Why Cricket Fans Often Struggle with Gambling Addiction
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On the surface, it would appear the sport of cricket has limited appeal to sports fans and bettors all over the world. Don’t tell that to the people of India and Pakistan. These countries are among a lot of countries where cricket gets plenty of fan and sports betting support.
Would it surprise you to learn that cricket fans have a tendency to fall into the cycle of gambling addiction? If you are surprised, that is understandable given how little we hear about cricket fans. What we do know is they are fantastical about supporting their favorite cricket teams and players.
What we also know about fanatical sports fans is they are easily enticed to become sports bettors and then often look for ways to stop betting. In the case of cricket fans, their fanatical support of the sport is exactly what leads them to become fanatical sports bettors with a focus on cricket. Fanatical sports betting on any sport is the gateway to gambling addiction.
Sports Bettors and Gambling Addiction in India
Sports betting operators are not permitted by law to operate from facilities in India. However, it is perfectly legal for Indian sports bettors to align themselves with offshore bookmakers to facilitate their online sports betting activities. Since sports betting is a highly popular form of adult entertainment for Indians, it is easy to see why cricket fans might get caught up in their online sports betting activities. They love it and without the right personal filters properly aligned, they are subject to gambling addiction.
There is another aspect of this conversation that warrants consideration. For cricket fans, betting on cricket matches from online betting sites is often their first exposure to any kind of online gambling. It’s the excitement of doing something new that often drives people to overdo it. That would certainly be one explanation as to why cricket fans tend to fall prey to gambling addiction, especially when they start enjoying other forms of online gambling.
How Can Cricket Fans Address Their Gambling Addictions?
When someone falls victim to the cycle of gambling addiction, it’s not something they can allow to fester too long. Given enough opportunity, the disease of gambling addiction can destroy lives and families.
Addressing gambling addiction is not always an easy thing to do. First and foremost, it requires that compulsive gamblers be willing to admit they can’t control their gambling. Unfortunately, a lot of sports bettors will endure horrible financial and emotional beatings before they surrender and admit there is a problem. This is likely true of cricket fans who relish having the opportunity to continuously bet on cricket matches.
For the sports bettors who do finally surrender and reach out for help, the resources can be quite limited. Why? Societies, in general, have not yet reached a point where they recognize a gambling addiction to be as serious as a drug or alcohol addiction. That’s why it’s difficult for gambling addicts to get help.
For cricket fans who become gambling addicts, there are two primary resources for help beyond visiting a psychologist or therapist. The first one is only available to sports betters who are using licensed online betting sites in the UK. That would be the GamStop Self-exclusion Scheme. The other resource would be website blocking software.
How GamStop Works
First, GamStop is only available to UK online gamblers who use licensed UK online gambling sites. If a cricket fan and bettor is in another country using a UK operator as an offshore betting option, they won’t be permitted to register for GamStop protection.
For UK residents who use UK operators, GamStop works as follows. Participants in the program can voluntarily register at any time, and registration is free. They will need to provide certain personal information at registration. This is the information that will be used to identify and block their online gambling access. Since registration is strictly voluntary, it’s the gamblers who get to decide how long they want their self-exclusion period to last.
After registration, participants will not be allowed to access their existing UK accounts or open new ones. Of course, the program only works in conjunction with licensed UK operators. If a GamStop gambler changes their mind, they will find there are NonGamStopWager gambling operators that aren’t on GamStop. They will also find some of these operators do market directly to GamStop-blockers gamblers.
Website Blocking Software
If for any reason a self-exclusion option like GamStop is not available, the next best alternative might be a website blocking software program. A good one for online sports bettors and casino players is Gamban. Here is how programs like Gamban typically work.
The gambler decides they need help to stay away from online gambling sites. They can download Gamban for a fee directly onto their favorite gambling device. After the program has been downloaded and initiated, it will prevent that device from accessing any website that can be identified as a website that provides gambling content.
The big issue with some of these website blocking software programs is they are device-specific. Gamblers can still access their favorite gambling sites with other devices. This is what you call limited help.
