Snooker star slapped with five-year ban breaks silence after getting new job

Former star Mark King has bared his soul and discussed a gambling addiction that began when he was just 10 years old. King, 51, is currently serving a five-year suspension for match-fixing, which he described as "c**p" that "I can deal with". The Essex potter was on that match, with the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association confirming his sentence and ordering King to pay £70,000 in costs.

Suspicious betting was reported on his match with Joe Perry at the 2023 Welsh Open. King denied the allegations but an independent disciplinary committee found him guilty. King has opened up for the first time since the ban in an interview with , detailing a gambling addiction that spans decades. "I played in the semi-finals of the 1998 Welsh Open, I lost 6-5, I was in the betting shop all day until 6pm," he shared.

"The first dog race was at 11am and I think I did about a grand. I was not in the best frame of mind. I should have been resting, sleeping, and getting ready for a massive game. I was only 24.

"I had just started getting to that stage where I was doing better in competitions, getting further, and knocking on the top 16. But I just wanted to bet.

"It hurts me to say it but I'd have a row with my wife, just so I could get out and punt. Once I did about £3,000 in the betting shop. I owed a bookmaker and I told him to wait as I had a cheque to come from the German Masters."

King, now a self-described "house-husband", has appealed his suspension and described the situation as "c**p" that "I can deal with". He has taken up a new job labouring in order to pay the bills.

King explained that addiction first stemmed from when he was a budding talent at 10, playing alongside the likes of in Essex.

He said: "From a young age, I used to stay round my nan's house on a Thursday. We played Yahtzee, an old-school game. My nan used to give me a bag of two pences. She would put them in front of me.

"But that's how I started betting and learning that sort of stuff. I used to go to the snooker club in Romford, the club where Steve Davis first started.

"And I was playing on the fruit machines - all day, every day. At that time, fruit machines were 10p a go and the jackpot was £100. I was only ten or 11 years old and I wasn't allowed to play them.

"Once I put in one pound and won £16. I got four bells. I thought, 'Oh my god, I'm rich', and I had to run with it in my pocket to the toilet."

King turned professional in 1991 and believes he would have won more in snooker if not for gambling. He attended Gamblers Anonymous meetings first in 1997 and has not laid a bet for 13 years.

"If I don't go to my weekly GA meetings then I know I'm in trouble," he added. "If I ever have another bet, then my marriage is done. It's gone. My life is brilliant now. It's wicked. I have a lovely family and a couple of lovely dogs."

If you suffer from a gambling problem or suspect somebody you know does, then call the National Gambling Helpline at 0808-8020-133 to talk with an advisor for help and to make gambling safer for you or your loved ones, or visit the following free gambling addiction resources: , ,