The origin of addiction in one of the most well-known cases in American football history
Gambling addiction is not a recent development; it seems to have emerged alongside the advent of gambling, dating back hundreds or even thousands of years. Nowadays, although in numerous countries individuals have the freedom to download parimatch casino app or engage in 1xbet gambling activities, many nations still legally forbid it.
The active spread of ludomania in Western society has been discussed for decades, and the US sports world is known for many such examples.
One of them was the story of American soccer player Arthur Schlichter, who was released from prison in 2020 for stealing several million dollars to fund his betting addiction.
Remarkably, the story of his gambling addiction began much earlier, back in the early 80s while attending Ohio State University (Columbus) and later playing on the Baltimore Colts team, which moved to Indianapolis back in the 80s and adopted the name of the new city.
The onset of the illness
According to Schlichter himself and people around him, the addiction to betting began in high school when the teenager visited Scioto Downs racetrack near Columbus. Control of compliance with the law in those days was not so strict and the fact of the young player’s minority no one paid attention.
The hobby quickly enough grew into an addiction, so that in his college years the player visited the racetrack and made other bets. Already by the first year of college, he lost a total of several thousand dollars.
There is information that in those days, the company was his university coach Earl Bruce. However, the latter denies everything. Particularly since his potential ludomania ultimately did not hinder him from developing a successful career, advancing beyond university level and managing teams in the IFL and AFL leagues.
Career ruin and further problems
It is worth noting that Schlichter’s career with the Colts did not go well from the beginning, and the player did not often get into the main squad. Moreover, in the first year after a successful draft, he spent all his 350000 dollars on bets for the contract. Well, at the end of the famous strike in the NFL in 1982, the amount of his debt grew to an incredible 700000 dollars.
In 1983, the player began to cooperate with the FBI, because he was afraid that bookmakers would ruin his career. Two bookmakers from Columbus even managed to arrest based on the testimony of the soccer player. However, this did not help and Schlichter was disqualified. Moreover, he became the first punished in this way punished by the NFL player in twenty years.
In the mid-80s, the Colts decided to completely get rid of the problem player, and in the future Schlichter continued his career in the Buffalo Bills, a number of teams in lower leagues and even played in Canada. And all this time the man suffered from uncontrollable gambling addiction, cheating people (including friends) for hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars.
One of such deceptions turned out to be fatal, when in 2011 the man was accused of fraud and sentenced to 10 years in prison. At the moment the term has already come to an end, but it is not known whether the former NFL player was able to finally overcome ludomania.
