Why do some athletes bet on themselves despite the huge consequences?

[carlfebz2]

According to what I have read in the past, not even only the athlete that should not bet, also his coach and family members should not also bet on him or his opponents. I think this rule is there to avoid cheating.

For the athletes that do not listen but trying to cheat, there is no reason behind what he did than trying to cheat and make money from cheating.

Some people are greedy. They see an opportunity to cheat and they are greedy about it and cheat just to make money. This is not only in athletic but also in all other sports. They will think that no one can find out.

Cheating is in human nature.

Based up on my awareness that there would be a certain degree in terms of relatives on whose not really that allowed for you to bet on them on which it will really be that understandable that
they would really be prohibiting it out due to some possible cheating and could really that potentially be able to make money if ever there would really be those possible intents on making themselves lose on a match. Yes, its really that pretty common on having this kind of possibility on which of course only a few get caught and there would be still those athletes who are still doing this but luckily they havent
caught themselves. As for consequences, then its true that it will really be that a heavy one and to those who have done something such as this then they do know the risks but just like as you have said
that human beings are naturally greedy and they would be getting involved on things on which they do know that they could take advantage.

[Su-asa]

We've heard many stories of athletes being suspended for life for betting on their own games. Yet, despite the risks, some of them keep risking everything. Is it just about the money, or is there something deeper driving them After all, money can’t replace their sport careers and the excitement they can feel through playing unless they are forced to play. Being remembered as cheaters can destroy their reputation and legacy. But, do they really care...

Considering the risks involved in doing this I didn't even know that some athletes would even consider to risk it, but it's crazy because if they are making money as professional athletes what the essence of doing that, well I guess it's not for the money my best guess is they are either doing it for entertainment or to flaunt themselves, whatever the reason is for engaging in this act the consequences might wreck your whole career, this risk isn't worth taking

[swogerino]

We've heard many stories of athletes being suspended for life for betting on their own games. Yet, despite the risks, some of them keep risking everything. Is it just about the money, or is there something deeper driving them After all, money can’t replace their sport careers and the excitement they can feel through playing unless they are forced to play. Being remembered as cheaters can destroy their reputation and legacy. But, do they really care...

It appears no as we have the latest case of Sandro Tonali who just got back to Newcastle after being suspended for 1 year because of betting in his own team, not on his own as he plays football which is a collective game but apparently he didn't care much about his career as 1 year out of the fields can make you sassy and baggy to say the least, you are not at the same form you were when you were playing every match of the week and were doing a great job by playing, by doing so he has put his career at a great risk so I don't his motives as he never explained them well yet what I do know is that with this gesture for sure this man does not value a lot his career. If he did, I am sure he would never done that, to bet on the team you play on and to be accused of game fixer and many other things which he obviously didn't accept.

[Marvelockg]

We've heard many stories of athletes being suspended for life for betting on their own games. Yet, despite the risks, some of them keep risking everything. Is it just about the money, or is there something deeper driving them After all, money can’t replace their sport careers and the excitement they can feel through playing unless they are forced to play. Being remembered as cheaters can destroy their reputation and legacy. But, do they really care...

greed is the number one course of this sort of thing. I've watched a one time footballer who unfortunately didn't get to climb to the top of his football carreer narrating that he bets on games in the local leagues that aren't all that popular and that the reason why he does that is that he understand things about those teams that the average person doesnt know. People generally believe that they can never be caught and some of them just try to play smart on the system untill they are eventually caught. Some of us might not even know if certain coaches cheats the system by setting up an hidden team that gambles for them without anyone known about it while they sit back and do the basic analysis of the game in addition to some inside information that might have access to.

[Fortify]

We've heard many stories of athletes being suspended for life for betting on their own games. Yet, despite the risks, some of them keep risking everything. Is it just about the money, or is there something deeper driving them After all, money can’t replace their sport careers and the excitement they can feel through playing unless they are forced to play. Being remembered as cheaters can destroy their reputation and legacy. But, do they really care...

The answer is pretty obvious and straight forward, but it's rare to see an athlete be so dumb as to bet on their own games when they often do it through friends or family instead. Bookmakers don't like losing money, so when they see anything suspicious, like a huge bet that wins on an obscure outcome, they will dive much deeper into it and research what happened - they have investigative resources that would easily find out an obvious connection if there was a lot of money at stake. Besides that they will also notice patterns of less unusual behavior, but winning consistently itself is quite unusual when it comes to bookmakers and will stand out like a sore thumb on any account that tries to do this.

[Ultegra134]

Quite simply, because the pay is not enough.

I don't think betting on your self it's a problem based on my perspective. Unless, you're betting on your opponent since you as the player who play against your opponent can just make the match lose. That's why, is prohibited betting against your enemy.

But, against yourself ? still weird why they prohibited these. Most people/team in the scene with small pay, always doing these (as long not getting caught).

That's something I hadn't considered, and you're absolutely right! Prohibiting betting against the opponent makes much more sense, since you could literally sabotage the entire game on purpose in an attempt to cash out the money from the bet. I've also read stories of players being bribed by the rival team to guarantee their victory. It's astonishing to what lengths some people will go to make money and how unethical some of these acts are.

Anyway, returning to the main topic, betting on yourself isn't impossible; as others already suggested, you can do it through friends or other family members, and you're unlikely to be caught 9/10, which is why some people are willing to take the risk.

[Juse14]

We've heard many stories of athletes being suspended for life for betting on their own games. Yet, despite the risks, some of them keep risking everything. Is it just about the money, or is there something deeper driving them After all, money can’t replace their sport careers and the excitement they can feel through playing unless they are forced to play. Being remembered as cheaters can destroy their reputation and legacy. But, do they really care...

Perhaps when choosing to gamble, athletes are searching for something that is missing in their lives, such as excitement beyond what they get on the field. While their careers are already full of challenges and adrenaline, maybe some of them found themselves addicted to the added thrill of high stakes. Outside of sports, the asides add a lot more color and texture to the description.

It is also possible that some athletes get bored or feel suffocated by the immense pressure in the wake of expectations that come hand in hand with their careers. Gambling can be an avenue of escapism or a route to feel re-empowered in control in something in their lives. Alternatively, overconfidence or simply believing that they are immune to being caught is also potentially motivating.

But this choice… understanding of the true value of their career and reputation. Money can be earned back, but a good name and legacy are hard to restore after being tarnished by a scandal like this. This can destroy not only their career but also the trust and respect built over a lifetime.