Fulham FC: Kick gambling ads out of football!

My name is Christopher Bilmes. I am recovering from addictions, including gambling, and have been in recovery for the last 13 years.

I know first hand the effect that gambling has had on my own life, on the life of my family and my friends around me. It led to my bankruptcy and divorce, and to losing everything. It started innocently enough but, in time, got completely out of hand and I simply couldn't stop.

Gambling companies have plenty of other places that they are visible (including on every high street in the country), but normalising something that is so potentially damaging, and having it as a partner for our club is not something Fulham FC should countenance any more.

The decision to partner with a gambling company for the 2022/23 season is hugely disappointing and wrong. We don't promote cigarettes, we don't allow alcohol within the view of the pitch - and we shouldn't allow our team shirts and our club to be covered in the livery of a gambling sponsor.

There are 409 deaths related to gambling every year in England alone and a YouGov study from this year shows that 2.9 million people are either already addicted or at risk of being so, with a further 3.3 million classified as “affected others”. These stark figures show what we already know: gambling harm is not an issue affecting just a small minority, it is severely harming – sometimes killing – many.

To prevent any young fan from experiencing what I and so many others did, I'm urging Fulham FC to cancel all gambling partnerships, say no to any new offers, and back The Big Step campaign.