Beat the Break: David James joins safer gambling campaign

During this week’s international break, safer gambling ambassador and former England international David James will be helping football fans across the country overcome their boredom in a bid to stop them making impulsive bets.

James will be staring in a video campaign with GambleAware, supported by the FSA, which aims to educate fans about the signs of boredom that can lead to impulsive betting.

With the Premier League and Championship not due to return for the next ten days, James says those fans not following the international football may be susceptible to risky gambling behaviours.

“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.

“Helping fans beat the break this October is only the start and I’m looking forward to working with GambleAware and the Football Supporters’ Association this season to raise awareness of Bet Regret.”

James’s campaign is the latest piece of work to come from the the FSA’s partnership with GambleAware, earlier this season a survey conducted by the FSA and GambleAware revealed that only 10% of football fans felt their club was doing enough to encourage safer gambling.

Over 25 million people in the UK support a Premier League or Championship club and the international break is a time they can find dull due to their team’s blank fixture calendar. Boredom is one of three behaviours identified – along with being drunk and chasing losses – that can lead to placing impulsive bets and the immediate remorseful feeling of Bet Regret.

• Break the break: see James’s safer betting videos at: BeGambleAware.org/BetRegret