Monday, April 8, 2024
Gambling Addiction addiction and Killing the youth of America Now with all the pro leagues are MAKING $ FROM THE GAMBLING ---- Gambling addiction has exploded I have been getting calls and e mail from young people and mothers and fathers of young people looking for help How has the rise in sports gambling impacted the prevalence of gambling addiction, given the ease with which young people even some under age can access online sports gambling platforms So many young people are getting addicted to gambling and some have committed suicide At NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's Super Bowl press conference, the commissioner smiled and laughed with interviewed I wonder if Goodell and the rest of the pro leagues would have smiled if you had a family member who was a compulsive gambler. Nearly 68 million Americans bet on this year's Super Bowl, I wonder how many future addicted gamblers will place their first bet ever on this game. Super Bowl Sunday for compulsive gamblers is like New Years' Eve for an alcoholic. Nearly 7 million Americans suffer from gambling addiction, I know what it's like to have a gambling addiction. I began betting on sports and horses as a teenager; by 1961, in my my early 20,s and fresh off Army Reserve duty, I owed $4,000 and had no job. I was lucky that credit cards did not exist as yet, or else my debts would have been even larger. In the decades since, I and my wife Sheila have helped compulsive gamblers and made presentations on gambling addiction to local officials and gaming companies. Over the years, I have helped many college and professional athletes who had a gambling problem. One N F L WHO had a few Super Bowl rings An N H L player 2 baseball players and an N B A player But the rise in sports gambling on the internet and phone has accelerated the prevalence of gambling addiction. The ease with which people can access online sports gambling platforms is frightening. You can now bet your life savings – and more – without leaving your home. And not only can you bet on whether your local teams win or how many points they score; you can bet on every drive, every kick every hit and every serve of different sports all around the world. So many young people in particular are getting addicted to gambling. Young men are by far the biggest share among sports bettors in the U.S. It's easier today for a young person to place a bet then to buy a can of beer or a pack of smokes. It's getting so bad that I get calls almost every day from mothers and fathers looking for help for their kids. Sometimes the parents are thankful that their child is "only" addicted to gambling, not drugs or alcohol. But gambling addiction can be much worse than alcohol or drugs, even without the stench of liquor or the needle pricks that vividly mark those other addictions. Treatment for gambling addiction is uniquely challenging: There is no methadone or nicotine gum for gambling addicts, for example. Like other addictions, the earlier a person starts gambling, the greater the risk they will become a compulsive gambler. And the suicide rate of gamblers is higher than other addictions. The states love it as they are getting dollars from the gamblers. Nor is there any effort to restrict its visibility, the way tobacco ads largely have been banned. Sunday's Super Bowl, like any sports broadcast today, will be filled with gambling ads. Even the media itself has bought in, with sponsorships by these companies and segments from the announcers themselves touting the latest lines. In May 1996, Horace Balmer, the NBA's vice president for security, had two speakers flown to Norfolk, Va., whose messages were even very disturbing. Michael Franzese, a former mob boss who fixed professional and college games for organized crime, and Arnie Wexler, who for 23 years was a compulsive gambler. Franzere said, ``I talked to the NBA rookies earlier this season . . . and it's amazing how many confided to me that they have gambling habits. I'm not going to mention their names, but if I did, you would know them" ``I personally got involved in compromising games with players, and it all came through their gambling habits.' ( THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT -May 11, 1996 )
Years ago, as a compulsive-gamblers counselor, I was asked to fly to New York to the National Basketball Association office in Manhattan and met with league officials, players and union officials, concerned about players' gambling. I was told, "We have a problem, and we're trying to find out how bad the problem is" Officials asked me to keep my calendar open for the spring of the following year and said to me that they wanted me to address every team and player in the league. They then flew my wife in, and we had a second meeting they asked us develop questions that were going to be given to the players to answer. "We need to know how big the gambling problem is in the N.B.A," When I hadn't heard from the N.B.A, I called and asked, "When do we start?" The talked were cancelled, and the response I got was this: "They said that the higher-ups didn't want the media to find out" Some years back , Arnie was on a TV show with Howard Cossell (ABC Sports Beat). The topic was: Does the media encourage the public to gamble? Bobby Knight, Indiana University basketball coach at the time, said: "A newspaper which published point spreads should also publish names and addresses of services that render to prostitutes. On the same show, former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn said: "Anything that encourages gambling on team sports bothers me. We all look hypocritical. But then why are we putting up the odds unless we are trying to encourage it?" David Stern, NBA commissioner said: "We don't want the week's grocery money to be bet on the outcome of a particular sporting event" Get the real scoop: Talk to me, Arnie Wexler, one of the nation's leading experts on the subject of compulsive gambling and a recovering compulsive gambler. I placed my last bet on April 10, 1968, and has been involved in helping compulsive gamblers for the last 55 years. Through the years, I have spoken to more compulsive gamblers than anyone else in America and has been fighting the injustice of how sports, society and the judicial system deal with compulsive gamblers.
