AuthorJeffEyesRimmer Earlier this month Joey Barton was banned for 18 months for betting on football matches. As per Bartons modus operandi he indicated he was the victim here but not in the way he meant. In a way Barton is a victim, he is the victim of the normalisation of gambling culture associated with football and sport in general nowadays. It’s obscene. I agree with the ban that does effectively end Bartons career, the threat of match fixing is very real and needs to be dealt with strongly, but the real questions must be asked of the gambling industry. Why was a well-known player like Barton allowed to continue to gamble for 10 years without intervention? Leon Osman, the ex-Everton legend began gambling after retiring but had his account suspended and had to prove he was not a player anymore, so why was this not done for Barton? I would rarely find myself sympathising with Joey Barton but gambling addiction is a real problem in our society and I find it incredibly hypocritical for the English FA to ban a player for betting while at the same time have an official betting partner. Seems like double standards to me.
That fact alone, that the FA has an official betting partner is insane to me. The fact that 10 premier league teams have main sponsors being betting companies is insane to me. The fact that the UK lost £12.6 billion last year gambling is insane to me. Even Gamble Aware, the organisation tasked with helping people with gambling problems in the UK, is actually funded by the gambling industry! Surely that’s a conflict of interest! It all builds towards us believing that betting on football is the norm; its part of the game and that shouldn’t be the case. Unfortunately though it has become this, it’s a never-ending circle, the clubs, TV and websites where we get our football fixes are all sponsored by gambling companies. Here in Australia too we are far from immune to the gambling problem. In all football codes on the TV betting companies advertise prior to the match and during the half time. They have presenters tell us the odds on everything, from score lines to first scorers and this constant barrage of odds desensitise us to gambling. Children grow up watching this and believe that gambling on sport is just something that is done; it is part of the experience. The pathetic ‘gamble responsibly’ line is an insult to those that have gambling addictions and is known not to actually do anything. What is gambling responsibly anyway? To me a few dollars may be responsible, to others maybe a few hundred dollars, to those with an addiction it could mean thousands. It’s a term that needs to change and more needs to be done by the governments, FAs and the actual industry itself. If you are growing up watching this every time a football match is shown, what is a child or young adult supposed to believe is ‘gambling responsibly’? This isn’t to say that I hate gambling, I have been known to have a flutter on the horses and football from time to time and if that’s what you are interested in then that’s cool with me. However, we need to do more so that this constant advertising during football and other sports doesn’t mean turn into an even larger problem in our society. Gambling can become a terrible addiction that is every bit as dangerous as alcohol and drugs, it can easily ruin lives. Surely something better than ‘gamble responsibly’ needs to happen. |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
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