St Mirren boss Jim Goodwin has thrown his support behind Hamilton gaffer Brian Rice after he referred himself to the SFA for breaching betting regulations.
Accies have vowed to stand by their manager and offer any help that 56-year-old former Inverness and Saints number two may need to overcome his addiction.
Goodwin branded gambling is a societal issue, and adds that as long as there is constant advertising as well as sign-up bonuses, it will be almost impossible to eradicate the problem.
He said: “First and foremost, all our sympathies and support goes out to Brian. Fair play to him for coming forward and speaking out in the manner that he has.
"I don't think this is a problem just in sport, I think it's a problem for our society in general.
"Every second advert on the tele is a betting company and all the incentives are there for young men to go and do it now - you don't even have to go into a shop anymore, you can just do it online.
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"It's a very easily accessible thing nowadays and we have to be continuously onto the young players and our sons and our daughters and everybody to make them aware of the risks involved with gambling.
"Unfortunately, Brian has come out and said that he's got an addiction and that's something that he's probably been living with for a hell of a long time.
"I thought his statement today was brilliant and I thought the statement from Hamilton was fantastic as well, the fact they're going to stand by him and give him all the support that he needs.
"I know there's rules there and the SFA has to do what it has to do, but I always feel it seems a bit inappropriate to punish someone severely when they admit to having difficulties.
"Chipper will know there's rules in place that have to be followed but it's important that us as a football family - on behalf of all the managers and everyone else out there in the game - come together to support him.
"If there's anything he needs from this club or any other club then I hope he gets it. There are charities out there willing to help and I think the PFA in Scotland are doing great things as well. They're continually in and around players to make them aware of what can happen if they get caught up in it.
"Best of luck to Chipper and we wish him well."
Elsewhere, the Irishman knows his side face one of the toughest trips in the league tomorrow night as they head to Ibrox in their return to Premiership action following the winter break.
The 38-year-old is well aware that his men won’t have anywhere near the amount of the ball as they enjoyed against Broxburn Athletic in the Scottish Cup on Saturday, but he’s hoping to capitalise on any edginess or nerves on show later on in the game due to the title race.
He continued: “We enjoyed a lot of possession on Saturday and had a lot of chances and corners as we had expected.
"This game will probably be the polar opposite of that. Rangers are a very good side and probably the in-form team in the league at the moment. They finished in the league in very good style before the winter break and they’ll be looking to start again from where they left off.
“We have to go there with a game-plan. We’ve done reasonably well this season in terms of not being turned over too heavily by either of the Old Firm, so we have to hope to put on a similar performance but actually take something from the game.
"We’re not just happy just to go there and take a 1-0 defeat. We want to come away with a positive result and there’s no reason why we can’t.
“It’s huge the pressure both sets of Old Firm players are under right now, particularly at home. It will be a full house with this being their first league game back after the winter break and there’s a level of expectancy now for the Rangers players.
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"Their fans expect them to run Celtic all the way. It’s a two-horse race this season.
"With that comes its own pressures for their players and supporters. We have to make life as difficult as possible for them. If we can go there and stay in the game for the first 10 to 15 minutes then you can usually sense the anxiety setting in.
"When I went there as a player that was what we always spoke about. The supporters get a bit edgy if they don’t score early on and we have to hope that creeps on to the park.”
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