Gambling addiction can be crippling to some people who may consider going to great lengths to continue to gamble. While some may consider unlawful activities such as theft, financial crimes or fraud, others may even turn to violent crimes such as robberies. Luckily, that wasn’t the case for one former high-profile soccer player who recently opened up about his gambling addiction, admitting that he even sold his house to place a bet on a horse.

Selling a House for a Bet

That’s the case for Steve Claridge, the former Portsmouth FC legendary player, who, during a recent broadcast, uncovered a secret that not even his partner knew of. While on Under The Cosh podcast, the soccer legend disclosed intricate details regarding his excessive gambling activities that even saw him sell his £260,000 ($336,200) home to place a bet on the Cheltenham Festival in 2000.

Recalling the spring of 2000, Claridge said that a horse called Istabraq arrived from Ireland for the Cheltenham Festival. The soccer legend acknowledged that the same horse had already won the Champions Hurdle on two occasions. In light of this, Claridge wanted to place a bet but said he didn’t have any money.

Thinking of the options he had, the former professional soccer player concluded that he could sell his house in order to get money to bet on the horse. In exchange for the £260,000 ($336,200) he got from the house, Claridge would have won £160,000 ($206,900). During the podcast, the soccer legend admitted he hasn’t told anyone about this, not even his partner.

It was all going well until the day of the race when the legendary soccer player turned on the radio and heard that the horse he had placed a bet on was bleeding from the nose. Panicking, he immediately got into his car and headed to Cheltenham.

The Risky Bet Paid Off

Claridge clearly remembered that he placed an ante-post wager. Such bets stand out with better odds and lead to big payouts but are often placed ahead of opening of the betting markets which means that if a horse doesn’t run, the money bet would be forfeited.

Lucky for him, the horse did run an in fact won the race, bringing Claridge the hefty £160,000 ($206,900) win. Although this was a significant gamble, it paid off, and in the words of the soccer legend, he was able to purchase another four-bed detached house with that money.

Recalling those days, Claridge admitted that at some point, he had a range of houses as every time he won a big bet, he would purchase a house. Still, he recalled a moment that he lost tens of thousands of pounds right before a soccer game, among other cases where he lost big.

As Claridge explained: “I think the thing you have to realize as a gambler, as an addict, is when you get to a level, you can’t go back.” Speaking about the dark side of gambling addiction, he explained that once such a “level” is reached, you cannot simply gamble “for fun.”

Claridge even went on to compare gambling addiction to drug addiction, saying, “if you start on weed and you go to heroin, you don’t ever go back to weed.” Elaborating further, he added, “you either die or get off heroin.” Claridge said that the same principle applies to gambling, and you can either go bankrupt or stop. The soccer legend was lucky enough to be able to shake off the gambling addiction and that has been the case for more than a decade.