Chris Wood handed two-month suspended ban for placing bets on cricket

Wood, 30, has spoken openly about his battle with gambling addiction and how he has worked to overcome his struggles. He placed his last bet two years ago and has started to work with EPIC Risk Management, a gambling harm minimisation consultancy

Hampshire bowler Chris Wood has been handed a two-month suspended ban after admitting to charges of placing nine bets on cricket matches in 2011 and 2016, a period during which he struggled with a gambling addiction.

Left-arm seamer Wood accepted responsibility immediately when contacted by the ECB’s anti-corruption unit and fully cooperated with the subsequent investigation.

Wood, 30, has spoken openly and at length about his battle with gambling addiction and how he has worked to overcome his struggles.

He placed his last bet two years ago, now attends Gamblers Anonymous meetings and, like many other athletes, has felt indebted to the Sporting Chance charity set up by former footballer Tony Adams.

He has also started to work with EPIC Risk Management, a leading independent gambling harm minimisation consultancy, to educate young people on the dangers he encountered.

The sanction agreed upon by Wood and the ECB, which was then ratified by Cricket Discipline Commission chair Tim O’Gorman, took into account these mitigating factors. Likewise, it was taken into consideration that the bets did not affect – nor have the potential to affect – the result of the relevant matches and that he did not play in those games.

^{Wood has been given a two-month suspended ban}

“I hate [gambling] now because it absolutely ruined my life for a period of time,” Wood told The Cricketer in May. “It made me someone who I wasn’t. Everyone will vouch for this: I’m quite a friendly, fun-loving guy. But when the addiction was in control, I wasn’t a lot of those things a lot of the time.

“I just think it’s wrong, if I’m totally honest. It brainwashes people. Just talking from a sportsman’s perspective now and the competitive nature and the ego we have within cricket, it just transfers completely over to gambling.

“You think you can win it like you do in cricket games or certain situations. You just become very involved in it. It is so identifiable with sport and the buzz that sport gives you, match-winning situations – it’s that same kind of feeling. Me bowling the last over in a T20 – the feelings, emotions and anxiety around that is exactly the same feeling as when I gambled.

“I understand people’s minds are wired up completely differently and other people, when they gamble, won’t get that association that I did. But there are a lot of people who do. I’ve spoken to people who aren’t gambling addicts – as far as I’m aware – and they do get those same feelings and emotions. It was my best friend for a long time.”

In a PCA statement that was released to coincide with the announcement of the suspended ban, director of development and welfare Ian Thomas said: “The integrity of professional cricket is vital for everyone within the game and today’s outcome shows how seriously this is taken.

“Any breach of the anti-corruption code needs to be investigated with appropriate sanctions for perpetrators and the PCA has been involved in the process.

“The PCA has been continually working with Chris on his gambling addiction and while Chris and the PCA are extremely disappointed in these indiscretions, we hope this can provide a reminder that professional cricketers are forbidden to bet on any aspect of cricket, for any amount of money.

The light at the end of the tunnel: Chris Wood's story of gambling addiction and recovery

“The charge relates to historical bets when Chris’ gambling disease was at its height and we are thankful for the ECB understanding the mitigating factors in his individual situation.

“The PCA and ECB take anti-corruption very seriously and every single player has to complete mandatory training in this area before they are registered to play professional cricket in England and Wales.

“We do not want today’s news to stop players coming forward and reaching out for support. All PCA members receive no judgment from any issue they face and like Chris, will receive individual guidance to heal them.”

Wood added: “I want to apologise for the mistakes I made in 2011 and 2016, it is something I deeply regret. While I played no part in any of the games that I placed bets on, I totally understand the rules that I am not permitted to bet on cricket, under any circumstance.

“The code of conduct is very clear, and the education provided from the PCA and ECB does a great job in protecting the integrity of the game.

“My gambling addiction had complete control over my life to the extent I would do something I never thought I would in placing a bet on a game of cricket. I had no regard to the consequences of my actions. I want to add I had no direct involvement in any game or did I try and influence the outcome of any match.

^{Wood signed a new contract with Hampshire earlier this month}

“Over the past two years through the support of the PCA, Professional Cricketers’ Trust and Sporting Chance I have turned my life around and I have not gambled for over two years. I revealed this disease I am battling earlier this year with the aim to help others, not just in cricket but in any sport or walk of life and I hope my journey can help others reach out for support.

“I recently started working with EPIC Risk Management which is the next stage of my recovery to provide a real-life example to young people on the dangers of gambling and I hope this is something that will make a difference so people do not face the same challenges I have done earlier in my life.”

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