29 years, 992 bets: a non-league football player nabbed
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21 Oct 2025 •
Reading time: 3 minutes The case in question concerns an English semi-professional player who, after accumulating almost a thousand bets over ten years, has been fined what is now the heaviest fine ever imposed on a non-league player.
The player, his methods and the revelation
James Byrne, a 29-year-old midfielder who plays for Portishead Town, a vide-8 (Step 4) club in the English system, was at the centre of a Football Association (FA) investigation for placing 992 bets on football matches between the beginning of 2015 and the end of 2024.
Paradoxically, his activity was not clandestine: Byrne, who holds a master’s degree from the University of Bristol and works as a sports data consultant, had developed his own method of predicting results. Thanks to this system, he accumulated nearly £50,000 in winnings.
The revelation of his actions came when the FA was able to trace all bets and winnings over this period, establishing that he had breached the rules prohibiting players at the relevant levels from betting on matches to which they were potentially affiliated (even indirectly).
The record fine
The outcome of the investigation led to an unprecedented penalty: a fine of £48,388 imposed on James Byrne. This sum represents almost the entirety of his winnings, a bit like asking him to give back what he had won.
It’s worth noting that, while £48,000 may seem modest compared to a Premier League star, for a Step 4 player this fine is equivalent to more than 500 times his average weekly wage.
Byrne has been told that, even with a payment plan proposed by the FA, he would need to play another ten years at his current level to repay the fine.
Why this penalty? The FA points out that players and staff playing in the top four tiers (in this case Step 4) are not allowed to bet on football matches. The aim is to preserve sporting integrity, avoid conflicts of interest and limit the risk of manipulation or corruption.
Byrne’s commitment did not concern his club’s matches or those in which he was directly involved, but the rule remains strict since it covers any football match in England for a player in his category. Byrne himself admitted that he could have played at a lower level (Tier 9) and then the bets would not have been illegal.
What has become of the player and what does the future hold for integrity?
Following the sanction, Byrne said he had stopped betting. He is cooperating fully with the FA and has so far not received any ground suspensions, which may come as a surprise. It would appear that the FA has opted for a mainly financial model in this case, which could be explained by the player’s sporting level and the absence of any obvious evidence of manipulation.
However, the case has consequences in terms of image: a player playing at the lower levels of English football sends out a strong signal to the whole pyramid. It also reinforces the need for clubs at all levels to inform their players and staff about the rules on betting and integrity.
Above all, the case opens the discussion on education around betting and addiction. The fact that a semi-professional gambler with an advanced degree ended up in this spiral is a reminder that access to information and competence do not always protect against vulnerability to gambling. Punishment is certainly a message, but support, prevention and detection remain essential.