Australian Football Players Go Too Far in Sports Betting

Australian gambling news report certain worries around the Australian Football League nowadays. Yes, you guessed it right, it circles around football players being involved in Australian online sports betting.

But in Australia, things seem to have gone way too far. Herald Sun fears that AFL players wagering in sports betting is “troubling”. The newspaper is particularly worried about the easy accessible to sports betting websites combined with the amazing amount of money these players make in a year.

Basically, football players wager much more than their salaries could afford. And they have access to unlimited betting possibilities, such as websites and Australian mobile wagering applications. It is all just too tempting. Bang, explosion.

According to North Melbourne coach Brad Scott, gambling addiction is a bigger problem for AFL players than alcohol or drugs.

Football player manager Paul Connors warned that players are always looking for something interesting between games. It used to be womanizing and partying. Now it’s online sports betting. It is legal by the Australian gambling laws and accessible anywhere.

Connors observed: “Players will be bored. And if they are not doing things outside footy they have downtime and they spend money and you just can’t stop that.”

The real worrying trend is the younger players’ gambling addiction. They do not have the funds, but they have the desire.

A recently retired player said: “Younger guys can get caught up in it pretty quickly. $500 to a guy who has been in the system for eight to 10 years is not much, but for a guy just in the system, it is.”

Generally, most people who do sports like betting on sports. Players betting on themselves is as old as sports itself. Players betting on themselves and losing on purpose is another thing, but surely not the newest trick in the book. There will certainly be news about the latter if this trend continues in Australia.