Boxer Dave Allen Asks Family to Manage His Finance as He Fights Gambling Addiction

Heavyweight boxer Dave Allen has found himself in a difficult spot in his life, trying to cope with a debilitating gambling addiction, but he has been making progress for years now, or at least steering clear of the worst of the habit.

Boxer Admits He Is Still Addicted But Hasn’t Gambled in 7 Years

Despite this challenge, however, the professional athlete who has faced the likes of Dillian Whyte and Luis Ortiz has found a way to defeat his invisible opponent – by relinquishing control of his money to his family, he is no longer able to gamble, and so far, – this seems to have been working for him.

Yet not all is that simple. Before he figured out that he could reach out to family for help, he admitted that he had been gambling tens of thousands – if not hundreds of thousands worth of pounds. His sister and his wife have been giving him access to his finances upon request and review, which has worked for Allen.

“If I want any money at all, I have to text my sister and now my missus, I get a card and they send me money,” Allen said. Even though it has been seven years since he last gambled, because of this novel way of managing his bad habit under control, Allen admits that if he had the opportunity to gamble as of this moment, he would probably give in to temptation with unknown consequences.

Much of his previous life decisions were based on his gambling addiction and the need to fuel it. He squared up against Ortiz precisely because he needed money to fuel his habit, for example. He kept losing money and stacking up debt, and would even gamble and lose on the same days he had official fights to attend.

A Young Boy of Eight Placed a Horse Bet – He Became a Lifelong Gambling Addict

While Allen’s story can serve as an example of how people go to extraordinary lengths to get better when they face a serious life problem, his origins are equally important.

In his words, he got started by betting on horses when he was only eight years old, adding credence to the claim that young people are particularly vulnerable to the pernicious effects of gambling, and when gambling at an extremely vulnerable age, the consequences could last a lifetime.

Allen has found a way to manage his issue, but he is far from having recovered.