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Betting as a Family Member of an Athlete

Author: Peter Portero
Date: 03/03/06
Articles Category: Gambling Articles

Betting on sports where family members are involved leads to many ethical and legal issues. First, would it be fair to have inside information as to who was injured or who was performing well on the team? Family members talk to each other and this information will get out. Having this type of inside account of how a team is doing can greatly help when deciding to bet on the spread.

The laws concerning family member of professional players and betting are ambiguous. For the most part, it would be suspect if the family member won a lot of money on a single bet. This is the equivalent to insider trading. Betting is based on everyone having the same information. With an advantage, family member can make more money. But is it a good idea to profit off another person’s success by obtaining information that is not made public? This raises a lot of ethical questions concerning family. Using a family member to make money is not new. But what does it do to a family? In many cases, it tears them apart. People get mad at other people or the athlete feels pressured to tell other family member how to place bets. Everyone ends up hating each other.

Family members should not bet on sports teams that other family member play for. They should not bet at all. The chances of getting caught are slim, but the more money a person wins, the more high profile they will be. If newspapers found out the truth, then there would be many doubts raised, which could ruin a player’s career. It is not worth the risk. Betting on anything other than sports is better for everyone in the family. There are many different gambling options such as horse racing, poker and other games. Gambling is fun. But gambling on a family member’s future is not.