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Should Athletes be Allowed to Wager at Online Casino Sites? |
| John Daly. Charles Barkley. Wayne Rooney. The list of athletes who have recently admitted to having gambling problems gets longer every day. Despite their fabulous sporting careers and mega-salaries, many of these athletes have managed to get themselves heavily into debt by betting huge amounts at online casino and offline sites. So what is the difference between an athlete who gambles at an online casino and a regular Joe who does the same? Should athletes be allowed to gamble at online sites? Before we answer that question, we need to differentiate between regular online casino games and sportsbetting sites. There is obviously nothing wrong with athletes playing poker or roulette at the online casino. It is their democratic prerogative to do this and no one has the right to tell them otherwise. However, athletes should refrain from placing sports bets at online casino sites, especially in their own field of sports and definitely not when it involves their own team. This would be considered unethical and a definite conflict of interests. There are those who claim that online casino betting and sports do not mix when it comes to athletes. They claim that athletes should concentrate on their game and not get involved in something that they cannot control. However, this boils down to the question of whether athletes can control their gambling habits at the online casino or not. Anybody – athlete or not – should stay away from I-gambling if they cannot stay in control. |
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