Caroline Garcia Slams Unhealthy Gambling as Cause of Social Media Abuse

The growth of popularity in sports betting helped attract millions of bettors to different sports across the globe. While the days of visiting a retail shop to place a bet are nearly over, considering the popularity of mobile wagering, not all bettors know how to deal with their losses.

In the end, the people who suffer from the losses of disgruntled gamblers are the athletes themselves. Many professional and collegiate athletes have fallen victim to online abuse and harassment related to wagering. This is also the case of Caroline Garcia, a globally recognizable French tennis star.

Earlier this week, Garcia went on social media to share her concern regarding the growth of online abuse, particularly related to gambling activities. She took to her personal page on Instagram to share some of the abusive messages she received recently after losing some matches.

Concerningly, some of the hateful messages included: “You should consider (gun emoji) yourself”, “A clown belongs in the circus”, “I hope your mom dies soon” and “I hate you so much.” The French tennis star recently lost the first round of the US Open to Renata Zarazúa, an unseeded player from Mexico.

In her post on Instagram, Garcia revealed that while she has tools to protect herself from this online hate, derogatory messages still hurt. While the tennis star, who is on the list of top 25 women’s singles players, shared only a few of the hateful messages, she said she received hundreds.

Betting Companies, “Actively Destroy the Life of Some People”

Garcia went on to criticize social media platforms. She warned that despite the advancement of AI, social media platforms do not effectively prevent online abuse. To make matters worse, the tennis star said that tennis tournaments across the globe join forces with betting companies which helps attract “new people to unhealthy betting.”

Moreover, Garcia wrote: “The days of cigarette brands sponsoring sports are long gone. Yet, here we are promoting betting companies, which actively destroy the life of some people.”

Acknowledging that she doesn’t advocate for a ban on gambling since people can do what they want with their money, Garcia said that maybe tennis should not promote betting and gambling companies.

She also took issue with online anonymity, saying that if a person makes a threat or a hateful comment in real life, they may be subject to “legal issues,” and questioned why people online are “free to do anything?”

Garcia’s concerns and frustration do not come as a surprise. Across the globe, gambling-related threats against athletes have fallen under the scrutiny of sports leagues and social media platforms. Some cases related to severe threats to the athletes’ lives have even resulted in legal actions against bettors who have been located thanks to a collaboration between social media and law enforcement.