Gambling is everywhere in college sports — that’s what worries UConn’s David Benedict

[HooperScooper]

It's been a topic of conversation recently. Dave Benedict discusses the risks of allowing college athletes to bet and how they educate the athletes at UConn about this.

“The concern for me when you ask about our student-athletes is always going to be that when you talk about drugs and alcohol, you hear people reference things like, 'Gateway,’” Benedict said. “Is a five-dollar bet the gateway for, ‘Hey, I won and I'm going to roll this over and win again.’ When does that stop?

“Our coaches have to be talking about this all the time because it's a real threat to impact individuals that they're responsible for, in a certain way. Can we control what our kids are doing 24 hours a day? Of course not. But just like your own kids, you want to try to talk and communicate about things that are and can be really detrimental and make sure they have an appreciation for all the ways gambling can impact their lives.”

https://www.nhregister.com/sports/uconn/article/ncaa-gambling-david-benedict-college-sports-21180731.php

The RuffRuff Alternate Access™:

Gambling is everywhere in college sports — that’s what worries UConn’s David Benedict​

 

[Jaydumo20]

Drugs and alcohol have a stigma in this country. They have for centuries. Money doesn't. It should. But it doesn't. Dave is spot on. It should be treated the same way.

 

[Methalius]

Gambling is even more of a danger I feel since every website that offers it really incentivizes people to try it and there are limited controls in place. There are advertisements everywhere for prop bets all over the place.

 

[prankster]

Worry about the refs.

Yes, UConn beat BYU.

But everyone who bet on UConn got scorched.

Miracles just happen, I guess.....

 

[TheHorde]

Drugs and alcohol have a stigma in this country. They have for centuries. Money doesn't. It should. But it doesn't. Dave is spot on. It should be treated the same way.

Absolutely. Because if you lose more than you can afford it can ruin your life and cause someone to turn to drugs and alcohol. It can ruin lives and families.

 

[HooperScooper]

Should I stop posting these? I'd imagine these stories will become pretty common.

NCAA: Ex-Temple player bet against own team

A former Temple men's basketball player placed dozens of bets on Owls games over two seasons, including wagering against his own team, the NCAA announced.

www.espn.com

 

[DisabledVet]

Gambling in sports is interesting to me. It seems to be very similar to the guns and shootings. It can be said that gambling itself does not impact sports, people that allow gambling to taint sporting events. Personally, I do not advocate one way or the other but if they are as similar I wouldn’t look for any resolution soon.

 

[HooperScooper]

NCAA with a quick about face.

NCAA athletes and athletic department staff will not be allowed to bet on professional sports after the organization's membership voted as of Friday to rescind a rule change that would have permitted those bets.

NCAA now won't allow athletes to bet on pro sports

NCAA athletes and athletic department staff will not be allowed to bet on professional sports after the organization's membership voted as of Friday to rescind a rule change that would have permitted those bets.

www.espn.com

 

[ConnEd]

NCAA with a quick about face.

NCAA athletes and athletic department staff will not be allowed to bet on professional sports after the organization's membership voted as of Friday to rescind a rule change that would have permitted those bets.

NCAA now won't allow athletes to bet on pro sports

NCAA athletes and athletic department staff will not be allowed to bet on professional sports after the organization's membership voted as of Friday to rescind a rule change that would have permitted those bets.

www.espn.com

It will be interesting to see what enforcement is like because now that there is a rule, we can be certain that humans will break it. My guess is that Duke kids will never be found to break it, UNC/Kansas kids will get a slap on the wrist, and UConn players will be banned for life with the team getting all 6 championships vacated.

 

[CL82]

Drugs and alcohol have a stigma in this country. They have for centuries. Money doesn't. It should. But it doesn't. Dave is spot on. It should be treated the same way.

Money should have a stigma?

I will say I have seen circumstances where individuals had a gambling problem. It's fascinating because they remember every win with astonishing clarity, but the losses are pretty much a blur.

I don't know that there is any type of enforcement action that could effectively prevent gambling. Even when opportunities weren't as publicly available, it's always been easy to get a bet down. I suspect, but don't know, that athletes may be a vulnerable class. The best are inherently competitive. Gambling is a way to compete with winnings being a convenient way to keep score.

Interestingly, you see the same psychology with people who are aggressive, investors, or entrepreneurs. They are often "all in" under their current enterprise. Those who are successful are admired because they "bet on themselves." Those who are unsuccessful are written off as being reckless.

I suspect that gambling, for many, may be a part of a "type A" personality. It's just another way to compete. Although for others, it may be "magic thinking" where "hope" supplants reason with the belief that this time the gamble will pay off.

In short, I don't think there's any legislative way to "fix" gambling. Universities should discourage it among athletes to avoid the risk of the appearance of game fixing, if not the actuality of it. But in the end, it's not going away.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Money should have a stigma?

