SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The FA has issued former professional footballer Paul Terry with a £1,000 fine after the West Bromwich Albion employee was found to have breached betting regulations 209 times.
The brother of ex-England international John Terry lost a total sum of £46,916.73 from betting on sport, including 35 wagers placed on competitions his own clubs were involved in. Terry joined Premier League side West Brom in July 2019 to monitor the progress of players loaned out from the club, meaning he is prohibited from placing bets on matches.
“Paul Terry stated in interview that he had received education on betting and had been aware of the rules against betting on football albeit he was unsure that it applied to coaching staff,” the FA’s regulatory commission’s report stated.
“Paul Terry said that he has gambled all his adult life and that he was betting through boredom when he placed the bets on football. He said that he never bets beyond his means.”
He placed five-figure bets on football fixtures, including a £10,000 stake on Manchester United to see off Basel in the Champions League, which ended in defeat for the Premier League team. He also placed a further £10,000 on a friendly between Germany and England, which finished in a goalless draw.
The report continued: “Whereas Paul Terry’s usual stakes were relatively low, ranging from £2 to £200, a number of bets placed, particularly in November 2017, stood out as being extremely high.
“By way of example, over an 18-day period in November 2017, Paul Terry staked £45,600 across 12 bets.”
The ‘disturbingly high-stake bets’ worth up to £63,800.40 alerted one of the operators that the 41-year-old had registered an account with, who in turn alerted the FA in August to his concerning activity. However, Terry insisted he placed bets due to ‘boredom’ and never spent ‘beyond his means’.