Athletes may be more vulnerable than the general population when you look at the soft signs of compulsive gambling: high levels of energy; unreasonable expectations of winning; very competitive personalities; distorted optimism; and bright with high IQs.
Compulsive gambling is an addiction just like alcoholism and chemical dependency, and all three diseases are recognized by the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic and statistical manual. Nevertheless, we treat compulsive gambling differently than the other addictions. Society and professional sports treat people with chemical dependency and alcoholism as sick persons, send them to treatment and get them back to work. Sports looks at compulsive gamblers as bad people and gets barred them from playing in professional sports.
One sports insider said to me: "Teams need to have a real program for players, coaches and referees, and they need to let somebody else run it. When you do it in-house, it's like the fox running the chicken coop. You must be kidding yourself if you think any player, coach or referee is going to call the league and say, 'I've got a gambling problem, and I need help.' " By Marc Lawrence, PlaybookSports.com — t's safe to say Arnie Wexler, the former executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, does not approve of the NFL holding the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. "Those bastards," said Wexler, who recalled the NFL and other pro sports leagues fighting the effort to legalize sports betting in New Jersey in the 1990s. In fact, in 2012, the NFL challenged a sports betting statute in New Jersey. According to the New York Times, a lawyer for the NFL said in a deposition that the league opposed sports gambling because it would "negatively impact our long-term relationship with our fans, negatively impact the perception of our sport across the country." Less than a decade later, the league signed partnerships with gambling companies and casinos. On Monday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told the media that the "integrity of our game is critical'' as legalized gambling spreads. "It's our No. 1 objective,'' .Wexler said Talk about speaking out of both sides of your mouth. NOW that all the pro leagues and colleges are MAKING $ FROM THE GAMBLING Gambling addiction has exploded I have been getting calls and e mails from young people and mothers and fathers of young people looking for help. Arnie Wexler said " TODAY It is easier to gamble on the games than it is to buy cigarettes or a can of beer on college campuses all over the country" Today its ok as they all get a piece of the $ lost by gamblers its blood $$ Arnie has spoken to students who gamble in college, day and night. They even gamble during class, and it goes on in high school even in the lunch rooms. A LARGE percent of young people have a gambling problem Experts tell us that the earlier a person starts to gamble, the greater the risk of them becoming a compulsive gambler. In another survey, 96 percent of adult male recovering gamblers stated that they started gambling before the age of 14 .
Today When you open your local newspaper or watch T V you do see lines and point spreads on sporting events. And betting info on t v and radio all day and night Get the real scoop: Talk to Arnie Wexler who is one of the nation's leading experts on the subject of compulsive gambling and a recovering compulsive gambler himself, who placed his last bet on April 10, 1968. He has been involved in helping compulsive gamblers for the last 54 years. Through the years, Wexler has spoken to more compulsive gamblers than anyone else in America over the years. NOW that all the pro leagues and colleges are MAKING $ FROM THE GAMBLING Gambling addiction has exploded I have been getting calls and e mails from young people and mothers and fathers of young people looking for help. Arnie Wexler said " TODAY It is easier to gamble on the games than it is to buy cigarettes or a can of beer on college campuses all over the country" BY SALMAN KHANAustralia's Harm Minimization Approach to Online Gambling Addiction Amidst Super Bowl FrenzyArnie Wexler, a certified compulsive gambling counselor, notes that young men are particularly at risk. "The accessibility of online gambling platforms and the constant bombardment of sports betting ads create an environment that's ripe for addiction," he explains. Wexler, who has been helping compulsive gamblers for over 50 years, knows all too well the devastating consequences of this addiction. Unlike substance addiction, gambling addiction is often invisible, making it difficult to diagnose and treat. "There's no smell of alcohol or track marks from drugs. It's a hidden addiction," says Wexler. The lack of dedicated federal funding for research into problem gambling further complicates the issue. Moreover, the prevalence of gambling ads in sports broadcasts normalizes betting behavior, making it harder for individuals to recognize and address their addiction. "We need to raise awareness about the risks associated with online gambling and provide more resources for those struggling with addiction," Wexler asserts.
Arnie and Sheila Wexler have provided extensive training on Compulsive, Problem and Underage Gambling, to more than 40,000 gaming employees (personnel and executives) and have written Responsible Gaming Programs for major gaming companies. In addition, they have worked with Gaming Boards and Regulators, presented educational workshops nationally and internationally and have provided expert witness testimony. Sheila Wexler is the Executive Director of the Compulsive Gambling Foundation
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