Former Rangers Player Suspended for Gambling Says He Only Wanted to Use Betting Shop Toilet

(AsiaGameHub) –   Kevin Thomson, a former Rangers footballer, has disclosed that he was suspended for gambling during his tenure as a coach at the club. However, he asserts that he didn’t enter the betting shop to place a wager—he only needed to use the restroom.

Thomson made 71 appearances for Rangers between 2007 and 2010. After retiring as a player in 2016, he took on a role as a youth coach at the club, and it was during this period that he was suspended for violating betting regulations.

He shared details of the internal suspension in a conversation with Charlie Mulgrew, a former player for rival team Celtic, on The Breakdown podcast earlier this week.

“I was only going in for the toilet,” Thomson claimed. “I was that miserable, I didn’t want to put a bet on. I just wanted the toilet.”

Young Players Encouraged the Bet

Still, the ex-Scotland international did place a football bet. He states that the under-14 youth players he coached prompted him to make the wager.

“The lads were chatting about coupons (parlays) and all that,” Thomson said. “I wasn’t into coupons; I preferred horse racing and never really cared much for football betting. And since the boys were asking: do you fancy this team? You fancy that team? It planted a bit of a seed.”

Needing to use the toilet urgently, Thomson got off the team bus on the way back from a match in Aberdeen, northern Scotland. The bus stopped near a William Hill betting shop—though such venues are becoming rarer in the UK as the company closes locations due to higher taxes.

But the toilet door was locked. To get the key, Thomson told the shop assistant he planned to place a bet. After using the restroom, he wagered £20 (about $27) on a four-team parlay.

CCTV Footage Catches the Incident

The bet was successful, but instead of collecting the winnings himself, Thomson asked a colleague to go to the William Hill shop.

“So he went in and collected my winnings on my behalf, which now looks suspicious,” Thomson said. “There was no suspicion in it.”

However, club management was notified of the incident after CCTV cameras identified the Rangers coach.

UK Rules Strictly Prohibit Players and Staff From Betting

UK betting regulations ban players and coaching staff from placing any wagers on football.

Several other players have faced penalties for gambling offenses, including an English player who received a five-month ban last year.

Thomson received a lighter punishment because the matter was handled internally; he said he was given a two-match suspended ban. He left Rangers in 2021 and now runs his own football school, the Kevin Thomson Academy.