Problem gambling and gambling addiction have turned out to be a menace for the nations. It is estimated that almost three-quarters of the Western world are active participants in gambling. But with time around 4% emerge as problem gamblers, or gamblers who experience psychological dependency with regard to gambling, or gambling becomes the cause of disrupting daily life and work. According to the 2020 survey in Great Britain, as many as 1.4 million people emerged as prey to problem gambling. Data analysis further reported that almost 3.6 million people had a negative impact of gambling in their lives. Furthermore, it was also reported that more than half-section of the people either refused help or cannot avail of medical aid to treat themselves with gambling addiction.
To combat a situation as such, The UKGC(United Kingdom Gambling Commission) introduced the self-exclusion program, GamStop, on all UKGC licensed casinos. Self-exclusion programs are initiatives that abstain the user from indulging in any gambling websites or programs during a particular period of exclusion. But as reported by nonstopcasino.org, players can continue gambling using betting sites not on GamStop that are not part of the self-exclusion system. Registration in GamStop is simple and comes free of cost. All the interested user needs to do is fill up the registration form with personal details and select the period of excursion.
Gambling in the UK shares a symbiotic relationship with the sports industry. The English people love to bet on their favourite sport, whether it is football, golf, or cricket. This is so because online sports betting is legalized in the UK. Gambling Brands such as Bet365, William Hill, Betway, etc. operate the largest sportsbooks.
Betting in the Golf Industry
The popularity of the golf industry is rising exponentially in the current decade. This also implies that there are higher chances of bets being placed upon the athletes of the games. The 2022 records indicate that betting sites such as Unibet, NetBet, PaddyPower emerge as people’s choices as the best online sites to place bets for golf.
On scouring the golf world, one can easily find several gambling games in vogue across the world. The most popular golfing games include Nassau, Stableford, Bingo Bango Bongo, etc. Online themes of these games are available and are quite popular among regular golf-loving gamblers.
Reasons why Golf Fans Join Self-exclusion
It is regarded that to a great extent the role of the golf stars has to do with influencing their fans. Young fans look up to their favourite golf stars as their idols and wish to emulate and follow in their footsteps. Young gamers need to get themselves registered in GamStop. This is so because there are chances that these young minds get moulded by the addictive nature of games, and they spend a lot of time in front of their desktop, laptop, or mobile screen. It hampers both their mind and body and over time there is a chance that these players lose track of reality. It puts up a great impact on their competitions, careers as a whole. Very often parents also look upon the role models in vogue in the media to preach about responsible gaming, as well as the addictive nature that they unveil, so that the youngsters remain alarmed of their actions.
In most cases, the reputed and renowned golf players, such as Tyrell Hatton, Paul Casey, Rory Mcllroy, etc. have themselves represented as GamStop supporters and emerged as the voices, educating their fans on responsible gambling practices. They also took up media to preach the benefits of GamStop, and reasons to use it.
The Professional Golf Association is composed of the elite, reputed players represented in the Professional Players Federation (PPF). It is known the PPF is a body that expresses the best interests of the players. The recent reports reveal that the PPF reveals that the players express their best interest in promoting responsible gambling practices.
The truth about the rising problem of gambling practices among golf stars also does not remain hidden. When an elite player of the team spreads awareness of responsible gambling practices, they have to also follow the norms. This seems like a gradual kickstart to follow the steps of the fellow teammates too.
GamStop and other alternatives of GamStop, such as BetBlocker, Gamblock, Netnanny, etc. have also started sponsoring several golf events so that they reach out the message of responsible gambling among the citizens, gambling portals as well as promote their self-exclusion programs.
Conclusion
Besides football, golf is another popular sporting industry that expresses its concern regarding the growing statistics of problem gambling, and gambling addiction. Hence, educating their fans regarding the symptoms, and consequences of problem gambling and gambling addiction also appears as a core responsibility.
GamStop services are free of cost and can be availed by everyone, who plays under UKGC-licensed casinos. The promotion of GamStop by the golf industry has successfully convinced the fans to get registered in the program and walk on the path of responsible gambling.