Horse racing highlights a three-legged push to protect the needs of nationwide gamblers across the industry’s multibillion-dollar wagering landscape.
Two recent actions involve suspensions over egregious gambling incidents in professional sports. Another concerns a nationwide, aptly named focus on healthy betting behavior called Problem Gambling Awareness Month.
The March landscape includes a jockey betting against himself, an NFL player losing millions in salary for bets of $1,500, and a nationwide community outreach, aided by leagues and sportsbook operators, to counsel problem gamblers.
These incidents occur against the backdrop of an unprecedented industry golden age.
According to recent figures from Legal Sports Report, American bettors have wagered $110,254,030,736 since the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018. They have accounted for $7,880,502,867 in revenue, an attractive 7.1% hold and tax revenue of $1,101,751,429.
The majority of gamblers — more than 80%, as estimated by most responsible-gaming analysts — play responsibly. Another 10-15% can avoid abuse with self-exclusion mechanisms and by following tips outlined on the sites.
Overall, the industry fights hard to prevent problem gambling and tries to help those who get into trouble.
All of these elements have converged in March.
Horse racing jockey Mychel Sanchez bets against himself
On March 22, a Pennsylvania state horse-racing commission suspension officially runs out on Parx Racing jockey Mychel Sanchez, who wagered on races he competed in and actually bet against himself.
The efforts of TVG to alert racing officials had helped bring the problem to light.
The end of the official suspension leads to an unknown subsequent step. Sanchez was not allowed to be listed on upcoming races at Parx once the suspension was lifted, leaving his situation unclear. Horse racing is left to its own oversight.
Calvin Ridley suspended for NFL 2022 season for prohibited bets
In early March, NFL receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended for at least the 2022 season for betting on league games, which is expressly forbidden. It was a strong and definitive message of deterrence sent to its players and the public by the NFL.
March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month
Both situations occur in the shadow of Problem Gambling Awareness Month. National organizations (and the books themselves) try to keep gambling within the intended limits of entertainment and sport to millions of players.
Groups across America hold conferences, air public service announcements, provide counselor training, host health screening days, run social media campaigns, and sponsor other activities in March. Their goal is to increase public awareness of problem gambling and the availability of prevention, treatment, and recovery services.
These efforts are even more applicable in the age of mobile betting, in which the small percentage of problem gamblers must conquer mounting temptation.
Let’s observe these developments in reverse order.
Responsible gambling: protecting consumers from themselves
Sportsbook operators are required to place responsible gambling areas on their sites, and they are helpful.
From the Caesars Sportsbook app:
The warning signs of a problem:
Sacrificing time from work or family in order to gamble
Repeated inability to stop or control betting
Borrowing money to gamble or to pay off previous bets
Use of gambling as an emotional escape
Self-neglect or neglect of family due to gambling
Lying about time or money lost to betting
Gambling more in order to recoup previous losses (“chasing”)
Obtaining money for gambling by selling/pawning personal property
Feelings of hopelessness, depression, or suicide
Further input from the National Council on Problem Gambling
Know the Game: Make sure you understand the odds and house edge. Over the long run, the house always wins.
Make Your Plan: Know how much you’re willing to lose and how long you want to play — set limits of time and money.
Risk: Know and respect your risk tolerance.
Money: Never borrow money to gamble. Don’t gamble money you can’t afford to lose.
Team Up: Consider teaming up with a friend to help each other stick to your personal betting plans.
Time: Set a timer on your phone to keep track of time spent betting.
Balance: Balance gambling with other activities.
Entertainment: Treat gambling as a form of entertainment and not a way to make money.
Take a Break: When gambling is no longer fun, take a break.
Expect to Lose: Hope to win but expect to lose. Remember, you’re playing to have a good time — never chase your losses.
Treatment programs for individuals do foster success. See the related story on Ted Hartwell, who overcame $80,000 in debt and now serves on the board of directors for this group. He hasn’t placed a bet in nearly 15 years.
Here are some observations I’d add for the age of horse racing via mobile app:
- Monitor the adrenaline. When your pace quickens and you notice a rapid-fire betting pace, back off. Excitement does lead to faster bets and “action for the sake of action” wagers. People can hold steady for an hour and lose a bundle in 10 minutes. This is a dangerous cycle.
- Handicap the races. Know why you like who you like. Avoid making bets just because they are accessible.
- Know which tracks and which types of races are promising places to put your wager. Is your “sweet spot” wager a big win on a short-priced favorite or a spread bet involving several horses?
- Budget each month, quarter, or year as if it is a season. If your funds run out for that “season,” you are in the “off-season” until your next “season” begins. This protects players from accumulating large, long-term losses.
- Don’t gamble if you have been drinking.
- Don’t gamble if you are tired.
This list could be endless. Include tips that are personal to you — they matter.
NFL: The Ridley riddle: protecting consumer confidence in a highly wagered sport
The NFL wisely suspended Ridley for at least the 2022 season because he gambled on NFL games last year.
According to the league, Ridley placed bets during a five-day period in late November 2021, when he was away from the club’s facility on the non-football illness list.
The former first-round pick played in just five games in 2021 before leaving the club to focus on his “mental well-being.”
“There is nothing more fundamental to the NFL’s success — and to the reputation of everyone associated with our league — than upholding the integrity of the game,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter notifying Ridley of the suspension.
