Earlier in the year, sports media and mainstream news reported on alleged gambling policy violations in the NBA and MLB. The players named for breaching league codes of conduct were the Toronto Raptors’ Jontay Porter and Pittsburgh Pirates’ Tucapita Marcano. America paused and asked “Who?”.
Those who follow and watch sports closely had an idea of who these individuals were at the time. But when compared to the stature of Shohei Ohtani (cleared of his gambling scandal) or even rising star Isaiah Rodgers (watch interview) these athletes were far from household names. They, among most other players in any given professional league are either known as benchwarmers, backup players, or substitutes. Anyone that is not in the regular starting lineup.
Involvement of Porter, Marcano, and other players recently embroiled in policy violations regarding gambling in professional sports (Stanley Berryhill III, Quintez Cephus, etc.) begs an important question. Could non-starters be more vulnerable to problem gambling and sports betting scandals that follow? And if so, should they be of greater focus when it comes to behavioral health evaluations and support platform investment? Let’s review.
How Benchwarmers and Backup Players May Be More Vulnerable to Gambling Policy Violations in Professional Sports
Innate Athlete Vulnerability to Problem Gambling
To begin with, we must draw attention to research which shows that elite athletes in general are more vulnerable to developing a problematic relationship with gambling. With a prevalence of problem gambling (6%), moderate-risk gambling (14%) and low-risk gambling (19%) they far exceed the equivalent rates of the general population. You can read more about this predisposition here, but the takeaway is clear – an athlete entering elite levels of professional sport, even as a backup player, is doing so with the chips stacked against them.
Negative Relationship Between Playing Time and Confidence / Satisfaction
There is a limited amount of research on the mental health challenges faced by players who come off the bench when compared to starters, but results of a recent study call for more. Outcome variables of this study were measured with the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5), the Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire (ASQ) and the Competitive Sport Anxiety Inventory (WAI-S). Researchers found that a decrease in playing time was related to an decrease in player satisfaction and perhaps more importantly, decreased levels of confidence.
Decreased confidence levels are associated with low self-esteem. Bodies of research find that low self-esteem is correlated with various types of psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety, both of which cooccur with gambling disorder (GD). More relevant to today’s discussion, is that studies have confirmed that greater impulsivity (which athletes are more prone to) and lower self-esteem predicted higher irrational gambling belief.
Fears About Career Longevity
Data (and logic) regarding low levels of confidence in substitutes and smaller role players can be tied to insecurity about career longevity:
“Experts say the Porter and Marcano cases demonstrate that certain athletes are more susceptible to the pitfalls of gambling. Although both were professional athletes, they were considered fringe players, earning far less than many others and constantly battling to stay in their respective leagues. For example, Porter’s salary for this year was around $410,000 — far below the league average.”
CBC News
Imagine what it’s like for a professional athlete to live with constant insecurity about whether or not they will be kept by their team when their contract concludes. As they may see it, the opportunity to earn extra money by leveraging their position to capitalize on sports betting may be worth the risk. In the Jontay Porter case, payouts on prop bets (more on this below) were in the millions.
Also consider mid-tier athletes who come from lower income backgrounds. Their direct and extended families often depend upon them. Could this be one of the reasons that gambling issues are more developed among low-income athletes (non-starters) than high-income athletes (starters)?
Players at this level must have access to mental health support to help manage their career anxieties. They will also benefit from league-provided education and support for how to manage their money which can turn a “small contract” into a lifetime of dividends. Remember (as an example) that the minimum annual salary for a second-year NFL player is $480,000.
Prop Betting Creates Concerning Opportunity
Benchwarmers and second-tier players have fewer opportunities to impact the final outcome of a game as it pertains to the moneyline and point spread. As a result, they may not be tempted to violate league gambling policy to shave points. However, the rise of proposition odds in sports betting and daily fantasy sports (DFS) has put more influence in the hands of these athletes. For example, if operators release proposition odds on a team getting a technical foul (basketball) or a red card (soccer) in a given half, any player on the squad from the bench or floor/pitch can initiate an action that results in one. Returning once again to Porter’s scandal, the NBA player entered into an agreement with fraudsters to pull himself out of games so they would be guaranteed to win prop bets that predicted he would underperform in a series of statistical categories, including points scored and rebounds.
Organizations such as the NCAA are calling on regulators to ban player prop bets to protect both athletes and the integrity of sport. This could be what’s needed to mitigate backup player temptation to enter into sports betting schemes.
Easier Prey for Organized Crime
We’ve shared the video below in the past and we will continue to do so because it explicitly details how organized criminals manipulate players, which possible aligns with what has happened to Jontay Porter:
Gangsters and fraudsters like Franzese have a tougher time putting the proverbial screws to top level athletes. The potential for exposure is simply too high and tactics less effective against stars who boast multimillion dollar contracts. But low to mid-level players who don’t have a spotlight on them, who make around six figures, and are concerned about their future in professional sports? They are easy prey.
Players entering professional sports from college, preparatory, and minor leagues must received early intervention education about this risk when being onboarded. Otherwise they will not be prepared for this rising threat to their wellbeing.
Kindbridge Behavioral Health is America’s preeminent provider of gambling disorder (GD) counseling for athletes and GD infrastructure for league organizations. Those concerned about vulnerability to violating policy regarding gambling in professional sports are encouraged to contact us to learn about custom programs.
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