I will say I have seen circumstances where individuals had a gambling problem. It's fascinating because they remember every win with astonishing clarity, but the losses are pretty much a blur.

I don't know that there is any type of enforcement action that could effectively prevent gambling. Even when opportunities weren't as publicly available, it's always been easy to get a bet down. I suspect, but don't know, that athletes may be a vulnerable class. The best are inherently competitive. Gambling is a way to compete with winnings being a convenient way to keep score.

Interestingly, you see the same psychology with people who are aggressive, investors, or entrepreneurs. They are often "all in" under their current enterprise. Those who are successful are admired because they "bet on themselves." Those who are unsuccessful are written off as being reckless.

I suspect that gambling, for many, may be a part of a "type A" personality. It's just another way to compete. Although for others, it may be "magic thinking" where "hope" supplants reason with the belief that this time the gamble will pay off.

In short, I don't think there's any legislative way to "fix" gambling. Universities should discourage it among athletes to avoid the risk of the appearance of game fixing, if not the actuality of it. But in the end, it's not going away.

I agree with all of this. The psychology as well. What I meant by the lack of stigma is, that money is prioritized in this country where, if you're making it, the how is not important. We have a phrase "business is business" which is used to excuse practices such as faceless mass layoffs, or keeping wages low in certain industries. Its rarely questioned, even though it destroys lives.

With gambling, if daddy goes to vegas and comes home with 5k it's a celebration- even though it was made by the same action that would cause his family to seek intervention If, this same guy, at the same craps table, came home 5k in the hole.

Money causes a lot of problems in society but we worship it still. It shouldn't always have a stigma (neither should alcohol and marijuana) but in certain circumstances like gambling, even if you win, we should allow it to be stigmatized.

 

[CL82]

I agree with all of this. The psychology as well. What I meant by the lack of stigma is, and you said it well, gamblers only really highlight wins. Money is prioritized in this country where, if you're making it, the how is not important. We have a phrase "business is business" which is used to excuse practices such as faceless mass layoffs, or keeping wages low in certain industries.

With gambling, if daddy goes to vegas and comes home with 5k it's a celebration- even though it was made by the same action that would cause his family to seek intervention If, this same guy, at the same craps table, came home 5k in the hole for instance. Money causes a lot of problems in society but we worship it still.

Kind of agree. You know the old saying that it's not money that's the root of all evil, it's the lack of money. Our capitalist system is the envy of the world and pursuit of wealth is the driving engine of it. Problems arise, when the pursuit becomes reckless instead of reasoned.

I kinda disagree that somebody dropping 5K in Vegas would cause their family to call for an intervention. Gambling problems seem to have a stigma associated with them. People don't seem to outwardly acknowledge them until things get very bad. I guess it's like substance abuse in that way. It would be good if we society would recognize addiction in whatever form as a "disease" rather than a character flaw. That only seems to happen after things bottom out though.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Kind of agree. You know the old saying that it's not money that's the root of all evil, it's the lack of money. Our capitalist system is the envy of the world and pursuit of wealth is the driving engine of it. Problems arise, when the pursuit becomes reckless instead of reasoned.

I kinda disagree that somebody dropping 5K in Vegas would cause their family to call for an intervention. Gambling problems seem to have a stigma associated with them. People don't seem to outwardly acknowledge them until things get very bad. I guess it's like substance abuse in that way. It would be good if we society would recognize addiction in whatever form as a "disease" rather than a character flaw. That only seems to happen after things bottom out though.

I agree with most of this.
But I disagree with your "envy of the world" statement.
I think we THINK that our capitalist system is the envy of the world. It's not.
We look at the happy, destitute buddhist monk, with his one robe and his bowl of rice, as though he's "missing out". He's not.
Not everyone shares our capitalist value system. In many parts of the world climbing the corporate ladder and continuous seeking of wealth is considered spiritually corrupt. We are not a spiritual country. Many countries commune with nature, we exploit it. They dont envy us this. We are materialistic. But it's all we know, so we assume it's the best.
Also, our happiness index is quite low in comparison to poorer countries.

And, tons of rich people are very depressed

 

[CL82]

I disagree.
I think we think that our capitalist system is the envy of the world. It's not.
We look at the happy, destitute buddhist monk, with his one robe and his bowl of rice, as though he's "missing out". He's not.
Not everyone shares our capitalist value system.
Also, our happiness index is quite low in comparison to poorer countries.
And, tons of rich people are very depressed

We can agree to disagree on that point. Since World War II, the world has benefited from Pax Americana largely due to our economic might that is derived from a free economy. For every hypothetical Buddhist monk you can imagine, I can imagine two institutionally destitute, individuals yearning for an opportunity through hard work to be able to change their station and provide for their families.

