Footballer reveals bet addiction
Offaly footballer Niall McNamee has revealed he has just undertaken five weeks of counselling to overcome a gambling addiction that has seen him rack up losses of €200,000 and remaining debts of €80,000.  McNamee made the news last year when he was the victim of a hoax twitter account.  County manager Gerry Cooney is a counsellor at the Rutland Centre and has helped McNamee through this personal crisis.  Sport and gambling are closely linked in terms of activity, sponsorship and partnership.  McNamee is not the first, nor is likely to be the last Gaelic games player to admit to a problem but his ‘coming out’ will likely help others to face their own problems.
Irish Swimmer banned from College meets in US
Irish Olympic hopeful Ryan Harrison has been banned from representing his Tennessee College team at Championship meets after a ‘rules violation’.  He is not banned from international meets and there is no accusation that the infringement was related to a banned substance.  The 22 year old from Derry is a multiple Irish record holder and was expected to be part of the Irish Olympic Team in the summer.  It is not yet clear if this ban will preclude him from the Olympics.  He remains in training with his College team.
ITV Extends UK coverage of Tour de France
British broadcaster ITV has extended its deal to broadcast live and highlights coverage of the Tour de France.  It was thought that SKY TV, who sponsor a British team in the sport that includes Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins would look to secure coverage rights.  TG4 covers the race in Ireland and has done so since 2005.
Portuguese ruling ends gambling sponsorship
Betting and gaming company BWin Party has been ordered to cease all sponsorship and activation activity in Portugal following a court ruling.  The company invests an estimated €4 million primarily in soccer sponsorship and is likely to be joined in a forced betting exodus by Betclic who are major sponsors and other companies with lesser involvement.  Britain and Ireland are the only two European countries that have fully liberal laws relating to betting sponsorship though changes to the taxation of online gambling in Ireland may see some changes here in the next twelve months.