Phil Mickelson says he's not betting on football this season - ESPN

Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson said he isn't wagering on football games this season as he continues to recover from a gambling addiction.

Mickelson's statement on social media on Monday comes about a month after professional gambler Billy Walters alleged in a book that Mickelson bet more than $1 billion on football, basketball and baseball over the past 30 years.

«Most of you will enjoy this football season with moderation while having lots of fun and entertainment,» Mickelson wrote. «The fantasy leagues will provide banter amongst friends and money won or lost betting won't affect you. I won't be betting this year because I crossed the line of moderation and into addiction which isn't any fun at all.

»The money wasn't ever the issue since our financial security has never been threatened, but I was so distracted I wasn't able to be present with the ones I love and caused a lot of harm. This lack of presence has been so hurtful."

Mickelson, 53, said he was told, «You're here but you're not with us,» throughout his gambling addiction.

«It affected those I care about in ways I wasn't aware or could fully understand,» Mickelson wrote. «It's like a hurricane is going on outside and I'm isolated in a shelter oblivious to what was happening. When I came out there was so much damage to clean up that I just wanted to go back inside and not deal with it.»

In the book, «Gambler: Secrets from a Life of Risk,» Walters alleged that Mickelson made 858 wagers of $220,000 and 1,115 bets of $110,000 from 2010 to 2014. Walters estimated that Mickelson lost about $100 million while betting more than $1 billion over the past three decades.

Walters also alleged that Mickelson, a six-time major champion, attempted to place a $400,000