What an oddly written article. So Delany, the flagship character in the narrative, bet a bit of money and then his wife caught him so he stopped. Is he the best example they could have found? Sports betting and gambling in general is incredibly destructive and unbelievably difficult to kick for full-on addicts. Gambling addiction is no joke.
For some far more compelling journalism on the terrible consequences of gambling addiction I recommend this ABC Australia article on Australian pokies (that's "slot machines" if you're American, "fruit machines" if you're British).
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-26/widow-of-addict-who-t...
Or this SMH article of various peoples' stories
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/i-wanted-to-be-caught-in...