Shane Warne Under Fire for 888 Online Gambling Tweet

Australian 'bad boy' of cricket Shane Warne has once more landed himself in hot water, this time related to his recent tweet on leading social networking website Twitter, in which he wrote 'All my followers get free 8 dollars poker money by signing up here' with a link to the popular 888.com site.

According to reports, at around 5pm Australia time on Sunday the ex-Australia cricketer posted the controversial 888 online gambling tweet which would have appeared on the Twitter feeds of Warne's more than 47,000 followers. However, when news of his 888 tweet spread, Warne came under fire.

As often happens with celebrities and famous sportspeople, Warne was accused of not being the kind of role model to children that he has a so-called responsibility to be. One of the most outspoken critics of the cricketer's 888 online gambling tweet is well-known Australian Reverend, Tim Costello.

Said Costello, an avid anti-online gambling campaigner, 'Sporting heroes carry a responsibility to ensure that the kids who idolize them are protected from things that aren't appropriate for their age. Most of us forget that when you put something out there [on the internet] people under age can also read it.'