Australia is home to some of the world’s most renowned celebrities and public figures, many of whom enjoy a good flutter on their favorite games.
On the list created by the Australian website Casinoshub, we find the names of sports stars, actors, and musicians such as Russell Crowe and Jimmy Barnes. These famous faces have embraced the thrill of gambling and are often seen enjoying a game or two at some of the country’s top casinos.
Read on to find out more about some of the rich and famous mentioned on Casinoshub’s list of personalities who love to play the odds in Australia.
Mark Bosnich
Mark Bosnich, the former Australian professional football player, was known to have a burning passion not just for football but also for gambling. Throughout his career, he was known to be an avid gambler, often risking large amounts of money on horse racing and placing bets on various sports events. After retiring from professional soccer, however, he turned to gambling as his primary source of income. He even admitted on several occasions that he would bet thousands of dollars on a single game or race. Unfortunately, his love for gambling led him into deep debt and eventually caused him to lose everything he had built up during his career in football. Despite numerous warnings from friends and family members about his reckless behavior when it comes to gambling, Bosnich simply couldn’t control himself and ultimately paid the price for it.
Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe has long been known for his love of gambling, with the actor often seen in casinos around the world. His passion for betting on sports and playing blackjack have been well documented over the years, with Crowe reportedly having spent thousands of dollars on wagers during his time in Las Vegas. He also owns a racehorse called “The Judge,” which he bought for £140,000 back in 2003. In addition to his gambling activities, Crowe is also an avid poker player and enjoys playing Texas Hold ’em with friends and family members. The actor’s love of gambling has become so well-known that he even wrote a song about it titled “Gambling Man.” The track appears on his album My Hand, My Heart and features lyrics such as: “I’m a gambling man/I’m always ready to take a chance/And I’ll never walk away from a game.”
Jimmy Barnes
Jimmy Barnes, an Australian musician and composer, has a longstanding fondness for the gambling industry. Throughout his career, he has had a reputation for often visiting casinos in both Australia and the United States. He’s a regular at these establishments, and in 2015 he even ran a poker tournament in Sin City. Barnes’s addiction to gambling was explored in the documentary Jimmy Barnes: Working Class Boy. Barnes, though, has just come to terms with the gravity of his problem and has started making concerted efforts to get help. Barnes continues to love gambling, but now he does it responsibly and without letting his addiction control his life.
Andrew Daddo
Australian actor and TV host Andrew Daddo is famous for his penchant for the gaming tables. He’s a frequent at casinos all around the globe and has competed in a number of poker events. Daddo’s interests in gambling extend to the table games of blackjack and baccarat. Gambling with an Edge: A High Roller’s Guide to Life on the Edge is a book he authored about his time as a professional gambler. Daddo thinks that a little bit of gambling may be a lot of fun. He doesn’t recommend making gambling your full-time career, but he does believe it can be a lot of fun as a diversion or opportunity to meet new people sometimes.
Shane Warne
The former Australian cricketer, Shane Warne was legendary for his prowess and dominance on the pitch. Outside of cricket, though, he was well-known for his penchant for risk-taking. Warne, who tragically passed away in 2022, was connected to multiple high-stakes gambling sessions throughout his life, including one in which he allegedly lost more than $1 million in a single night. The stakes became so high that purchased an entire Las Vegas casino for the sole purpose of establishing his own personal gambling empire. It is unknown how much money Warne loses annually due to gambling, although it is believed to be substantial. Shane Warne was a true legend on and off the field, and he is missed not only by Australians but by the entire cricket world.
