GambleAware brings in new partners for Bet Regret campaign

Problem gambling charity GambleAware has signed up two new partners as it prepares the next wave of its ongoing Bet Regret safer gambling campaign.

The next phase of the campaign is to launch for the start of the 2020-21 English football season on 12 September. It will now be supported by men’s weight loss charity Man v Fat and Supporters Direct Scotland, a group looking help fans gain influence and ownership of their clubs.

Existing partnerships, with the Football Supporters Association (FSA) and Scottish Football Supporters Association, have also been renewed ahead of the season’s kick-off.

“These partnerships are vitally important to the safer gambling campaign and enable us to reach our target audience and make them aware of the new key campaign messages,” GambleAware director of communications Zoe Osmond explained.

“We have chosen to work with these organisations in particular as we are confident they will help us share and promote our campaign message to encourage regular sports bettors avoid impulsive bets so they can avoid the feeling of Bet Regret.”

The partnership with the supporters’ associations will build on existing work carried out, focused on moderating gambling behaviours. This will include a series of activities to promote the campaign, and help engage clubs to further its messaging.

"The FSA is delighted to renew our partnership with GambleAware and to help educate football fans across the country about the risks of gambling and encourage those who choose to bet, to do so safely,” FSA deputy chief executive David Rose said. “It's a very important message and one that we're keen to help promote.”

Campaign collateral and messaging will also appear on the Supporters Direct Scotland, Man v Fat and Scottish Football Supporters Association websites.

In addition, Man v Fat, which operates a weight loss programme for men and has links with football leagues is more than 80 locations across the UK, will train coaches to talk to members about safer gambling. It will also publish talks on GambleAware and the Bet Regret campaign on social media and video.

“Man v Fat Football [is] delighted to be working with GambleAware to bring greater insights to our players on the public health impacts of gambling,” the organisation’s head of football Richard Crick said.

“With football being the most prominent sport to gamble on in the UK, we felt that forging a partnership would be another avenue which will support members to be as healthy in body and mind as possible.”

The Bet Regret campaign was first launched in February 2019, featuring a TV advertising campaign highlighting the dangers of impulsive betting, winning praise from Mims Davies, then Minister for Sport and Civil Society.

A second wave of activity followed from August that year, the start of the 2019-20 season, with the tagline updated to “think twice or you’ll Bet Regret it”. This was supported by GVC Holdings, which donated all branding rights from its partnerships with football clubs to the campaign.

The ongoing campaign has been complemented by the launch of a new online portal in January 2020. This provides bettors with a range of information on how to gamble safely and sustainably, as well as links to the Bet Regret assets.

A campaign was also run after football returned from its novel coronavirus (Covid-19) enforced break in May, to encourage punters to think twice before they placed a bet. This was run across Sky’s Youtube and Twitter pages, as well as through other digital channels.

Image: GambleAware