“This is the responsibility of every player, coach, owner, game official, and anyone else employed in the league. Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage public confidence in professional football, and potentially undermined the reputations of your fellow players throughout the NFL.”
Goodell, viewed as a hypocrite in gambling circles for trying to prevent gambling and later trying to capitalize on it, is right this time.
Ridley is likely not alone, and the NFL must set a strong example. The league needs to discourage others from gambling with the public confidence.
Imagine betting the Falcons, watching Ridley make an important drop, and later finding he’d been gambling. The belief is that he may have wagered on that game. According to a published report, he did wager on the Falcons. Ridley said he only gambled $1,500 and thus didn’t have a problem, but the NFL disagrees. The $1,500 wager will now cost him at least $10 million in salary.
This is appropriate. Ridley doesn’t realize that the problem is his jeopardizing of the public trust. When NFL players gamble, they are perceived to have inside information about injuries and coaching decisions.
Additionally, when a jockey gambles, he presents the perception of a fixed race, which the sport suffered through in years past.
Problem gambling in the Sport of Kings
For our playfecta audience, we’ll take a deeper look at the horse-racing angle.
Horse racing, unlike the NFL, doesn’t have a formal body that can speak for an entire organization. Instead, decisions occur track by track.
Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, for instance, made its own de facto extension of the state’s horse-racing commission suspension on Sanchez, who broke the rules by wagering on races in which he rode. The commission had suspended Parx Racing’s leading jockey for 60 days in January after the revelation that he’d not only bet on races he rode but also bet against himself.
TVG alerted authorities about Sanchez opening an account in his own name and then placing bets.
As the suspension concluded, Parx Racing announced it would not allow any trainer or agent to name Sanchez on entries for Tuesday, March 22.
Sanchez has also been indefinitely suspended from riding at 1/ST Racing tracks, including Laurel Park and Gulfstream Park. More tracks are expected to follow suit, and individual state commissions have the option of not renewing Sanchez’s riding license.
No ruling body has the authority to impose a lifetime ban, but commissions are acting pragmatically. As a result, Sanchez will likely incur a de facto long-term boot from an industry that needs to safeguard its wagering integrity.
This is the right move. In fact, it’s the only move.
The perception of a bettor affecting an outcome — whether true or not — destroys any sport’s lifeblood of integrity — especially horse racing.
The public, irate if a jockey breaks late from the gate, fails to find room around the turn, or gives a weak, ill-timed ride, would be outraged to discover that the jockey had also bet upon the event. Or against himself. Terms like “jockey’s races” are still uttered when disgruntled gamblers feel that jockeys teamed up in advance to fix the outcome of a race. However, letting someone compete after he has defrauded the game (jockeys are not allowed to bet on horse racing) may produce a downward spiral.
Multiplying the public mistrust by the handful of mounts Sanchez is presumed to receive every day, many races would become unplayable to people. As a result, the handle for that facility would substantially shrink.
Here is what Sanchez has tossed away, for the moment
A native of Venezuela who first rode in the US in 2013, Sanchez was co-leading rider at Parx in 2019 and leading rider in 2020. He was a top 10 rider at Monmouth Park in New Jersey, Laurel Park in Maryland, and Parx in 2021. Sanchez compiled 940 career wins in the US from 6,097 mounts.
According to Blood Horse, Sanchez was listed as the 36th leading jockey in the nation last year. He earned just under $6 million for his connections. Based on presumed jockey percentages of 10% of winnings, he would have earned more than $500,000 last year.
Why risk that?
Through his attorney, Sanchez has said he suffers from depression. That ties into one of the triggers of problem gambling and can be understood on a human level. Get him help, provide counseling, and let him try to beat his demons.
Get Sanchez help, but don’t let him ride
The conditions that led him to bet, even if treated, will always exist. The urge to play will remain. Compassion for Sanchez as an individual can’t collide with the public interest. So there will always be the threat of another betting attempt by Sanchez.
Horse racing is lucky that Sanchez opened the TVG account in his own name and wasn’t trying to be sneaky. Likewise, it is fortunate that TVG detected the abnormality and alerted authorities, who acted quickly.
But allowing him back sends a message to countless jockeys that the offense won’t mean expulsion.
Yes, jockeys might have bets placed for them by their trainers or owners, even friends, but that’s not as easy as sitting in the training room or at home, downloading an app, and gaining action. Moreover, long-term suspensions for jockeys who bet on horse races may discourage them from enlisting third-party representatives.
Here’s another head-scratcher. Athletes can wager freely on any other sport. Why taint their own? Why risk so much money (Sanchez could lose perhaps $1 million if his suspension ran two years) to make comparatively little on a few bets?
In the end, the racing verdict exceeds Sanchez’s plight
It’s not about him. It’s about preserving the waters of public trust by not letting someone walk along the edge dumping in a poisonous substance, the perception of insider trading.
Commissions can acknowledge the second-chance philosophy of our culture, but they also should not listen to any alibis that unfold now. If the industry wants to give Sanchez at least a year to cool off, with the threat of a lifetime ban if caught again, some may consider that reasonable. If it wants to impose lifetime bans on him and any other jockeys caught gambling on horse racing, others will consider that reasonable.
In the end, the goal is to protect the public trust in all sports. Three unrelated items now linked — the Sanchez and Ridley suspensions, combined with the focus on responsible gambling — underscore this message.
They may also illustrate that the industry’s quality-control efforts are better than most people thought.
