Ex-England goalkeeper James to support Bet Regret campaign

Problem gambling funding body GambleAware has appointed former England international goalkeeper David James as an ambassador for its Bet Regret campaign, the next round of which will focus on keeping fans from placing impulsive bets.

Regret will target supporters across the UK throughout the two-week international football break, during which no matches will take place in the Premier League or Championship, with many players in each league competing with their national teams.

According to a 2019 report by public opinion and data company YouGov, over 25m people in the UK support a Premier League or Championship club, 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 one of 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 to help keep fans from placing impulsive bets.

The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), which is supporting 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.

“Supporting Safer Gambling within football is something that is important to me,” James said. “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 encourage fans to moderate their betting behaviours throughout the season, 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.

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