The Sports Gambling Epidemic

From afar: Taking a bit of a punt on gambling
By Farah Palmer

The resignation of Willie Ripia from the Western Force due to alleged pick-pocketing from his team-mates brings his promising rugby career in Australia to an embarrassing and premature end.

More importantly, it draws attention to a worrying trend concerning professional athletes and gambling.

The question has to be asked: does the gambling bug infect professional sportspeople more than the general public and some sports sectors more than others?

One thing is for sure, this is not an isolated case. Ripia, a former Taranaki, Hurricanes, New Zealand age-grade player, and New Zealand Maori first five-eighth has undergone counselling for a gambling problem in the past, and it is common knowledge that fellow Hurricane Zac Guildford, after his Rarotongan antics, also received off-field help for his addictive and compulsive tendencies around alcohol and gambling.

The problem isn't isolated to rugby union either, with recently retired rugby league great Darren Lockyer admitting to having, and beating, a disturbing gambling problem during his time with the Brisbane Broncos.

Those of us unfamiliar with the symptoms of compulsive and pathological gambling find it difficult to understand how the "odd flutter" can become a full-grown addiction where personal, family and vocational pursuits are damaged in an attempt to hit the jackpot.

According to the Problem Gambling website, compulsive gamblers make no serious attempt to budget or save money and are often over-confident, very energetic, easily bored and often big spenders. This could be a large proportion of the New Zealand population and many people I know tend to have these traits.

The 1960s catchphrase summing up the three R's of New Zealand society as "rugby, racing, and beer" may be outdated now, but it appears we are still dealing with the consequences of these rites of passage decades later.

Gambling is not just a sporting pastime but a national pastime. Since its creation in 1987, the New Zealand Lotteries Commission has contributed more than $2.7 billion to the Lottery Grants Board which in turn allocates funds to worthwhile causes such as the New Zealand Film Commission, Creative New Zealand, and Sparc.

The New Zealand Racing Board, set up in 2003, also estimated that the racing industry (of which gambling is a big part) generates some 1.3% of New Zealand's GDP - around $1.5 billion per year.

New Zealanders have a reputation as some of the world's heaviest gamblers, so if any of us have bought a Lotto ticket or scratchie, bet on the horses, or put a few coins in a pokie machine, how can we be righteous about those of us who buy into (literally) the gambling mantra completely and utterly?

We often justify our weekly spend on a Lotto ticket with phrases like "got to be in to win". However, I naively assumed that when wealth is achieved (via hard work, luck or a combination of both) the need to gamble will disappear, but that is often not the case.

A big win tends to feed the gambling urge and make the attraction of hitting it big again even more irresistible. Why would professional athletes be immune to this?At 26, Ripia's rugby career seemed to be going along without too many hitches.

He had just signed a two-year contract with the Force and aspired to be eligible to play for Australia. Why was he willing to risk all of this by stealing from his team-mates in order to feed, what we assume, was his gambling addiction?

There are many types of gamblers and who knows what motives or desires were behind Ripia's light-fingered behaviour.

The problem gambling website reveals just how thin the line can be between being a "social casual gambler", a "relief and escape gambler" and a "compulsive gambler".

I can only speculate that Ripia must be somewhere between the latter two.

He has recently experienced some difficulties in his career, such as injuries, a change of country, and frustration at being sidelined (relief and escape gambler), and has engaged in activities such as stealing and lying (compulsive gambler).

Although he may not see it as a positive, in many respects it is a blessing that he has been caught red-handed. At least now he can continue to get help with this addiction and get his rugby career and life back on track.

Meanwhile, sport will continue to play the dangerous game of give-and-take with the gambling industry, where funding is given to sport in order for it to survive and flourish, and every now and then, an addicted gambler or impoverished community is sacrificed in return. It's a gamble sport is willing to take.