Luke Bateman earned $400K a year and gambled away every cent
He was a professional NRL player with the Canberra Raiders at the time, earning $400,000 a year."I was so broke … I couldn't pay for anything. I couldn't buy groceries," Bateman says."My gambling slowly progressed [until] it consumed my life. He showed exceptional athletic ability from a young age, playing his first game of rugby league when he was four."He was probably one of the better players in under-7s at four years old," his stepfather Don Hills says."I remember his PE teacher saying to me, 'We'll be reading about this kid in later life.
- ▪He was a professional NRL player with the Canberra Raiders at the time, earning $400,000 a year."I was so broke … I couldn't pay for anything.
- ▪I couldn't buy groceries," Bateman says."My gambling slowly progressed [until] it consumed my life.
- ▪He showed exceptional athletic ability from a young age, playing his first game of rugby league when he was four."He was probably one of the better players in under-7s at four years old," his stepfather Don Hills says."I remember his PE tea
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Wed, 8 July1230→Fri, 10 July632→Sat, 11 July066→Sat, 11 July1640→Sat, 11 July2812→Sun, 12 July2624→Sun, 12 July1819→Sun, 12 July2218→ NRL Score Centre $250K down, Luke Bateman reveals how he survived a 'shameful' gambling addictionBy Shalailah MedhoraAustralian StoryTopic:GamblingPosted Mon 27 Jul 2026 at 4:42amMon 27 Jul 2026 at 4:42amMon 27 Jul 2026 at 4:42amabc.net.au/news/luke-bateman-survived-gambling-addiction/106896866Link copiedShareShare articleDuring his darkest chapter, things would go missing from Luke Bateman's apartment."My partner would come home from work and be like, 'Where's this?'"I would've taken it to Cash Converters and sold it for cash so I could go and gamble," the former NRL player-turned-fantasy writer tells Australian Story.Luke Bateman says in the elite…
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