The Irish sportsman Alan Kerins has welcomed the ban that the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is to impose on betting sponsorship, but still warned that further measures have to be taken in terms of gambling-related harm and problem gambling. Kerins stated his support for the decision of the GAA and said that the ban is a large step forward not only as long as it comes to player protection, but also for the entire GAA community.
A couple of days ago, at its annual congress, the GAA voted to ban gambling companies’ sponsorship from sports. The measure was supported by the majority of the 270 delegates following the confessions of several high-profile GAA players, including former player of Armagh Allstar Oisin McConville, that they had been dealing with a gambling addiction.
In the light of the recent decision for the ban, Mr. Kerins explained that a lot more preventative measures need to be introduced. He further revealed that collaboration with players is on the agenda, as well as the upcoming introduction of an induction programme for new inter-county players.
GAA Should Take Further Measures
As mentioned above, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) only recently imposed a blanket ban on gambling sponsorship during its annual congress in Croke Park. This decision comes only in 2017 the GAA revealed that players or management staff would not be allowed to bet on games they are involved in.
At the time when the decision of the ban was revealed, the President of the GAA, John Horan, explained that it came as a result of the Association taking “pure social responsibility”. Furthermore, Mr. Horan claimed that the country’s betting problem is much more dangerous than people believed, especially considering the increasing popularity of online gambling. Mr. Horan called the problem “an epidemic” one, saying that it causes much concern to the authorities, as it could have massive negative impact on society as a whole.
Recently, Mr. Kerins, who is also a spokesman of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), revealed that 50% of the 77 players who asked the players’ body for counselling services were dealing with problem gambling behaviour and gambling-related harm. For the time being, no country football or hurling teams have bookmakers as major sponsors. Still, Boylesports are part of the 20 official partners of Armagh GAA.
As mentioned above, apart from greeting the Association for its decision for the ban, Kerins also urged it to go even further with their efforts to deal with gambling addictions in the country. According to the GPA spokesman, last year’s measure was a great thing to do, especially considering the 2018 blanket ban. He further explained that the GAA should consider banning all half-time gambling advertising or do something about the in-game commentary related to gambling odds.
- Author
Daniel Williams
