Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Why did the Gaelic Athletic Association take over supervision of Irish handball?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) took over the supervision of Irish handball primarily to transition the sport into an amateur discipline. Before this intervention, handball was frequently associated with high-stakes gambling, with championship matches sometimes involving wagers as high as £1,000.
By assuming control, the GAA successfully abolished betting in 1924, effectively transforming the sport into an amateur game and establishing a structured system of county, provincial, and all-Ireland championships that continues to this day.1