Is gambling addiction a problem in the GAA, or a problem among Irish youth?
It becomes a GAA-specific problem when players started gambling on matches involving their own club or county and it becomes a serious GAA problem when players started gambling AGAINST their own teams.
On Thursday morning, RTÉ broadcast an interview with an intercounty footballer who admitted betting against his county in an Allianz League match – a contest that he was involved in as a substitute.
The player, who wishes not to be identified, admitted the incident was a turning point in his addiction and he has since sought help.
“I gambled on a National League game. I bet against our team and it came in. It was a shameful thing to do,” he said.
“At the time I was happy. I wasn’t playing, I was a substitute, so I had no real bearing on the game as it turned out. But looking back there’s people with a long-standing history in the county and people pumping in so much energy and supporters travelling and people doing a lot of fundraising,” he told RTÉ.
“For me to go and target a game like that to bet on, against our own team, it was the height of disrespect. I would be quite shameful of that act. It was something I really wanted to turn around and make right and get myself into a better position in life to be free of all of this pain.”
The troubling revelation comes just days after Galway hurling star Davy Glennon detailed the extent of his own gambling addiction in an interview with the Irish Examiner.
"What's the easiest way out?" Harrowing stuff from Davy Glennon https://t.co/IucXN4n3XU
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) May 8, 2016
The talented forward admitted to contemplating suicide after his problem got on top of him. His courage in coming forward follows on from similar revelations by the likes of Niall McNamee of Offaly and Armagh legend OisÃn McConville.
The GPA have been highlighting the issue of gambling for a number of years and these latest revelations are likely to increase calls for action from the players representative body.
Earlier this year the Antrim county board investigated claims members of the hurling panel had placed bets on a league match with London.
