Bolton Wanderers have backed a bid to end gambling sponsorship and advertising in sport, becoming the latest club to officially endorse the national campaign.
Spearheaded by the Against the Odds Charter, the initiative is aimed at not just helping improve gambling awareness but bringing an end to associated sponsorships in football and sport altogether.
The club expressed their support for the movement in a statement on Tuesday, 18 October, remarking: “In Greater Manchester, sport is central to the region’s culture, heritage and identity and plays a huge role in bringing communities together.
“Unfortunately, there has been a proliferation of gambling sponsorship and advertising in sport which is reinforcing a perception that betting is a normal part of watching sport.”
🗞️ Bolton Wanderers and @OfficialBWITC have pledged our support to a brand-new campaign – Against the Odds – calling for an end to gambling sponsorship and advertising in sport.
They go on to explain that the overarching goal is to “shine a light on the prevalence of gambling” throughout sporting pyramids across the UK, in the hope of ultimately “phasing out gambling sponsorship and advertising to protect children, young people, and vulnerable adults.”
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Footballing bodies, gambling awareness campaigners and concerned fans alike have been calling for such action for years now, with numerous petitions set up before the government finally put forward the bill to bring in tougher regulations.
Against the Odds campaign lead Michael Viggars criticised the copy and paste ‘gamble responsibly’ sentiment, arguing that it lacks sincerity when “every square inch of sports stadia [is] being sold to advertise dozens of different sports betting brands”.
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Credit: Twitter (various) – They’re not just on shirts, they’re everywhere you look
However, as many in political, sporting and public spheres have pointed out, gambling addiction is a serious illness and profit should never come before health and wellbeing.
Like Viggars, James Grimes of The Big Step – a similar anti-gambling in sport organisation – says that moving to Manchester helped him break free from a “12-year gambling addiction” and hopes that Bolton’s backing will see other big clubs follow suit and place themselves “on the right side of history”.
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At present, these are the EFL and non-league clubs that have joined the campaign to end gambling sponsorships in English football:
Today Bolton have joined these English clubs campaigning to end gambling sponsorship in football 🙌 pic.twitter.com/6BgAn1Hcj2
To put into facts and figures, research by campaigners suggests that gambling logos can appear more than 700 times in a single football match – that’s about six logos every minute – on kits, training gear, on perimeter advertising hoardings, dugouts, press backdrops and more.
Moreover, they estimate that around 1 in 200 people in Greater Manchester (around 14,000 adults) are suffering from “severe gambling harms”, i.e. more people than the capacity of Oldham Athletic’s Boundary Park.
3.8% of the region’s population are considered to be low to moderate risk, which equates to over 96,000 adults in Greater Manchester alone – more than the capacity of the Etihad stadium (55,097), Old Trafford Cricket Ground (26,000) and Sale Sharks’ AJ Bell Stadium (12,000) combined.
Bolton Chairman Sharon Brittan said: “Gambling addiction can have a devastating effect on individuals and their families and communities, and that’s why Bolton Wanderers Football Club is pledging our formal support of the pioneering Against the Odds campaign by signing their charter.”
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Previously sponsored by the likes of Betfred, the club knows all about the dangers of betting on a local and national scale, making the decision to close their on-site betting facilities at the UniBol Stadium back in 2021 and promise to avoid any new commercial partnerships within the gambling industry.
Here’s hoping this is just the start.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with gambling addiction, you can use vital resources such as GamCare, the National Gambling Helpline (0808 8020 133) Gamblers Anonymous UK, or just get in touch with the NHS directly for more information.
Featured Image — Bolton Wanderers (via Twitter)
Sport
Bayern Munich reportedly set to target Phil Foden in the summer transfer window
Danny Jones
European giants Bayern Munich are said to be interested in homegrown Manchester City star, and are interested in signing him this coming transfer window.
And if you believe some of the reports circulating around the Stockport-born footballer, he could very well be looking to leave the Etihad in the summer.
