Gambling in the United Kingdom is considered one of the most popular leisure activities and is only legal for adults. But once done in excess it might turn into an addiction that is damaging to the resources and to serve the purpose self-exclusion schemes are gaining popularity with time. To popularize the same, a bunch of collaborations is now taking place for meeting the goals of both the schemes and the organizations.
An Introduction to GamStop
GamStop is a program powered by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission for the welfare of the punters and their families that are adversely affected by gambling addiction. It is a non-profit organization and hence is available for free to the citizens of the United Kingdom. It is specifically designed to block betting and gambling sites from the devices accessible to the disturbed gambler once he is registered under GamStop. It enables punters to stay away from gambling by self-exclusion. The period of exclusion can range from a minimum of six months to a maximum of five years and can further be extended if necessary only after the registered period is over.
Since GamStop is powered by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, it is in the updated rules of the Commission that every operator that is registered under the same are subjected to be in compliance with GamStop. For the excellent services provided by GamStop they are now attracting more and more companies from the country and overseas trying to collaborate with their services. This not only is good towards the common population but also this compliance helps the operators and organizations to gain a reputation of reliability.
However, players from the UK who aren’t willing to be restricted by Gamstop can always opt for online football bookmakers without GamStop that are equally credible and offer a wide range of lucrative deals. These sites operate with international licenses such as Malta Gaming Authority, Government of Gibraltar, Gambling Commission of Curacao, etc, and are accessible to all UK players. Additionally, these sites also practice safe and responsible gambling through their site policies though these are not enrolled in the Gamstop schemes.
About Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA)
Established in the year 1907 the Professional Footballers Association is known to be the oldest among all the other established professional sportsperson unions. The objective of this Association is to look after the conditions of the players and negotiate the rights of professionals, irrespective of gender, with an agenda to restore their health and status and all over the improvement of their performance and lifestyle. The Association has successfully led several campaigns for the sake of equality among players including anti-racism campaigns.
From time to time we have seen them partnering up with Premier League, English Football League, The Football Association, and so on for initiating campaigns for the welfare of players. They engage themselves in various fundraising activities apart from coaching and educating the members. The union stays in close association with the players providing them with useful advice and assisting them about their career in sports and more. Professional Footballers’ Association holds a financially strong position with an annual turnover of 34 million pounds. The Association is responsible for presenting several awards and titles to the players as a token of appreciation and encouragement.
The Partnership of GamStop with the Professional Footballers Association
As a step towards trying to reduce the risk of members losing resources due to gambling addiction, the Professional Player Federation that is the body representing important athletes all across the United Kingdom partnered up with GamStop. They fixated upon spreading awareness regarding the adverse effects of gambling issues by preaching about GamStop across all platforms. Professional Footballers’ Association is a part of the Federation including other similar bodies related to various other games. Steps have been taken to educate players about the potential dangers of gambling and the importance of GamStop that comes under their educational programs. According to the chief executive of PPF, the risks of these players exhibiting such addictive behavior is high and hence the promotion of GamStop is an utter necessity.
Undoubtedly this partnership would fuel the recognition of GamStop drawing more awareness towards the cause. Moreover, the target audience of GamStop belongs to the community of football supporters since it is considered the most popular sport in the UK. Hence, this results in a win-win situation for both parties.
Conclusion
Having over 160000 participants registering under GamStop it has proved itself to be of huge importance to the United Kingdom government. These recent Collaborations with various sports associations are sure to bring more goodwill to the program and pave the way towards more responsible gambling practices all over the UK.
