Ex-Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley tried to save the career of a troubled young striker by banning him from casinos. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
Nile Ranger has revealed that Mike Ashley banned him from casinos after the former Newcastle United striker gambled £32,000 ($40,828) in the space of just three months.
help curb one of his players’ rampant gambling addictions
Newcastle-based ChronicleLive has revealed the rare case of an owner of an English Premier League (EPL) franchise intervening to try help curb one of his players’ rampant gambling addictions. On Wednesday, the regional news website cited ex Newcastle United striker Nile Ranger who stated former Magpies owner Mike Ashley “put me in the room and banned me from all casinos.”
While a relatively unknown player outside of the Northeast, Ranger was once hailed as Newcastle’s future striker. Despite handing the 17-year-old prospect a 3.5-year deal in 2009, Ranger only made 62 appearances for the Magpies in a short-lived career blighted by the Londoner’s disciplinary issues.
The misfiring striker was brought to ex-Sports Direct CEO Ashley’s attention when he gambled away £32,000 in three months. “Before I got paid, I would gamble all my wages,” he explained. “I would gamble everything before. It was out of control. I was doing dumb things. I knew I had a big contract.”
Ranger told the media his mother phoned to tell him he’d spent £32,000, not spent over his lifetime as the striker first thought, but in just three months. “That hit me like a train,” he said. “That’s when it hit me that oh my God, I’m actually going crazy with it.”
Ranger added that Ashley and former United Managing Director Derek Llambias sat him down in a room and banned him from all casinos.
