Football Clubs Linked to GamStop and Responsible Gambling

For decades, professional UK football leagues like the Premier League and the Champions League were very uneasy about any connections to gambling interests. What they feared the most was any kind of scrutiny they might have gotten if any improprieties were suspected. It just made sense to stay completely clear of the gambling industry.

All of that changed in recent years due in large part to the growth of the UK online gambling community. With online gambling going mainstream, there has been less pressure on pro football leagues and clubs to steer clear of a major retail and online gambling interests.

Major Football Leagues Support GamStop and Other Responsible Gambling Initiatives

To avoid scrutiny for being involved with gambling interests, major UK football leagues have openly come out in support of safe and responsible gambling initiatives. They often show this support by denouncing sports corruption (match-fixing, cheating) and openly supporting problem gambling resources like GamStop.It's important to note that several top soccer clubs have sponsorship deals with retail and online gambling companies. As part of being able to obtain and maintain those deals, the leagues have had to put protocols in place to help ensure there is no corruption within the leagues related to gambling.

About GamStop

GamStop is a self-exclusion scheme that was introduced within the UK online gambling community some years back. As the brainchild of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), GamStop has the full support of the Commission. The Commission has even gone so far as to make GamStop membership a condition for UK online gambling operators to secure or keep their operator's licenses. Failure to comply can result in big fines and or removal of a license.Here is how the GamStop program works. It starts with a UK online gambler who believes they are losing control over their gambling activities. To combat such issues, online gambling customers can get access to the GamStop registration process, usually through their favorite online gambling sites. When they register, they are required to provide key personal information like:

• Legal name
• Legal address
• All email addresses
• Home phone number and cell phone number

The other thing gamblers are required to do while registering with GamStop is to prescribe the length of their own self-exclusion, hence the term "self-exclusion. The three choices are 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years. After the registration form has been completed and submitted, the newly registered GamStop gambler will no longer be able to access any licensed online casinos and sportsbooks that are operating in and from the UK.

As you might have guessed, GamStop has its limitations. The biggest limitation is it only applies to blocking access to gambling sites licensed by the UKGC and GamStop subscribed. This doesn't work well for the gambler who really has a gambling problem but wants to resume their online gambling activities prior to their GamStop expiration.

When a GamStop gambler decides they are going to start gambling again, they do have good alternatives. If they want to use a UK operator, they can find many other non-GamStop betting sites like on casino-wise.com.

Football Clubs That Support the GamStop Scheme and Responsible Gambling

It's great that major UK football leagues are supportive of anything that promotes responsible gambling. It's even better that some top pro football clubs are openly supportive of such measures.

In general, football clubs have a responsibility to support anything that is good for the communities in which they play. After all, many of the players and coaches are members of their team's respective communities. It's great for public relations to stand up for what is good for the community while denouncing the bad.

While pretty much all professional UK football clubs support responsible gambling, there are a couple of teams that prefer to take a more direct approach towards their support of responsible gambling and initiatives like GamStop.

Luton Town Football Club

For decades, millions of local football have shown their support for the Luton Town Football Club. The club has responded by returning the favor and showing its support for the town's residents. Through the club's direct collaboration with GamStop, they have shown that team management and team members are out in the community championing the concept of responsible gambling. As part of that effort, you can see the club's support all over the club's websites and social media handles.

Middlesbrough Football Club

Ownership and management of the Middlesbrough Football Club have openly expressed their intentions to support members of the community in every way they can. That promise has led to a collaboration between the team and the UKGC. The collaboration started with the club openly denouncing any efforts to bring gambling corruption into the UK football community. By taking this stand, the team single-handedly brought a new level of awareness to the concept of responsible gambling through gambling moderation. Evidence of support for the GamStop Self-exclusion scheme can be found on the club's website.

In the future, UK residents can expect an even stronger relationship between the UKGC and the country's top football leagues. As more sponsorship deals are signed at every level of the UK football community, it will be in everyone's best interest to make sure that gambling problems are handled promptly to prevent growing issues at the community level.