SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
To round off this year’s Safer Gambling Week, evoke-owned brand William Hill has leveraged its new title sponsorship of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) to spark gambling harm prevention talks among staff and supporters.
Players, fans, and professionals from across all of the league’s four divisions were offered a series of talks that used previous experiences of problem gambling to raise awareness about the signs and measures on how to control their own relationship with gambling.
SPFL used its new title sponsor in the face of William Hill to bring EPIC Global Solutions onboard for the latest initiative.
So far, a total of 16 clubs from all around Scotland have participated in the sessions, with five more due to host the campaign during the week commencing 25 November – just after Safer Gambling Week.
Neil Doncaster, Group Chief Executive of the SPFL, said: “It’s great to see such a strong start to the campaign. The feedback has been positive and, while the size of the problem remains relatively small in Scottish football, we can’t afford to be complacent and are looking forward to a fuller roll-out of the programme as the season progresses.”
A survey asking SPFL players who took part in the sessions revealed that the gambling harm prevention messaging is being well received, with 94% responding that they now have a good or excellent level of understanding about the dangers that professional athletes can face when dealing with harmful gambling.
A further 96% have said that they are now confident enough to be proactive and voice their concerns if they think they are experiencing problematic gambling behaviour, with their knowledge of support paths being significantly strengthened thanks to EPIC’s presentations.
Per Widerstrom, CEO of evoke, added: “The vast majority of our players enjoy our products in a safe and responsible way. However, we recognise that for a small number of players, betting and gambling can become problematic.
“This initiative, which has already made great progress, will help ensure that local fans, players and colleagues of football clubs know how to identify signs of problem gambling and minimise the risks of gambling-related harm.”
Each session so far has been delivered with the help and in the presence of two ex-footballers who have shared their own experience with problem gambling – former Scotland defender Dominic Matteo and ex-Wales U21 forward Marc Williams.
On his journey, Williams added: “The sessions have been really well received and we’ve had lots of positive conversations about our message. Crucially, players are coming forward to discuss their personal relationship with gambling or the culture around gambling that they’ve experienced in Scotland.
“We’re delivering to both the full-time and part-time clubs, and having played both professionally and semi-professionally myself, it’s been great to hear from the players that they can relate to my story. Some of my experiences tally with their own, as I tell them how my gambling transitioned from being fun to being detrimental to my mental health and performance as I moved into disordered gambling.
“It shows how important these sessions are for the players and staff.”
