The phenomenon of sports betting, especially online, has grown tremendously in recent years, especially after the lockdown.
For the sports world, the revenue that come from bookmakers represent significant revenue. But the key players, coaches and players, are put under undue pressure by over-the-top attitudes of bookmakers. This has been denounced lately by some NBA coaches and players.
Cleveland Cavaliers coach, JB Bickerstaff, stated that he received threats for himself and his family members from people who had lost bets to his team.
In the last two years I have been receiving threats over the phone from people who had lost bets because of us. They told me crazy things, even telling me they knew where I lived and who my children were. This game is becoming dangerous; we have crossed the line.
Same tone in the words of Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers star, who laments the lack of empathy from fans.
People don’t care about us players, how we might feel before or after a game. All anyone thinks about now is betting. For half the people who follow me I am merely a means of making money through the various betting agencies. For them I am merely an object, on social media I only get messages of this kind.
The economic component of betting, in short, is in danger of taking precedence over rooting for a player or a team. The idol is no longer the player I admire but the one who makes me win money. This is a dangerous drift, which risks taking away the (already little) “poetry” left in the world of professional sports. In addition to the well-known problems of gambling abuse that have been much talked about in recent months in Italy as well.
