Charles Barkley lays bare his remarkable gambling addiction in shocking on-air reveal

NBA legend Charles Barkley has revealed he bets so much that he needs the help of a bookmaker to avoid limits imposed by gambling websites.

The 62-year-old enjoyed a Hall of Fame career in the NBA before becoming one of the most popular analysts in sports.

Back in 2022, he signed a 10-year-contract with TNT that is said to earn him $21million a year and Barkley is not shy about risking some of that money.

He previously confessed his ‘love’ for gambling, claiming he has racked up losses of around $25million.

During a recent stream – the ‘Altcast’ – for the NHL conference finals between the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes, Barkley discussed his gambling habits.

‘FanDuel only lets me bet so much so I got to have a bookie on the side,’ the 62-year-old admitted.

Charles Barkley’s gambling is apparently too much for FanDuel to contain.”FanDuel only lets me bet so much so I gotta have a bookie on the side.” pic.twitter.com/FTLLpX2odG

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 23, 2025

Charles Barkley has revealed that he works with a bookmaker to avoid gambling limits

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His comments prompted co-host Paul Bissonnette, a Canadian former NHL star, to joke: ‘You’re trying to get kicked out of this stream!’

Last year, Barkley said he used to visit Las Vegas and play $25,000 a hand in the hope of winning $1million in a night. It’s claimed he once ended $5mllion up.

‘There’s probably been seven times that I won a million dollars,’ he told Shannon Sharpe’s ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast.

‘But there’s probably been 25 times I’ve lost a million.’

Barkley previously quit gambling after his habit got ‘out of hand’.

‘I had to change my mentality because you can never break the casino, (but) they can break your a**,’ he said.

‘I got such elation (by winning), but then when I would lose a million, I was so depressed … no matter how good it feels winning, when you lose, it just f***ing sucks.’

Back in 2008, Barkley admitted that he owed a $400,000 gambling debt to a Las Vegas Strip casino. He vowed to repay it after being threatened with criminal charges.