Oisín McConville on post-pandemic rise in gambling and Armagh GAA predictions

The pandemic as taken its toll on everyone in one way or another but some of the problems caused have yet to materialise.

The statistics for gambling addiction are frightening, with a 60% increase since the pandemic began, and Oisín McConville says the lockdown has exasperated the issue and kept it hidden behind closed doors more than ever before.

If anyone can give advice on problem gambling it’s the former Armagh County star.

He doesn’t flinch when he talks about his own well-documented gambling addiction, which began at the tender age of 14, until he sought help 16 years ago when he was 30. And while he urges anyone with a problem to speak to someone, be it a friend, family member, or a professional, he stresses that he chose to speak out, but gamblers anonymous also works for a lot of people.

Oisín says it’s not just an issue associated with men anymore – with the prevalence of mobile phones and every source of social media, making it easier than ever to gamble anywhere and everywhere. And it’s often children, seemingly younger and younger, finding themselves sucked into a spiralling addiction that ruins lives.