So it has just so happened that in the same week that we talked about the sponsorship of Star City Casino The South Sydney Rabittos that we hear the announcement that Ryan Tandy has been arrested in relation to the Betting on a Canterbury Vs Cowboysa game.
This brings the ultimate question. Do Sports and gambling really mix? Is there a world where sports can co-exist with gambling institutions without corruption or should they be excluded from games altogether?
The NRL has also bought into question whether player agents should be able to gamble on games. Personally I believe that sport and gambling cannot do without eachother in todays sporting environment. Players want more money, the games are growing and fans want to place a bet. If its not on the two flies crawling up the wall, then it's on Brett and Josh Morris scoring the first tries of the match.
There is no doubt that gambling adds a great deal of money to our games and without it we wouldn't be able to enjoy our sports on the scale that we currently enjoy.
This does however put a dark cloud over the games that we watch. Are we really watching a fair even contest? Or are the players that we trust not trying hard enough to let the other team get those winning points? It does mean that if players in todays games do slacken off, or make the wrong decision, then their actions are scrutinised and examined to the tenth degree.
This doesn't only relate to the NRL we have also seen it rock the cricket world. The most memorable moment being the announcement that Hansie Cronje was paid to fix matches. This was particularly hurtful for a lot of cricket lovers because most followers of the game really liked the guy. He was charasmatic, marketable and seemed to be an honourable man. Upon the announcement came the realisation that if Hansie could be involved then surely anyone could be involved. To this day the thought of Hansie always makes me feel a little bit sad.
The earliest of the large scandals was in 1919 when gamblers bribed several members of The Chicago White Sox to throw the world series. One sport that has always been shrouded in suspicion has been boxing and because of the sports pursuit of the almighty dollar it has opened the way for the emergence of Mixed Martial Arts.
It seems that in sports as in life there will always be someone that is trying to take the easy road, that want more when they already get more than most. Thats probably why we feel so cheated when corruption enters sport. These sports people are the role models of our society. The people our kids look up too and the pinacle of human physical achievement.
In saying all that there is nothing that I enjoy more than having a quick "Twenty" dollar bet with one of my mates when our teams play each other. Then there is also our footy tipping competition which nets the lucky winner a cool seven hundred dollars and the odd bet on the horses.
So what does everyone think? Is there a place for gambling in sport? Can we seperate the two? Or does it make our games more exciting?
Tell us how gambling has affected your view of sport.
Gambling is a way for spectators to feel more involved with their sport. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, however, when a player gets involved and gambles on his own match, then it becomes a 'bad thing'.
ReplyDeleteFor example, we all know that if we go into a match over-confident, it's likely the other team will pull a reality check on us and we'll end up having to work much harder than we normally would have, and can end up losing. Same goes for under-confident. If we go into a match thinking there's no way we're going to win, you pretty much guarantee there's no way you're going to win.
So when a player bets against his own club, it's ultimately in the same field as match-fixing. Realistically though, players shouldn't be betting. The whole point of it is that you're taking a risk, putting money on something that is completely out of your control. When someone has control over something, that risk is minimized.