rather than play football. All I wanted was to have a bet."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had no idea that the talented midfielder was hooked and his girlfriend, along with his excellent agent Robert Segal, helped him conquer his demons.

Bentley added: "You get addicted to the whole thing. Picking a winner, hoping to have a winner and placing a bet. It started out as a day at the races and it got out of hand. I sat down with my girlfriend to talk about it and she said I had to stop. It was the hardest thing ever.

"I am over it now. I have been to watch the horse-racing and to the dogs with my family and it is still a good night out, a good day out, and I can have one bet, then that's it."