PCA educate on dangers of compulsive gambling The Professional Cricketers’ Association has enlisted the help of Phillip Mawer, a former addictive gambler, to educate players about the dangers of compulsive gambling. Every PCA member will receive a copy of Mawer’s best-selling book ‘Overcoming Gambling’ before the start of the new season and Mawer has also appeared in a video produced by the PCA to help players past and present spot the danger signs of gambling addiction. The video, which is being shown to current players during the PCA’s series of pre-season visits to the 18 first-class counties, tells how Mawer lost his wife – who drank herself to death – after he began gambling on an internet casino. Recent research by the Professional Players Federation, the national association for professional player associations in the United Kingdom, shows that cricketers and footballers are three times more likely to have a gambling problem than other sportsmen. In a special foreword to his book Mawer writes: ” As professional cricketers or retired professional cricketers you will naturally be over competitive by nature and unlikely to accept defeat easily. You fought for your position in the team and then fought for your team to win every match. Coupled with this over competitiveness, is a relatively well-paid occupation that can allow a greater degree of ‘free time’ than regular ‘09.00 to 05.00, Monday to Friday’ careers. For me this all adds up to a ticking bomb which potentially can lead you into gambling and from there a gambling addiction. ” Not for no reason is a gambling addiction known as ‘the hidden addiction’ and that is a founding principle why I call my approach ‘Gamblers aloud’. That name encapsulates getting your addiction out in the open and speaking about it (aloud) and accepting it as an illness and that nearly everyone in life has some sort of baggage, yours happened to be gambling (allowed).” Mawer’s book is the latest stage in the PCA’s programme aimed at helping players, past and present, with addictive behaviour issues. Craig Spearman, the former Gloucestershire and New Zealand batsman, also appeared in a PCA video in 2013 in which he revealed the difficulties his gambling problem had caused. “At times the pain and self-loathing has pushed me to the brink. I’ve tried many types of therapy, some of which were good and some not so good.” Assistant CEO and creator of PCA’s Mind Matters series of tutorials to help educate and raise awareness for a host of social issues, Jason Ratcliffe, said ” This is an important next step in educating our members and the general public of the risks associated with problematic gambling. The stark reality from the research shows that 1 in 6 of our current players could either have a moderate gambling problem or be an addict already. Greater access and time are key factors which can influence our group of young men and whilst we have a wide network of people on hand to help with difficulties, it’s great that Philip has offered direct access to share experiences and provide support. To watch Philips full length video, go to – https://vimeo.com/121020369 or the entire gambling series https://www.thepca.co.uk/gamblingvid.html {{ak_sharing}}
