The Popularity of Gambling among Cricketers

Whenever anyone talks about gambling and sports, the game of cricket as well as cricketers inevitably comes up in the conversation. A research carried out by Professional Players’ Federation (PPF) had revealed that pro-level sports persons, including cricket players and footballers are 3 times more vulnerable to gambling than commoners. We won’t be exaggerating if we state that a crisis point has reached today, with a large number of cricket players indulging in gambling and sports betting on a fairly regular basis.While off-line platforms used to be their preferred hunting ground at one point of time,

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these days it is extremely easy to enjoy casino games on the Internet, without coming into anyone’s notice. In fact, reputed online casinos like Mansioncasino.com get you the most exquisite ‘live Blackjack’ tables. With a welcome bonus and 24/7 help this casino offers everything a gamer would ever need and want. Let’s delve a little more into the relationship between cricket and gambling.

Relationship between cricket and gambling

Whether it is indulgence by the seniors, the need to have an adrenaline rush outside of the
cricket field or just a compulsive gambling habit that a cricketer has formed over a period of
time, it is something that must be checked and controlled by the cricket team managements
everywhere. The problem shouldn’t be allowed to get out of hand. For instance, not too long
ago, Patrick Foster, the Nottinghamshire cricketer issued an advisory after having amassed
a lot of gambling debts. The association of cricketers with gambling should be tackled by
widespread education, good practices and wherever required, professional treatment by
experts in the field.

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Cricket players have also been associated with betting culture for a very long time. There are
many examples available in this regard. Craig Spearman, the popular Gloucestershire and
New Zealand cricketer recently spoke about his liking for online pokies and how he plays
them with real money, on a regular basis. In his opinion, these games help him relax outside
of the cricket field.

The Primary Reasons

This study which was published by PPF in 2014 revealed some major reasons responsible
for driving both female and male footballers and cricketers towards gambling. As per the
study, these reasons are:
– Sponsorship motivation
– Social inclusion
– Facilitated access
– Team encouragement

Out of the 350 respondents that participated in the study, 1/10 admitted that they gambled to only fit in with the crowd. 1/4 of them responded that they got encouraged by their peers to indulge in gambling and betting. Close to 1/3 surveyed players argued that their gambling habit stemmed from the relationship they had with sportsbooks and the sponsorship industry. There has been an increasing amount of evidence in the past few years revealing a close association between bookmakers and cricketers, visually manifested by customized betting logo shirts created for the teams.

A particular risk faced by highly competitive male and female cricketers is their inability to deal with the losses, and how there is a very fine line between gambling to make serious money and gambling for fun.