There's a reason why people migrate from impoverished countries without opportunity to countries where the opportunity to succeed exists. There's also a reason why you don't see any significant numbers heading the other way.

Interesting discussion, but if you want to continue it, let's do it via chat so it doesn't derail the thread or get it locked because of politics.

 

[Jaydumo20]

We can agree to disagree on that point. Since World War II, the world has benefited from Pax Americana largely due to our economic might that is derived from a free economy. For every hypothetical Buddhist monk you can imagine, I can imagine two institutionally destitute, individuals yearning for an opportunity through hard work to be able to change their station and provide for their families.

There's a reason why people migrate from impoverished countries without opportunity to countries where the opportunity to succeed exists. There's also a reason why you don't see any significant numbers heading the other way.

Interesting discussion, but if you want to continue it, let's do it via chat so it doesn't derail the thread or get it locked because of politics.

We'll probably never agree. Which is cool.
But we agree on uconn basketball....usually. always good talking with you

 

[CL82]

We'll probably never agree. Which is cool.
But we agree on uconn basketball....usually. always good talking with you

Same here.

(For what it's worth, "agreeing" is overrated. Exchanging ideas and hearing different viewpoints benefits everyone. It used to be pretty common without acrimony or anger. Hopefully we can get back to that societally.)

 

[Jaydumo20]

Same here.

(For what it's worth, "agreeing" is overrated. Exchanging ideas and hearing different viewpoints benefits everyone. It used to be pretty common without acrimony or anger. Hopefully we can get back to that societally.)

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[HitDog]

We'll probably never agree. Which is cool.
But we agree on uconn basketball....usually. always good talking with you

I agree . The world will be a better place when we all agree communism is the way to go.

 

[Devland]

I think athletes are more vulnerable to gambling issues because of their competitiveness.

 

[Horsebrnhil]

Gambling and college basketball goes back to the late 1950s, with Kentucky. The 1960s saw widespread "point shaving", as it was called, devastating college basketball, and reaching into Storrs. 2 players were charged, at UCONN, and dozens nationwide. The situation at UCONN may have inadvertently led to the death by heart attack, of coach Hugh Greer, who was devastated by scandal. Boston College was hit by points shaving in the early to mid 80s. Yes, AD Benedict should be concerned. With the internet, high tech, multiple gaming sites, it's so easy to fall into this morass. Question is, WHAT WILL NCAA, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT DO ABOUT IT? Doing nothing, and ignoring the problem, will, in the end, destroy the integrity of the game. We're already seeing it in baseball, and football. Pretty soon fans are going to lose interest in the games, claiming that these sports are nothing more than scripted entertainment not unlike Professional wrestling.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

My guess is that Duke kids will never be found to break it, UNC/Kansas kids will get a slap on the wrist, and UConn players will be banned for life with the team getting all 6 championships vacated.

Everyone will know Duke kids did it, but they won't be charged. UNC will claim that non-athletes also bet so it isn't wrong. UConn will get the death penalty for a student manager betting on the cricket world cup.

 

[Jaydumo20]

I agree . The world will be a better place when we all agree communism is the way to go.

I have some literature that may interest you.....

 

[superjohn]

Money should have a stigma?

I will say I have seen circumstances where individuals had a gambling problem. It's fascinating because they remember every win with astonishing clarity, but the losses are pretty much a blur.

I don't know that there is any type of enforcement action that could effectively prevent gambling. Even when opportunities weren't as publicly available, it's always been easy to get a bet down. I suspect, but don't know, that athletes may be a vulnerable class. The best are inherently competitive. Gambling is a way to compete with winnings being a convenient way to keep score.

Interestingly, you see the same psychology with people who are aggressive, investors, or entrepreneurs. They are often "all in" under their current enterprise. Those who are successful are admired because they "bet on themselves." Those who are unsuccessful are written off as being reckless.

I suspect that gambling, for many, may be a part of a "type A" personality. It's just another way to compete. Although for others, it may be "magic thinking" where "hope" supplants reason with the belief that this time the gamble will pay off.

In short, I don't think there's any legislative way to "fix" gambling. Universities should discourage it among athletes to avoid the risk of the appearance of game fixing, if not the actuality of it. But in the end, it's not going away.

There's no way to "fix gambling" but instead of trying to make things better we've gone all in on it as a society. It's shameful it was legalized and shoved in our faces 24/7. Thankfully the public seems to be increasingly against legalized sports gambling.

 

[CL82]

There's no way to "fix gambling" but instead of trying to make things better we've gone all in on it as a society. It's shameful it was legalized and shoved in our faces 24/7. Thankfully the public seems to be increasingly against legalized sports gambling.

Shameful?

 

[superjohn]

Shameful?

Yes