GambleAware, the Problem gambling funding body has appointed former England international goalkeeper David James as a new ambassador for its Bet Regret campaign, with the next round focusing on keeping fans from placing impulsive bets.
Regret will be targeting supporters across the UK throughout the two-week international football break, during which no matches will be taking place in the Premier League or Championship – with many players in each league competing with their national teams.
Over 25m people in the UK support a Premier League or Championship club, according to a 2019 report by public opinion and data company YouGov, with the lack of top-level domestic fixtures during this period leaving some fans bored.
GambleAware cites boredom, as well as being drunk and chasing losses, as being three behaviours they have identified that can lead to placing impulsive bets before immediately feeling remorseful.
To help combat this potential boredom, James will feature in a series of videos in order to help keep fans from placing impulsive bets.
The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), which supports the Bet Regret campaign during the 2019-20 season, will also put out a number of ‘Beat The Break Brain Busters’ during the international break for fans to tackle and draw their attention away from impulsive betting.
James said: “Supporting Safer Gambling within football is something that is important to me.
“There is so much exposure to betting and it is increasingly easy to bet impulsively, so I want to encourage football fans to think twice about how they are betting.”
After this initial campaign, James will be encouraging fans to moderate their betting behaviours throughout the football season, while supporting other initiatives that urge fans to think twice before placing a bet when bored, drunk or chasing losses.
“Helping fans beat the break this October is only the start and I’m looking forward to working with GambleAware and the FSA this season to raise awareness of Bet Regret,” James added.
