BRISTOL, Connecticut (AP) -Charles Barkley estimated that he's lost about $10 million (?8 million) in gambling over the years in an interview on Wednesday.
"My agent has really worked with me to try to get it where I can go and gamble and have fun," Barkley told ESPN. "That's easier said than done. Do I have a gambling problem? Yeah, I do have a gambling problem. But I don't consider it a problem because I can afford to gamble."
Barkley, who is an NBA television analyst, later had a different assessment of his gambling habits.
"It's not a problem," Barkley said on TNT during halftime of the Detroit-Milwaukee game. "If you're a drug addict or an alcoholic, those are problems. I gamble for too much money. As long as I can continue to do it I don't think it's a problem. Do I think it's a bad habit? Yes, I think it's a bad habit. Am I going to continue to do it? Yes, I'm going to continue to do it."
He also added that he never bet on the NBA, and he only bet in casinos.
Barkley said in the ESPN interview he's not concerned about his habit because he has enough money to cover his losses, though he did say he hoped to wager less money.
"When I gamble I should be playing $1,000 a hand instead of $20,000 a hand, because if I played for $1,000 a hand I probably could lose $50,000 to $100,000 a hand instead of millions of dollars," Barkley said. "And I've got to reach a happy medium because I've told all of the people in my life that first and foremost it's my money."
Barkley said the thrill of competition has a lot to do with his urge to wager. "I like to gamble and I'm not going to quit," he said. "I've just got to get it under control."
Barkley, elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame last month, averaged 22.1 points and nearly 12 rebounds in a 16-year career that included stops in Philadelphia, Phoenix and Houston. He was the league's MVP in 1993, and he won gold at the '92 Barcelona Olympics as part of the original U.S. Dream Team.
Recently, golfer John Daly said in his upcoming autobiography that he has lost between $50 million and $60 million (?40 million and ?48 million) during 12 years of heavy gambling, and that it has become a problem that could "flat-out ruin me" if he doesn't bring it under control.
