The Impact Of Problem Gambling
But when gambling starts to become a problem, it is not just the gambler themselves that this can have a negative impact on. It is important to stop and consider just who else that it can affect.
Watch the video to see Marc and Chris discuss how problem gambling affects others.
Friends & Family
Probably the most obvious – those closest may start to notice a marked change in your behaviour.
Your Team
What ever your role, you make up part of a team. Your behaviour, poor performance and mistrust can have a wider impact on those you work with.
Reputation
What if your actions become public? How does that affect the people’s perception of the sport> A negative incident will have an impact on both yours and the sport’s reputation.
Others who are affected by gambling harm may also have an impact on you.
As the sport is watched and gambled on by millions, not everyone is a winner, and some people don’t like losing money. When they do, it is easy to project that feeling of loss towards the person, or people, they deem to be at fault.
For the betting public, it is more likely that the abuse will come from someone with a gambling related problem due to the financial and mental health aspects of addiction.
What was once abuse from the stands has been made even easier with the rapid rise of the use of social media. Being abused online can be difficult to deal with mentally and emotionally, which can have an impact on health and performance.
Below are some examples of online abuse towards athletes.