Advert campaign group pay club a visit
Campaigners from The Big Step, a group campaigning agianst gambling adverts in football, stopped at Livingston FC stadium on a 60-mile campaign walk across Scotland.
Over 40 people affected by gambling addictions took part in the walk calling at eight football stadiums across the Central Belt to call for an end to all gambling advertising and sponsorship in football.
The group set off from Edinburgh earlier this month, walking to both Hibs and Hearts stadiums, before marching to Livingston, Motherwell and Hamilton Academical.
The Big Step’s walk was supported by eight members of the Scottish and UK
Parliament, with three – Ronnie Cowan, Margaret Ferrier and Kaukab Stewart – joining for part of the walk.
The group took to Glasgow, where they visited the Celtic, Partick Thistle, and Rangers stadiums, before ending at the national stadium, Hampden Park.
The campaign follows the announcement of the delay in publication of the reformed Gambling Act.
Due to release in May - front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship is rumoured to be under serious review in the new act.
Campaigners argue this doesn’t go far enough, and gambling adverts must be expelled entirely, including pitch-side advertising and cup sponsorship.
James Grimes, founder of The Big Step campaign, commented on the campaign walk.
He said: “The Big Step campaign came from my own personal experience, living 12 years with a gambling addiction which took me to some dark places.
“Very quickly into my recovery I realised I couldn’t watch football without wanting to put a bet on - which inspired me to start the campaign.
“Everyone involved in the campaign is in recovery from a gambling addiction, or was affected by somebody else’s addiction.
“We walked from Livingston to Motherwell all day in the rain and the wind.
“But the pain from the cold and
tiredness was nothing compared to what our addictions put us through.”
Last year, campaigners walked from Gretna to Wembley, covering 300 miles in just 10 days.
The group arrived at the Tony Macaroni Stadium on Saturday (February 12) although no one was home as there was an away game against Hearts.
For the 2021/2022 season Livingston FC has no direct gambling sponsorships - although hasn’t made a commitment to turn away gambling sponsors in the future.
Heart of Midlothian made the decision in 2014 not to accept direct gambling
sponsorship money.
Partick Thistle became the 20th football club to back The Big Step’s campaign - the club joins Edinburgh City, and 18 other English and Irish football clubs calling for an end to gambling advertisements in football.
There are between 340,000 and 1.4 million adults addicted to gambling in the UK, as well as 55,000 children.
Gambling addiction has the highest suicide rate of any addiction, with those addicted up to 15 times more likely to end their lives than members of the general population - there are up to 650 gamblingrelated suicides every year in the UK.