Sports, in general, comes with heightened emotions coupled with the excitement, thrills and chills, either they are athletics, tennis, boxing, football, among others.
In my company to watch a football match with five of my childhood friends, Akoto, Paa, Obeng, Figo, and Joel, all of whom were not only football lovers but adherents’ fans of their respective football teams. Figo’s Manchester United was up against Obeng and Joel’s Chelsea FC, with the trio rooting for their respective teams to win the game.
Tensions got higher each time either teams missed a chance to bury the ball at the back of his opponent’s net. Not only did their heart skip beats at the miss of a chance, but they also rained insults on the players who ruined opportunities to put their team ahead.
So, I pushed to know why they were furious only for Akoto and Joel to reveal to me that, what I was observing was more than football, it was business in which huge monies were at stake.
Yes, business! The fun side of football was now in keen competition with the business aspect of it as most youth these days placed bets on their favourite teams or teams which had better advantage over their opponents.
Cash Cow
Not only the English Premier League (EPL) but other major soccer leagues across the globe including the Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A and German Bundesliga for most Ghanaian youth were now cash cows.
The new normal was for youth within the age range of 18-30 to place a bet on their favourite teams with the hopes of winning.
The win, at its worst, would grant them their monies back with a little profit while at its best could double their monies in more than tenfold.
In light of this, there have been numerous list of betting companies set up in all sixteen regions of the country.
While most of the youth spend a productive time of the day visiting these centres on a regular basis, others prefer to stake their bet online during their leisure time.
It is a known fact that money is the topmost motivation fueling most people to bet, while the lure of excitement, entertainment and financial freedom accompanying betting is particularly attractive to the Ghanaian youth.
It is a known fact that money is the topmost motivation fueling most people to bet, while the lure of excitement, entertainment and financial freedom accompanying betting is particularly attractive to the Ghanaian youth.
The euphoria surrounding the act may render youth particularly vulnerable to the risks and negative consequences associated with it.
Effects
Betting is gradually becoming a public health issue that affects not only adults but also the youth of the country. Gambling problems in adolescents have often gone unnoticed as they are difficult to measure and observe.
With the development of a range of new betting products and the marketing for these products, people are potentially exposed to it more than ever before.
While there have been many calls to develop strategies, which protect people from harmful betting products, very little is known about the factors that may influence one’s attitude towards these products.
According to researchers, Derevensky and Gupta, problems in gambling during adolescence could lead to adverse outcomes such as strained relationships, delinquency, criminal, depression and even suicide.
Confirming the research done by Derevensky and Gupta, it was evident that behaviours displayed by some youth when they had lost their bet were shocking, as most of them remained hostile, verbally abusive, and morose.
In an interview with The Coastal Eye, a bettor residing at Amamoma, Kwesi, confessed that sometimes the betting rendered him financially crippled as a substantial amount of his earnings had been pumped into the act. He explained that due to his current situation of being unemployed, he engages in such acts to earn something little.
“Sometimes I do win and sometimes too they chop me well but I do not give up, because it is all about luck,” he disclosed.
Such negative outcomes could have short and long-term implications for the individual, as well as for society at large.
Yet, despite these negative consequences, problems associated with sports betting among the youth have only recently emerged as a public health concern. Till date, little effort has been made to respond to this youthful risk behaviour.
The consequences borne by the youth experiencing gambling-related problems are serious, and the damage can be devastating to the adolescent, and his peers, family and the country at large.
Among other effects, betting increases the chance of youngsters succumbing to other risk-taking activities such as lottery, kidnapping, robbery among others or even they suffering from psychological and behavioural issues.
In a worst-case scenario, betting can cause an individual to lose interest in school, family, and friends, and it will make them sink deeper into the void.
Policy
On the policy front, the government should put measures in place to make sure that the public would be protected from over-stimulation of latent betting through limitation of its opportunities.
This can be achieved by imposing tighter restrictions on advertising, tighter restrictions on entry into bet centres based on age, and limitation of opening hours among others.
By Rhoda Baah-Danso
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