An Irish League footballer has opened up on his battle with gambling which cost him his car, his house and led to the breakdown of his marriage.
Aaron Hogg has played in Northern Ireland's top leagues for over two decades for the likes of Carrick Rangers, Glentoran and Portadown and during that time an addiction to gambling grew as he moved from wagering on horse racing and sports bets to online casino-style games.
The 37-year-old, who currently plays for Dundela in the NIFL Championship, has rebuilt his life and has not gambled in more than six years.
Belfast Live reported earlier this week that PFA NI General Manager, Michael Carvill, said there was "an epidemic" of gambling amongst footballers in the Irish League and Hogg has joined him in encouraging those struggling with addiction to come forward and get help.
"It got really bad at one point,” he told The Nolan Show. “That's why I thought I would get involved with this and I'd speak out. I've never spoken out publicly before and I thought this was the right time.
"The Irish League is something I've been involved in for 20 years and as a player you didn't really have that support network where I could go when it got really bad for me.
"I thought if I spoke about it, told a bit about my story - if that can help one or two players struggling in the league then that's why.
"I used to get paid monthly and you had it gone by the time you woke up the next day and had to spend the rest of the month in survival mode.
"I'm six-and-a-half years debt-free now and I have my family back and relationships back, but it's a difficult road to start and hard to get that back. This is why I want to get the awareness out.
"Before it gets that bad, if I can share my story that if somebody wants to come and open up to me, I can give advice and point in the right direction."
Hogg feels his problem with gambling escalated after winning £10,000 on online casino-style games after a free bets promotion.
"It started like most people...it might start with a scratchcard or you're into sport so gambling comes hand-in-hand with sport," he explained.
"You start doing £5, £10 and going into the bookies doing your weekend football bet...it wasn't until a betting company gave me £200 to play in the casino.
"I'd never played roulette or blackjack, so when they gave me that money I won a five-figure sum in about 20 minutes.
"That was the biggest win I'd had gambling and in my head it switched to 'why spend 90 minutes watching a football match or hours picking horses when you can hit a button?'. My life revolved around roulette.
"It flipped a switch on me...at the start you don't see the signs and when you're talking that sort of money your bets start to get bigger. That's when it becomes a problem.
"It progresses where you're not just using your own money, you get loans, credit cards, payday loans, borrowing and it's amazing how it takes over your life. It's like a disease that spreads and you can't get away from it."
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