Lewes FC calls for problem gambling education after FA investigates player

Isthmian League team Lewes FC has given its full support to its player Danny Bassett, who is charged with breaking FA betting rules. 

Bassett plans to organise an awareness campaign for other players to educate them about the betting regulations at that level of football.

The player has been charged with breaching the FA’s E8 rule, which prohibits all footballers from betting on the sport in any form.

He is hardly the first to find themselves in this situation in recent years – a number of notable players at much larger teams, like Newcastle United, Brentford and Nottingham Forest, have been charged with breaching the rule over the past couple of years.

What is significant though is that unlike these clubs, Lewes FC is notable for being vocally opposed to betting’s visibility in football, and is highlighting the incident as an example of the risks of the gambling-football relationship.

The Sussex club has been a partner of gambling reform advocacy group and charity Gambling With Lives since 2019, and has stayed away from any betting partnerships or advertising.

A club statement explained that Lewes will “fully support” Bassett in his endeavour. Club representatives further highlighted that they were left in “dismay” by the lack of educational resources surrounding the dangers of staff and player gambling. 

The club added that gambling adverts are a toll on the football community, “suffocating” everyone involved and increasing the risk of serious gambling harms. 

The Isthmian League in which it competes is currently sponsored by Entain, which owns Ladbrokes, Coral, Sportingbet, and bwin. The LSE-listed gambling group is also a partner of the other Trident Leagues, the eight tier of English football, as part of a combined marketing and CSR push to support the grassroots game.

Neither Bassett nor Lewes FC will publish any following announcements until the Regulatory Commission concludes its independent hearing of the player’s case. 

The development comes amid the debate around betting sponsorship in English football being re-raised in the House of Lords in the form of proposed amendments to the Football Governance Bill.