Last season, more than thirty football players, including a number of star athletes, were forced to undergo rehabilitation as part of an effort to fight their compulsive gambling behaviour.
According to reports, problem gambling is known as the primary behavioural disorder faced by British football stars, followed by alcohol and drugs. Anti-gambling campaigners have called the competent regulators and authorities to make sure they raise awareness of gambling-related harm, helping affected individuals across the country deal with the social stigma that is often associated with problem gambling and seek professional help to fight their compulsive gambling habits.
Experts have noted that the recently-announced UK Government White Paper on gambling seeking to bring a significant overhaul to the country’s gambling market might prove insufficient to cover some aspects of the market and issues associated with it.
The UK Players’ Foundation, a union for all former and current football players in the country, recently announced that a total of 35 professional athletes had to face residential rehabilitation in order to deal with their severe gambling addictions. As mentioned above, the majority of these players suffered from gambling-related harm, with harm associated with alcohol and drug abuse being at a close second. Some of the professional footballers affected by the abovementioned addictions were even high-profile stars but, for the time being, they preferred to remain anonymous.
Social Stigma Often Prevents Professional Athletes from Seeking Professional Help for their Gambling Addiction
The latest reveals highlight the growing rates of the problem gambling epidemic across the UK, especially among local athletes.
The controversy in regard to Ivan Toney, which occurred most recently, demonstrated that even the athletes competing in the top-tier championships and leagues are not safe from getting dangerously involved with gambling, which can considerably hurt both their private and professional lives. The good thing is that the UK gambling market is among the most regulated gambling markets on a global scale, and there is an active network of charities and organisations that offer professional help to problem gamblers and people who find it hard to control their gambling habits.
For the time being, gambling addiction is a significant problem among professional football players in the country. Unfortunately, the social stigma associated with it prevents many of them from seeking help in time, which only leads to further deterioration of the issue.
A recent survey initiated by the largest gambling charity in the UK – GambleAware – showed that 62% of British residents who know gambling addicts would negatively judge them. Such social stigma can be particularly harmful when it comes to professional athletes, who may fear that sharing about their addiction would disappoint their fans and would have a negative impact on their careers. Local charities, however, could provide them with much-needed help discreetly, without publicly announcing details about what they are going through.
English Premier League (EPL) clubs have pledged to become more involved in the prevention of spreading problem gambling by removing the names and logos of their gambling sponsors from the front of their shirts. However, they do not intend to entirely end their partnerships with such companies, which would potentially expose their players and customers to additional harm.
- Author
Daniel Williams
