Most individuals recognize the dangers of problem gambling. It may be a very costly form of entertainment to play pokie machines, place bets, and visit casinos. And when gamblers lose more than they can afford, the repercussions for the person playing and their family can be catastrophic.
However, gambling products are only harmful when people consume an excess of them. Gambling is like hard liquor: generally, occasional use is safe. So just like the two-drink limit for alcohol, setting “responsible gambling rules could minimize the risk of overuse. Gambling disorders are often associated with very severe damage, making them a genuine public concern. For this reason, we seek to understand why athletes support responsible gambling politics.
Supporters of GamStop
To solve the issue of problem Gambling, GamStop was established in the UK. GAMSTOP is an independent program that enables customers to opt-out of online gaming for a span of six months, one year, or five years. Bettors aren’t able to access regulated sports betting sites except online bookies not on GamStop exclusion that isn’t under UKGC.
Personal details are logged and held by GAMSTOP, and each time there is an attempted login or registration using these details, the GAMSTOP database is reviewed. The login/registration operation is blocked if there is a match.
If anyone had already signed into their account when the GAMSTOP registration was done, they would be timed out within 4 hours and blocked when they tried to login further. Several professional athletes are now in support of the self-exclusion service.
The Professional Players Federation (PPF), the organisation representing thousands of top athletes in the UK, hopes, through a collaboration with the British online self-exclusion scheme Gamstop, to reduce the possibility of its members having gambling issues.
The professional body has also revealed a collaboration with Gamstop to raise awareness of the resources available to those who want to exclude themselves from online gaming for elite darts players. The partnership will see the Association of Professional Darts Players (PDPA) aim to raise awareness among its members of the self-exclusion method through practical workshops and internal communication. To meet players and the general public, both entities will also provide key figures and data through social media platforms.
Many football clubs have now begun to show their support for GamStop. In March 2020, for example, Luton agreed to partner with Gamstop to help achieve its scheme, which is to help addicted gamblers receive assistance by removing themselves from gambling activities.
The Reason To Support Problem Gamblers
Brits are keen on sports, and history seems to have a perfect explanation for this. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the global expansion of sports that had their roots in Britain was central to the growth of modern sports and is one of the significant cultural legacies of the British Empire.
It is commonly agreed that the modern game of football (soccer) originated in England. The Football Association, the first organization of the game, was founded in 1863 in England, and the first football match between England and Scotland, the oldest rivalry in the sport, was in 1872 in Glasgow.
Three national divisions and the celebrated premiership, which features such iconic clubs as Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool FC, can be followed by English football fans. Scotland also has three national divisions and a premiership including Glasgow’s Celtic and Rangers clubs; there are also national leagues in Wales and Northern Ireland.
With the history of Brits and sports put into consideration, it is important to spread the message of responsible gambling so as to protect addicted gamblers.
Information on athletes and addictive gambling behaviour is minimal. However, when you look at the mild symptoms of compulsive gambling, athletes may be more vulnerable to gambling addiction than the general public. These include high energy levels, unrealistic winning aspirations, intensely competitive attitudes, skewed confidence and sometimes high-IQ intellect. Both of which are also features of an athlete competing.
With the creation of diagnostic indicators, risk, and protective factors, as well as a stage model of addictive behavior among athletes, the focus on addictions among athletes has received significant interest among sports medicine healthcare professionals. With other addictions and disorders such as depression, gambling can also be seen as a co-morbid cause, but its prevalence in athletes alone should not be ignored.
It can take as little as one victory to get addicted, and one loss to want the win back if a professional athlete starts to gamble. This is how the terrible cycle of addiction can begin. Normally, when a loss takes place in gambling, not continuing will be the natural reaction for a person who is not at risk, or who merely engages as an innocent means of entertainment. The professional athlete, however, will begin to employ particular tactics and make changes to how they play. For these reasons, it is crucial for athletes to support responsible gambling and also spread the message.
