McConville: One player on every county panel hooked on gambling
The former Armagh footballer came out as a gambling addict himself in 2007 and is now working as a counsellor to help others with the same problems.
He is at the coalface of an issue he describes as ‘massive’ and insists the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) chief Dessie Farrell’s revelation that three top players booked in for treatment in the last year alone is ‘hugely conservative’.
He estimates there are many players dealing with gambling problems nationwide but that the vast majority haven’t yet sought treatment. It’s a big statement to make and, if true, means the GAA are dealing with a ticking time bomb that, as McConville says, ‘is about to explode’.
Asked how prevalent gambling problems are in the Association, McConville said, “I would imagine that a player on every county team is in the situation. I would severely suspect that. That’s what I believe right now.
“It seems that a lot of people are quite shocked by what the GPA has come out with, about the three players going in for treatment. The only surprise to me is that we weren’t reading this two or three years ago. Because this didn’t happen today or yesterday. Exposure to gambling has increased 500 or 1000% in the last six or seven years.
“I would have gambled with a lot of fellas in Armagh and even around the club. It can be very much a thing that a team does almost together. So it’s widespread. None of this stuff is news to me. And I think it’s about to explode onto another level.
“I’m not just talking from a sporting point of view or a GAA point of view but society generally.
“I’ll tell you how I would sum it up — it was always the case that every family in Ireland could say they knew someone who had a drink problem.
“Ireland was always associated with a drink culture. But I honestly believe that gambling is right up there at the same level now, as far as causing problems within families, societal problems and all that sort of thing.”
The GAA hasn’t been slow to acknowledge the effects of unemployment on its members. McConville draws strong links between this issue and gambling addiction.
“The studies actually show that in times of recession gambling addiction increases,” continued the 2002 All-Ireland medallist. “You’ve got lads out of work with time on their hands and that’s when a lot of the problems start.
“The other side of it is the accessibility. Nearly every young footballer has a phone with internet access. So people who might never have been in a bookies in their lives suddenly have the option of going online and having a bet. And for every six or seven people who get exposed to that, one of those develops a problem. That’s what the evidence suggests.”
McConville shocked the GAA world when he revealed his gambling problems in his book ‘The Gambler’.
Last year, Offaly star Niall McNamee made the same admission and revealed he was also undergoing treatment.
McConville said the more that higher profile players go public with their individual stories, the more the taboo of gambling addiction can be addressed and tackled properly.
McConville knows the three players that Farrell was talking about, ‘fairly well known lads’, and has no problem being the first point of contact for other inter-county players if they wish.
“I have no problem doing that because nobody will ever quite understand how big a problem this is for so many households around the country on a day to day basis,” he said.
“The least that I can do, having got the same help in the past myself, is to talk about it openly like this and encourage others to do so.
“I’ll never stop being grateful to the people in the GAA and outside of it who helped me. I don’t claim to have all the answers now but I can at least point people in the right direction.”
