Top NRL referee Ashley Klein has confirmed he battled through a gambling addiction after a report suggested he had lost up to $400,000.
Klein, who was responding to a report in the SMH, said his gambling was only on horses and greyhounds and that he had never gambled on rugby league.
“Many years ago I developed a problem with gambling on horse racing and greyhound racing,” Klein said in a statement.
“This gambling was not related to any betting on rugby league, and my job as a referee has never been impacted.
“I received help to deal with the problem and closed all associated betting accounts. This was a difficult period of my life but one which did not in any way influence my job as a match official.”
Klein is set to referee State of…