Joe Champion: Being a responsible punter should extend beyond just limiting your losses

If you're reading this, I'd suggest it's odds-on that you've placed a losing bet at least once in your lifetime. 

I've backed more than my fair share and, as someone who both tips and bets primarily on golf, they will always outstrip the winners by quite a distance.

How did you react to those unsuccessful punts?

Hopefully you took the sensible approach, cut your losses and walked out of the bookies, switched off the laptop or put down your smartphone. 

There's nothing wrong with feeling aggrieved when a wager goes awry, particularly when you believe said wager should've won – something which I also consider myself to be well versed in.

What is wrong, however, is to take a decision to fire up that smartphone again and take out your frustration on the sportsperson in question who has failed to deliver.

French tennis player Caroline Garcia hit the headlines in the first week of the US Open after calling out 'damaging' social media abuse following her first-round loss to Renata Zarazua. Regrettably, most of it came from losing punters.

Garcia, a former top-five player who is currently ranked 30th on the WTA Tour, described how one commenter told her to "consider shooting herself," while another wished death on her mother. Those are just two of the messages she revealed, while there were undoubtedly countless others which thankfully didn't get an airing.

The 30-year-old, who has previously been open about her struggles with bulimia, expressed concern not just for her own mental health but for others in a sport where teenagers, many of them under 18, are propelled into the public eye. 

Sadly, this sort of abuse is nothing new and, despite some well-meaning initiatives like social media blackouts, the situation is not improving with social media companies and authorities seemingly unable to halt this endemic problem.

Such a problem is far from confined to women's tennis. Footballers at all levels are targets of vitriol while jockeys arguably cop more criticism than anyone else when things don't go to plan with Kieran Shoemark just one example of a rider who has been targeted on social channels.

However, as mentioned by Racing Post writer Chris Cook in Tuesday's edition of the Front Runner, John and Thady Gosden's stable jockey has just ridden more winners in a single month than ever before. Coincidentally, he's also decided to stop monitoring his X account.

I'm not one of those who believes that we're at the beginning of a grand conspiracy to outlaw betting, nor do I think that sportspeople should be exempt from criticism – that would be hypocritical in my line of work.

However, toxic abuse – especially by the cowards who only ever dish it out behind a faceless social media account – goes far beyond what is acceptable and adds fuel to the fire for those who would like to see betting banned or at least marginalised.

I believe that the overwhelming majority of Racing Post readers are sensible punters who have the ability to keep their negative emotions in check. However, there are people in all walks of life who on occasion, cross the line. 

"We are humans," Garcia wrote on her Instagram account. She shouldn't need to remind people of that.

We are told to be responsible gamblers for our own good but being a responsible bettor extends beyond the need to look after one's own finances. In both punting and life, we must be responsible with our words for the sake of others too.

Read more from the Racing Post Sport team . . .

Patrick Madden: Andrew Flintoff's time will come for England 

Depth of the pyramid makes up for Premier League's quiet start 

Savvy mid-table signings should make for a more competitive Premier League 

Golfing doubles have the potential to spread joy to the world 

Click for more free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.