Leading gambling charity GambleAware has partnered with the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) as part of a plan to promote safer gambling in football.
Under the partnership, the two firms will launch a series of campaigns during the 2019-20 football season with an aim to promote the moderation of gambling behaviour, particularly when players are bored, chasing losses or are drunk.
The announcement comes after a study called for football clubs to take more responsibility in educating fans about the dangers of gambling.
According to reports, the study surveyed 1,200 football fans and asked them a range of questions based on gambling and football. Many respondents shared concern that too many minors are being exposed to gambling messages and promotions and around 10% of respondents said their football club was doing enough to promote the dangers of gambling.
Kevin Miles, the Chief Executive for The Football Supporters’ Association, said in a statement: “Football clubs are not like any other business – they are an integral part of many match-going supporters’ lives and have a duty of care.
“It’s clear fans want their clubs to do more on educating their supporters about the risks of gambling and alongside GambleAware we’ll be pushing clubs, particularly those with prominent gambling sponsors, to do better.”
Marc Etches, the Chief Executive Officer at GambleAware, added: “The results of the survey highlight fans’ concerns that football clubs and gambling companies could do more to encourage safe betting and make people, especially young people, aware of the risks.
“Our new partnership with the Football Supporters’ Association is based on a shared agenda to help create a safe betting environment in football. It means that the voice of the fans will be heard and allows us to engage directly with them in communities to encourage moderate betting behaviour.”
The news comes just days after GambleAware published a study in partnership with ClearView Research calling for BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) communities to receive more support regarding problem gambling.
The study investigated the experiences and attitude that children and young people from BAME communities have towards gambling through several focus groups and interviews with individuals aged between nine and 24.
Over half of the study’s respondents claimed they see gambling advertisements regularly on television, YouTube and during football matches. Meanwhile, 91% of respondents failed to identify any sources of help or support for vulnerable players, sparking concern that not enough has been done to educate the risks of gambling in BAME communities.
