Gambling harm campaigners request Euro 2020 betting ad ban
Carolyn Harris and Ronnie Cowan co-sign the Big Step’s letter to the UK’s biggest commercial broadcasting companies
A group of gambling harm campaigners have requested that betting adverts are banned for the duration of the rescheduled Euro 2020 tournament.
The Big Step, a campaign project formed by people who have suffered from gambling-related harm, has written to the UK’s leading commercial broadcasters to ask for the suspension of all Euro 2020-based gambling marketing throughout the competition.
The letter is addressed to ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky Sports, BT Sport, talkSPORT and leading podcast providers and has been co-signed by Carolyn Harris MP and Ronnie Cowan MP, chair and vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Related Harm.
The letter is also backed by Christina Marriott, CEO of the Royal Society for Public Health, and Louisa Mason, senior policy and communications executive, at the Gambling Health Alliance.
It states: “The tournament has been a long time coming and after a tough time for the country, fans should be able to enjoy it without being on the end of gambling advertising, especially given the pressures of the pandemic.
“Whilst we support adults’ right to bet should they wish, gambling advertising has no public health benefit and contributes to harm, yet it is nearly impossible to watch or listen to football without being exposed to it.”
The rearranged Euro 2020 tournament kicks off in June and is expected to be a major event for bookmakers this summer after they missed out on a bumper event in last year’s sporting calendar due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last week, the Big Step announced it was working with Forest Green Rovers, which has become the first professional football club in England to call for a gambling sponsorship ban.
The Big Step was founded by James Grimes and started in 2019 as a fundraising walk to raise awareness of gambling addiction and its link with football.
Grimes said: “I founded the Big Step as a recovering gambling addict that was hooked in by football betting.
“I love the game passionately but we cannot let its damaging relationship with gambling advertising continue,” he added.