Research on athletes and gambling is gaining prominence. It is one of the topics that mightytips.com users will find in the online portal that aims at providing reliable and relevant information on online sports betting.

It is not only the general public who is interested in finding out whether athletes like to gamble, sports medicine clinicians among other parties are keen to get answers and develop gambling addiction help mechanisms. 

To answer the question of whether athletes like to gamble, we need to explore the characteristic of athletes and see whether they are inclined to gamble and also whether they are at risk of gambling addiction when compared with the general population. Research shows that athletes are likely to be more vulnerable to betting addiction when compared to non-athletes bettors. The soft indicators of compulsive gambling can be found in athletes. Such indicators are:

• Relatively high energy levels,
• High and sometimes unreasonable expectations of winning,
• The competitive drive in them,
• Distorted optimism and high level of intelligence

Athletes actually like betting

From this information, one can conclude that athletes like the majority of the general population would like to engage in gambling. This is due to the fact that the majority get into gambling for varied reasons including entertainment, winning, and to the extreme as means of earning. 

Kate Richardson, an online sports betting expert at Mightytips agrees with the sentiments made in several studies where athletes by their nature are highly likely to land into problems and maybe in need of gambling addiction help when compared with the general population. Kate Richardson has dealt with several topics on online betting including gambling sites Canada and other parts of the world, gambling stocks as well as the crash gambling game. If you would like to read more of her online betting analysis, visit Mightytips.

Should they bet?

Now that we know athletes like gambling, mostly due to the thrill that characterizes the activity we need to ask ourselves, should they participate especially in games which they play? Kate Richardson observes that professional athletes are banned from betting on themselves and even wagering in areas where they play. This is an ethical question as some athletes may be involved in cheating for personal gains. Imagine if football players were allowed to bet on matches in which they participate.

They are in a position to influence the results, we have heard of match-fixing, where rogue players score own goals or fail to score some straightforward goals. It is hard to catch such players and this means they can get away with it. So to prevent such incidences, sports administrators have banned athletes from gambling.

Bans in betting

If you have been following Mightytips analysis, you may have come across lists of footballers who have been banned for betting breaches. Incidences of bans for betting, answers the question of whether athletes like betting. The fact that they are placing bets means that they have the urge like anyone else. 

However, there are rules which are supposed to guide on where they can gamble and where they can’t. Breaches of these rules are normally heavily penalized. Names such as Cameron Jerome, Andros Townsend, Dan Gosling, Joey Barton will ring a bell when it comes to athletes and betting. They have on different occasions been fined heavily for violating the FA betting rules. Some were even found culpable of wagers involving teammates, something that is not tolerated anywhere in the sporting scene.

All this is done to ensure sanity in sports. If allowed, there would be chaos in the sports fraternity and even in the betting scene. Players have the opportunity to impact matches, so when they place bets, the field is not fair. Such acts mean that bettors are disadvantaged; they are relying on chances but players who bet are doing so from a point where they already know the outcome.

Law and betting

Although not explicitly stated, the new laws on the regulation of gambling in Canada seem to address the issue of match-fixing and the ban of athletes in gambling. The law which is applicable in all the provinces including regulating the gambling license BC is seen by many as beneficial to all parties. It protects the bettors not just from unscrupulous bookmakers but also from unfair practices which may be fueled by athletes’ desire to place bets even in matches where they have an impact on the outcome.

Athletes are human and the desire to gamble is inherent, however, when compared to the general population they are more likely to engage in compulsive behavior to a point where they may need gambling addiction help. There is also the issue of match-fixing which is likely to make the betting scene unfair. When athletes bet they should not be in breach of their team’s rules and also should not engage in unfair practices.

The new law and gaming license BC has touched on these matters and should be taken seriously. A visit to several gambling sites Canada will inform the bettors that licensed bookmakers do not allow unfair practices and they have put mechanisms to deal with such. As you take your gambling stocks and enjoy crash gambling game among other activities, know that it’s a fair game where those who may impact the results may not be allowed to place bets.