Three non-league football clubs have made a promise to make a move against gambling advertising in football and are now urging other clubs to follow suit and join them.
Newhaven FC, Seaford Town FC, and Peacehaven and Telscombe FC have become part of the expanding number of clubs around the country that are supporting an anti-gambling advertising campaign initiated by a charity organisation. The three Sussex football clubs have backed the campaign, raising the total number of local teams that have pledged to cut ties with the gambling industry to four. Lewes FC became the first team in the county to support the charity’s anti-gambling advertising campaign back in 2019.
The initiative has been run by The Big Step foundation and is aimed at reducing gambling-related harm inflicted on British customers by minimising the increasing number of gambling advertisements in football. The charity organisation wants to push the Government at a time when it is reviewing the country’s Gambling Act and an official report on the matter is expected to be unveiled in 2022.
The ongoing review of the Gambling Act of 2005 seeks to establish whether the current gambling legislative and regulatory framework of the country is effective or the sector needs to ensure further protection for vulnerable individuals and prevent further exploitation for the potentially negative effects that gambling-related harm could have on people’s lives.
Increased Gambling Advertising Creates Unhealthy Association between Gambling and Football
The aforementioned engagement was confirmed by the chairman of Seaford Town FC, Tom Webster, who shared he was proud of the commitment made by his club to The Big Step’s campaign and added that he personally knows people who have been dealing with gambling-related harm. According to him, gambling advertising in football has become more extreme over the last few years, and such a relationship between gambling advertising and football is unhealthy for the sport.
Mr Webster shared that football clubs were well aware of the damage that could be inflicted on people as a result of excessive gambling, including long-term negative effects on their mental health that could even grow into suicide.
The Big Step has been operating as part of the larger charity organisation Gambling With Lives, which was established by the families of people who have taken their own lives as a direct result of gambling. Some of the people in the charity have once been gambling addicts themselves, so they are very well aware of all the negative consequences that could be faced by problem gamblers.
While the number of non-league football clubs making a promise to support the campaign has been increasing, the charity is really willing to see a club for the English Premier League (EPL) make such a move and cut ties with gambling operators to reduce gambling advertising. According to James Grimes, founder of The Big Step, it is important for the campaigners to put some more pressure on the UK Government, otherwise, the efforts of the charity and the clubs playing in the lower leagues would be in vain.
Mr Grimes also said he hoped to see the domino effect in professional sports, as more and more clubs are starting to say no to gambling advertising, so the initiative could eventually get engagement from the EPL as well.
- Author
Olivia Cole
