French Rugby Player ‘Ashamed’ After Gambling Away Team Funds & Preventing Title Celebration

Top 14 French rugby player Jerome Bosviel admits to being ashamed of stealing his team’s funds to fuel his gambling addiction. After winning the Pro D2 title, his team, Montauban, could not afford to go on a planned holiday as a result of his theft.

Bosviel had been siphoning off cash from the team’s savings account so that he could gamble during the 2024-25 season. Montauban players hoped to go to Ibiza to celebrate their unexpected promotion in June, but had to cancel when it emerged the funds were gone.

Bosviel came clean at the time of their title win and, having since repaid what he owed to his teammates, he has now given an interview detailing how his addiction spiraled and its adverse effects on him.

He told Rugbyrama, “I wasn’t myself anymore. I made a mistake. I’m ashamed.”

After Montauban sealed the title, he announced the news to his teammates. He stated, “On the Monday after the restart, there was a meeting with the whole squad. I admitted to them for the first time what I had done. At the time, it was obviously a shock, but it was necessary. Some people were and still are angry with me. I am aware that I disappointed them.” 

Bosviel Hid Gambling From Family & Friends

He went on to detail the extent of his gambling problem, which led to stealing from the players’ contribution fund. He said, “I fell into gambling, poker, and PMU.”

Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) is a prominent French betting organization primarily focused on horse racing, but it also offers sports betting and online poker games. There is no suggestion that Bosviel was gambling on rugby matches.

However, he added that his gambling had gotten out of control. “I hid it from everyone close to me,” he said. “I felt ashamed. I’m the eldest of the siblings, I’m a father, I didn’t want to talk about it… When I came to rugby, I didn’t think about it. But once I was outside, I locked myself away in it.”

Sports stars are often forbidden from betting, but this is usually confined to their own sport. Golfer Marco Penge said this week that he had not known that betting on events he was not involved in was prohibited. This resulted in a three-month suspension from the sport, which he claims was a “blessing in disguise.”

While not caught by authorities, Bosviel said revealing his addiction to his teammates helped him recover. French professional rugby players are prohibited from gambling on any rugby matches. If found to be betting on rugby, Bosviel could face disciplinary actions from both World Rugby and the French Rugby Federation.

France Considers Legalizing iGaming

There have been calls to expand the legal gambling options in France further. The government withdrew a proposed amendment to the 2025 budget that would have legalized online casinos.

However, the Online Gaming Association of France (AFJEL) said that this only serves to fuel further growth in the black market. Nicolas Béraud, CEO of betting operator Betclic and President of AFJEL, commented that the “status quo is no longer tenable,” with licensed operators simply handicapped and unable to offer a key product to consumers. 

Opponents argue that legalization will increase the rates of problem gamblers, such as Bosviel. Beraud says that those individuals are already playing online, but they are using unregulated platforms.

He added, “We honestly don’t know if problem gambling rates have gotten worse in recent years, but the four million playing on illegal sites should be brought into a legal setting. There is no one better than online operators at monitoring activity and detecting problem gamblers.”

In Bosviel’s case, he was able to conceal his problem gambling from operators, family, friends, and teammates. He has since paid back all the money he stole and says he has closed all his gambling accounts. He ended his recent interview by declaring, “Now, I only want to do one thing: play rugby.”