Police Forces Now Screening for Gambling Addiction During Hiring Process

Prospective employers typically conduct background checks and contact listed references.  This has been a common practice over the past few decades.  And it is especially prevalent when it comes to jobs in law enforcement.

Add one more check in the application process: One's history of gambling.

A number of police forces throughout England and Wales are now doing just that.  Whether those in North America follow suit remains to be seen.

These agencies are inquiring about gambling habits in addition to any alcohol and drug use.

From John Ungoed Thomas of the Guardian:

Police and crime commissioners are also calling for better safeguards to prevent the proceeds of crime being used for gambling. In a recent case, Martin Sargeant, a former head of operations at the Church of England, defrauded the church of more than £5.2m and staked millions of pounds on online fruit machines while being offered VIP status, bonuses, food hampers and luxury watches by betting firms.

The policy coincides with a White Paper due to be published some time this year that will determine if tighter requirements for operators are required to protect customers in addition to affordability checks.

Cavs Coach Warns of ‘Dark Side’ to Legalized Sports Betting

With sports betting now legal in the great state of Ohio and the first bet placed by none other than Pete Rose (the same player Major League Baseball refuses to induct into the Baseball Hall of Fame for his gambling activity back in the 80's), Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff is sounding the alarm.

Ohio will offer perhaps the most extensive sports gambling landscape of any state with wagering offered in bars, bowling alleys, even supermarkets.

Betting kiosks are the size of an in-store ATM.

“You can’t hope but notice it and see it’s there,” Bickerstaff said while referring to the bombardment of commercials aired during NFL games and other sporting events on television trying to convince fans to get in on the action. “It’s something I try to stay away from as best as I possibly can.

“I do think it’s something that moving forward we’re going to have to spend more time on educating ourselves and all of our guys on, because we know the downside or the dark side of it. We have to be careful. There are so many things that can lead to trouble, even that you might see as innocent.”

Bickerstaff suggests that he and others could be routinely approached while in public with inquiries as to whether a particular player will be on the court in the next game.  That type of inside information is especially valuable to sports bettors and, in particular, criminal syndicates.

“In your mind, you don’t think about it at the moment,” Bickerstaff said. “That guy (who approaches you) goes and turns (the information) into a bet and it comes back and is somehow related to you. There are small things we’ll have to be sensitive to and more aware of.”

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com