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
There are pairs of tickets to a load of events up for grabs as part of ‘The Great Christmas Giveaway’
Danny Jones
International ticketing platform See Tickets is gifting selected pairs of tickets to a lucky bunch this winter as part of ‘The Great Christmas Giveaway’.
After all, they do call it the ‘season of giving’.
Teaming up with promotion partners, music artists and other organisers, See Tickets has decided to give out a bunch of passes, ranging from gigs and sporting events to theatre and comedy.
We wouldn’t be doing our jobs properly if we didn’t at least try to let you in on the possibility of winning some live entertainment freebies.
Thankfully, there are plenty of them; there are over a dozen tickets up for grabs in total, split across the six different dates running into next year.
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s on offer:
See Tickets Great Christmas Giveaway – the full list of events
Fancy seeing a Disney classic brought to life on stage? There are a possible four tickets to see Herclues: The Musical to be won, not to mention drinks vouchers and a bonus goodie bag.
All you need to do is follow @seetickets and @eventimuk on Instagram, like and share the post below to your story; tag a friend and tell your best Christmas joke by 00:01am this Monday, 8 December 2025. You can see a trailer from the highly praised performances down in the capital down below.
Two tickets to see Greg Davies
Yes, the second event revealed by See Tickets as part of this year’s Great Christmas Giveaway is the latest live stand-up tour show by the quite literally massive funny man, Greg Davies.
Playing at the Hammersmith Apollo down in London, this time you need to like, follow, share and tag a friend naming your favourite character by Tuesday, 9 December 2025 – again, before 00:01.
In case you somehow missed it, Take That are heading back out on the road for the 10th anniversary of The Circus album and tour – this time, you can pick the show of your choosing.
Same idea again: follow both pages, like and share, tag a friend, and this time, tell them your favourite album by the band. You enter by 00:01 this Thursday, 11 December.
This one is for all the rock fans. Slam Dunk Festival celebrates 20 years next summer, and what better way to toast the milestone than to be there not only in the flesh but in VIP?
You can pick either North or South, but let’s be honest – Leeds is the only place to be. Follow the same terms as above, and then just tell the comments which artist you’re most excited to see. Again, entry closes at 00:01 on Thursday (11 Dec).
Never giving up on a Rick Astley gig
Up next, how about seeing a living music legend of the North West on his upcoming arena tour? The one and only Rick Astley isn’t just back on the up, but if confirmed as the winner, you can select the date of your choice.
Once again, meet the usual requirements listed previously, plus leave your favourite Rick Astley song in the comments. Yes, you can pick that one – just make sure you do it by a minute after midnight on Wednesday, 10 December…
Last but not least, if you’re partial to a bit of pugilism and/or bloodsport, you can watch cult favourite combat sport Cage Warriors at your preferred venue AND win a signed pair of official Cage Warrior gloves too.
With the winner due to be announced just after midnight on Friday, 12 December, make sure you’ve met all the standard entry requirements and let other fans know which fighter you’re most looking forward to seeing. Simple as that!
Best of luck to everyone throwing names into the hat for their event of choice, and let us know in the comments if any of you win!
We’re not done there either; there are plenty of other free tickets coming up in Greater Manchester ahead of the new year, too.
Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)/Audio North
Sport
Joey Barton officially sentenced over offensive online posts
Danny Jones
Retired footballer Joey Barton has officially been sentenced following a series of offensive posts on social media over the past year or so.
Six counts pertaining to three individuals, in particular, were highlighted when he appeared for his final hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, 8 December: online abuse directed at fellow ex-pros Eni Aluko, Lucy Ward and broadcaster Jeremy Vine.
Charged and now finally found guilty of ‘grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety’, Joey Barton has been given a six-month prison sentence – suspended for 18 months, however, meaning he won’t serve jail time unless he reoffends during this period.
Here he is queuing up outside the Crown Court earlier today:
BREAKING: Former footballer Joey Barton given six-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months over "grossly offensive" social media posts about Jeremy Vine, Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko. pic.twitter.com/dQuAAT1mQu
For context, the social media posts in question refer to the ones made on X (previously known as Twitter) and directed at the aforementioned public figures.
The former Manchester City player and Liverpool youth product, who is originally from Merseyside but is now based around Widnes in Cheshire, was found guilty on Friday despite insisting his innocence throughout.
Barton – now 43 and having become a vocal far-right commentator – compared Aluko and Ward to two of the most infamous convicted serial killers in British history, writing that they were “the Fred and Rose West of football commentary” back in January 2024.
He also labelled radio host and TV presenter, Vine, a “bike nonce” in a post that he later went on to dismiss as nothing more than “crude banter” and an attempt at “dark and stupid humour”, stating that he has no intention of actually suggesting he was a paedophile.
Elsewhere in the court appearance, Barton claimed that he is a victim of “political prosecution”; nevertheless, the judge found that the one-time England international (who also played for Newcastle, QPR, Burnley, Rangers and Marseille) “crossed the line between free speech and a crime.”
You can see the moment Judge Andrew Menary handed down the verdict, which will see him avoid time in custody once more, in full down below.
As per an official update via the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Senior Prosecutor Callum Bryce of CPS Mersey-Cheshire said: “Between early January and mid-March 2024, Barton subjected three public figures to offences of malicious communications.
“Barton said in his evidence before the court that in some of his messages he was trying to make a serious point in a provocative way and that in others he was simply joking.
“The finding of the jury confirmed that his conduct had gone beyond any joke and his messages were grossly offensive with the purpose of causing anxiety and distress to his victims.”
It’s also worth noting that he has been charged, found guilty and sentenced before already this year.
Danny Jones -
19th October 2022 
