BEN AFFLECK - AFFLECK: I AM NOT ADDICTED TO GAMBLING

Superstar actor BEN AFFLECK has slammed suggestions he is gripped by an addiction to gambling - insisting it's merely a harmless hobby.

The JERSEY GIRL hunk, 31, is sick of reading how his love for the poker table was instrumental in ending his engagement to JENNIFER LOPEZ - and wants to set the record straight.

And Ben blames his well-documented problems with alcohol for convincing the world he has an addictive personality.

He explains, "People think that someone who quits drinking is someone prone to being swept up in bad behaviour.

"I don't feel it's a big issue for me. I do like to play poker, I play with friends. I don't play with gigantic amounts of money so it doesn't impact on my life.

"But it becomes written about, and it becomes this story. It was like when I went shopping with Jennifer, everyone was like, 'This is a shopping addiction.' But, y'know, I'm not out there buying vacuum cleaners at 12.30am."