The NHL or the National Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league that is situated within the northern half of the Americas. The NHL is one of the foremost sports leagues within the United States of America and in Canada; therefore the assertion that the NHL could be fostering a hidden gambling problem is extremely serious.
Sport Stars And a Gambling Problem
Gambling for many is an innocent hobby, something that can be done as a leisure activity with friends, however for athletes the temptation can become to great due to their huge sums of disposable income. The issues surrounding gambling with athletes becomes even greater when one considers the potential for the fixing of matches, or the possibility of illegal criminal activities exerting influence on sports. Hence, it is so important to identify athletes with gambling addictions; some famous examples include Wayne Rooney, Paul Hornung and Charles Barkley.
An example of a sport star that has been fighting with a gambling addiction in the world of NHL is Jaromir Jagr. The NHL star had the highest salary in the 1989 – 1990 season and achieved this feat again in the 2007 – 2008 season. Yet, he has previously battled a serious addiction to gambling and did eventually own up to having pay an approximate sum of $1 million to several online casino platforms due to unsettled debts.
Another member of the NHL who has had issues with online gambling in the past is Rick Tocchet. Rick Tocchet is currently the head coach of the Arizona Coyotes in the NHL and was previously played for several leading teams including the Los Angeles Kings, the Washington Capitals and the Philadelphia Flyers. Rick Tocchet did face some unpopular sentiment due to his involvement within an illicit gambling ring and his stint as a bookmaker. These dealings caused him to take an obligatory two-year period of exodus from the NHL, where only in 2008 was he once again welcomed as the coach of Tampa Bay Lightning. The authorities stated that an estimated $1 million moved through the underground gambling ring, in addition the ring include the wife of Wayne Gretzky – Janet Jones.
The scandalous act of the illicit gambling ring which Rick Tocchet was a part of, dominated the newsrooms of the world for quite a time, when in truth it is so easy to come into contact with perfectly legal online casinos today. For a list of completely legal online casinos click here! Another sports star in the NHL who went off the tracks at the casino tables is Evander Kane a forward for the San Jose Sharks who had legal proceedings opened against him by a Las Vegas casino after unsettled gambling debts.
However, the NHL has not steered away from the world of gambling, in fact the NHL has warmed to sports betting since it was legalized. Indeed, many stars of the hockey world including Don LaGreca have embraced gambling; Don LaGreca who is a personality on The Michael Kay Show includes gambling news as part of their segment.
Can Gambling Be Enjoyed Responsibly?
In recent academic studies, it has been shown that pro-athletes are more likely to be susceptible than gambling addiction than within the usual populace. However, the prevalence was far greater in men than in women, but there was no indication that those in team sports fared differently with gambling addictions to those participating in individual sports. Although, it must be noted that the aggregated increase for athletes was only 7% higher than for the normal population.
In truth the answer is more simple, online gambling can be enjoyed responsibly by people of all professions, however, prudential discretion should always be exercised and this is especially true for athletes. If you are looking for the best online casinos in New Zealand then click here and find a complete list. What are you waiting for?
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