Foden seems to have somewhat fallen out of favour at Man City of late, having been benched in four of the last five games, with his overall minutes having been on a gradual slump over recent months; as a result, some sources are suggesting it’s prompted a potential move away.
As per TEAMtalk, the Bundesliga side is hoping to target the City youth product and England international ahead of next season, with former teammate turned Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany very keen on acquiring his services.
Man City have stepped up efforts to secure Phil Foden's future with talks held during the international break and confidence is now growing that a new deal will be finalised before the end of the season, amid Bayern Munich interest, @TEAMtalk can reveal.https://t.co/ScBP5a3a08
Whether or not having a club and Premier League legend in charge would serve as a sweetener for the attacking midfielder or not, who knows?
According to journalist Graeme Bailey, while the gifted playmaker is said to be “frustrated” with the current situation at Man City, the club are believed to have “stepped up efforts to secure the long-term future of Phil Foden, with fresh talks held during the international break”
Having still managed to chip in with 15 goal contributions so far this campaign – two-thirds of those involvements being goals – the hope is that they can tie him down to a new deal long before the end of the season.
There’s no question about his natural talent and versatility across the forward line; it’s just whether or not he’s happy with his game time under Pep Guardiola, which admittedly has often fluctuated ever since he broke into the first team.
Pep has never made a secret of his love for Phil, either; he’s just not afraid to mix things up and try different things given the squad depth at his disposal and other teams in the division becoming increasingly competitive.
It’s also worth noting that many expect him to be in Thomas Tuchel’s starting lineups for the Three Lions at this year’s World Cup.
At present, Foden’s contract is set to expire at the end of the next term (2026/27), but it’s rumoured that he could soon commit to staying until 2030 on paper.
Now 25, the once up-and-coming youngster/’rising star’ is now a fully-fledged senior professional and serial winner.
With many years still ahead of him, you could argue that this is the perfect time to take on a new challenge, or equally, stay with his beloved Blues and extend their modern dynasty as one of the more experienced and decorated members of the dressing room.
As for whether Kompany can convince him to swap his familiar surroundings for a fresh chapter in Germany, or whether or not another big Champions League-level outfit monitoring the situation could come sniffing, only time will tell.
For now, let’s just hope he has an incredible few weeks over in North America this June and July.
A free snooker fan zone has popped up in Manchester for the 2026 Tour Championship
Danny Jones
We’re sure plenty of you are well aware that this year’s WST Sportsbet.io Tour Championship is happening in Manchester right now, but what many of you may not know is that a completely free snooker fan zone has opened up as part of it.
You don’t need a ticket for any of the actual matches to watch them on the big screen or even play one of your own.
However, it isn’t just the buzz inside the match room itself that the World Snooker Tour has brought on its return to the city centre – even the supporter hub outside is well worth a visit.
Based over at Manchester Central on the Exchange side of the building, while the games themselves are taking place in the main rooms, the foyer and surrounding areas have been turned into a fan park.
Perfect for anyone looking for a fun way to spend an afternoon or, indeed, a full day this week – not to mention an ideal activity for kids this coming Easter bank holiday weekend – if you’re a fan of the sport, you’d be a fool not to at least pop your head in.
Running until this Sunday, 5 April, when the tournament itself finishes, snooker lovers have access not only to a bar area with multiple big screens and food and drink, but also numerous free tables for them to play on.
In fact, you quickly turn a few frames into some proper practice if you’re so inclined, as there’s even on-site coaching to be made the most of.
As you can see, people of all ages have already turned up in their droves to soak up the atmosphere.
Once again, the competition is being broadcast live and free-to-air on Channel 5 if you’re happy to watch the games at home, but we don’t need to tell you what makes sitting in a room with a bunch of fellow fans and getting excited together so enjoyable.
If you visit the Manchester Central convention centre before the end of the week, you can even have a go at playing on a proper king-sized snooker table for the full pro-feel experience.
For anyone who wants to grab actual tickets for the matches as well, you can find them HERE.
Danny Jones -
19th October 2022 
