Sam Burgess gambled $25,000 a week

In a police statement, Phoebe Burgess wrote her spending started to be more closely monitored and criticised as her husband’s gambling picked up.

South Sydney Rabbitohs former star Sam Burgess at Redfern Oval.

Rugby league star Sam Burgess paid up to $25,000 a week into betting apps in a gambling habit that equated to $1m a year.

At the height of his playing prowess in 2017, the South Sydney Rabbitohs star was paying up to $70,000 a day into betting ­accounts including Sportsbet, Neds, TAB, Crownbet, Beteasy, Bet365 and William Hill.

Burgess had plenty of wins, with credits exceeding $900,000 during the same one-year period. In a three-day period in June 2017 he paid $66,000 into betting ­accounts and recouped $45,000.

Burgess, 31, yesterday stood down from his roles as a Souths ­development coach and FoxSports commentator after explosive revelations in The Australian about a Souths cover-up of alleged drug use and domestic violence.

Burgess has denied any wrongdoing.

Before the revelations, Burgess was building a reputation as a mentor for up-and-coming Souths players and was being championed by veteran coach Wayne Bennett for a future coaching career.

Burgess is a co-owner of several racehorses and is known in football circles as a punter who sometimes retreats to casino gaming floors to find anonymity.

The Australian’s investigation has revealed that while Burgess plunged thousands of dollars on horses and other gaming ventures, his former wife Phoebe Burgess claims in a statement to police he exercised financial control over her.

In her statement to police Phoebe Burgess revealed Burgess required her to sign a non-disclosure agreement about his gambling.

In the statement, provided as part of an apprehended violence order against Burgess taken by police for the protection of his ­father-in-law Mitch Hooke, Phoebe Burgess wrote her spending on the family started to be more closely monitored and criticised as his gambling picked up.

“Whenever we discussed money, I felt tension. Sam would become enraged easily,” she wrote.

“He would snap if I suggested we go through our accounts and my own expenditure and create a budget as any and all financial issues were consistently directed toward me, my spending, my shopping, my overly expensive and greedy, spoilt tastes.”

On social media Phoebe Burgess has been trolled by strangers accusing her of being a “gold-digger”.

But social media experts have estimated her likely income as over $500,000 a year, with several high-profile brand ambassadorships and a large Instagram following.

She wrote in the statement to police she could not understand where their money was going.

“Due to the fact Sam would not share a portion of his income with myself or the family, I could not see where half of it was going,” Mrs Burgess wrote.