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Gambling Awareness Sessions For Parents and Students Next Week
Steve Screech24 Apr 2024 - 09:13
Helping everyone to recognise the signs
As part of our commitment to use football to help improve mental wellbeing, we have invited a charity called ‘GamFam’ to both present a webinar to our players’ parents/guardians and to come into the Academy to meet with students. The simple intention is to make both groups aware of dangers of gambling as a recognised mental disorder and to help them to recognise symptoms and signs that a young person could be on the pathway to this issue – including from a very early age.
You may be aware that the impact of gambling can lead to debt, mental health issues and much worse in some cases. Sadly, professional football has succumbed to its financial allure, and it is currently rife within the game; although measures are being introduced to reduce its visibility and thereby the harm it causes.
Unfortunately, all young football players are particularly vulnerable. This is caused by a combination of factors. Firstly, they tend to watch a lot of football and are thereby subjected to the images and promotion of football gambling. Secondly, they are knowledgeable about football, and more readily tempted to try to beat the bookies. Third, they may also play online games, such as FIFA and Fortnite which often provides a gateway to the most addictive and dangerous form of gambling, being online gambling. There are far too many stories of young people starting off with a ‘small flutter’ on their favourite team, and this escalating to online in play sports betting and the highly addictive online slots/casinos.
The webinar and Academy sessions will be presented by the charity’s founder, Steve Watts. Steve has lived through this nightmare after his son’s gambling spiralled out of control and he found that there was nowhere to turn for help. See more about his incredible story and the charity’s work at https://gamfam.org.uk/ . With Steve will be Dean Frost. Dean played for Bromley and went onto coach Welling and Ebbsfleet, before becoming a compulsive, addicted gambler maxing out numerous credit cards and taking out huge loans. Eventually he entered a recovery program and has not placed a bet for seven years.
Between them, Steve and Dean know all there is to know about this issue and have offered this webinar for AFC Sudbury to help all our families and students to recognise the signs and to prevent, rather than treat, the potential harms that can be caused by gambling.
The parent/guardian’s webinar starts at 7.30pm on Monday 29th April and the Academy sessions will be conducted during Tuesday 30th April. We hope to help as many club members as possible to understand and avoid the addictive potential this modern scourge.
Details of the parents’ webinar have been sent out to all parents/guardians, but if you have not received your invitation, please email patrick.bell@afcsudbury.co.uk for access.
You may be aware that the impact of gambling can lead to debt, mental health issues and much worse in some cases. Sadly, professional football has succumbed to its financial allure, and it is currently rife within the game; although measures are being introduced to reduce its visibility and thereby the harm it causes.
Unfortunately, all young football players are particularly vulnerable. This is caused by a combination of factors. Firstly, they tend to watch a lot of football and are thereby subjected to the images and promotion of football gambling. Secondly, they are knowledgeable about football, and more readily tempted to try to beat the bookies. Third, they may also play online games, such as FIFA and Fortnite which often provides a gateway to the most addictive and dangerous form of gambling, being online gambling. There are far too many stories of young people starting off with a ‘small flutter’ on their favourite team, and this escalating to online in play sports betting and the highly addictive online slots/casinos.
The webinar and Academy sessions will be presented by the charity’s founder, Steve Watts. Steve has lived through this nightmare after his son’s gambling spiralled out of control and he found that there was nowhere to turn for help. See more about his incredible story and the charity’s work at https://gamfam.org.uk/ . With Steve will be Dean Frost. Dean played for Bromley and went onto coach Welling and Ebbsfleet, before becoming a compulsive, addicted gambler maxing out numerous credit cards and taking out huge loans. Eventually he entered a recovery program and has not placed a bet for seven years.
Between them, Steve and Dean know all there is to know about this issue and have offered this webinar for AFC Sudbury to help all our families and students to recognise the signs and to prevent, rather than treat, the potential harms that can be caused by gambling.
The parent/guardian’s webinar starts at 7.30pm on Monday 29th April and the Academy sessions will be conducted during Tuesday 30th April. We hope to help as many club members as possible to understand and avoid the addictive potential this modern scourge.
Details of the parents’ webinar have been sent out to all parents/guardians, but if you have not received your invitation, please email patrick.bell@afcsudbury.co.uk for access.
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