Campaigners seeking a ban on gambling advertising and gambling sponsorship deals in football suspended are organising an event that would see them walk between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
More than 40 individuals affected by gambling, including some recovering problem gamblers and their families, will participate in the 60-mile march between the two largest cities in Scotland, which is set to end at Hampden Park – the national stadium in Glasgow.
A group of 40 of us – all harmed by gambling – are walking to encourage these clubs without gambling sponsors to back our campaign and encourage those with them to rethink these partnerships.
More info here: https://t.co/SQNLxz7pcC pic.twitter.com/fwjRGb5UL3
— The Big Step (@the_bigstep) February 6, 2022
The walk is set to start on February 11th and will see campaigners visit a number of football clubs, and hold meetings with their representatives and with some local political figures. Marchers will start the event in Edinburgh and are set to visit both the Hearts of Midlothian F.C. and their city rivals Hibernian F.C. before heading to other football clubs from the Scottish Premiership, including Motherwell F.C., Hamilton Academical F.C. and Livingston F.C.
On February 13th, the marchers are set to visit the long-time rivals in the Scottish Premiership – the clubs of Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C. – before finishing the planned march at Hampden stadium. Currently, both clubs are sponsored by gambling companies – Dafabet is the shirt sponsor of Celtic, while 32Red is the shirt sponsor of Rangers.
The event is being organised by The Big Step – an organisation established by a former problem gambler who now wants to see the end of the poisonous relationship between gambling and football across the UK.
Ties between Football and Gambling Must Be Cut to Protect Sports Fans, Campaigners Say
Campaigners who will take part in the march explained that excessive gambling, especially online, is often fuelled by gambling ads that are literally bombarding customers. According to them, advertising and sponsorship, no matter if in football or in other areas, makes people believe that gambling is a normal part of their everyday lives and is always safe, while the reality is quite different from this interpretation.
For years, opponents of the strong relationship that the country’s gambling industry has managed to build with professional sports, and football, in particular, have been claiming that these links are detrimental to sports and sports fans, and football must stop promoting gambling as a casual form of entertainment.
Currently, the UK Government is reviewing the country’s 2005 Gambling Act as it considers the implementation of stricter regulation on the gambling industry. According to reports, the authorities are considering a potential ban to be adopted for shirt sponsorships inked between the English Premier League (EPL) clubs and betting firms to protect the football fans from exposure to gambling logos during matches.
@The_BigStep are campaigning to end all gambling advertising in football. This weekend they are walking to 8 clubs between Edinburgh and Glasgow, calling on Scottish football and fans to get behind their cause – find out how you can support them here: https://t.co/IP1Y39Eold pic.twitter.com/3LrucICEQL
— Joanna Cherry QC (@joannaccherry) February 7, 2022
Now, The Big Step foundation has called Members of Parliament to go even further and put an end to the promotion of gambling across all levels of football in the country. According to campaigners, the Government must put the health of people, especially young sports fans, first and put an end to all gambling advertising in football. If this does not happen, campaigners have encouraged all governing bodies and football clubs in Scotland to turn down gambling sponsorships and advertising before the Government makes such a decision.
As Casino Guardian reported, there were over 16,000 responses to the UK Government’s call for evidence as part of its review of the country’s Gambling Act. Unfortunately, the official announcement of the white paper setting out the findings and proposals for further gambling reform has been delayed once again due to political uncertainty and is expected to be published in the upcoming months. A representative of the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said that the authorities remain committed to ensuring maximum protection to people against gambling-related harm, and the most comprehensive review of the UK gambling legislation in 15 years is still ongoing.
- Author
Daniel Williams
