GamStop and Crystal Palace FC Partner Up

GamStop, the UK’s online gaming self-exclusion service, has signed Crystal Palace as its first Premier League partner.

GamStop’s First Ever Partnership with Premier League Club

GamStop, the UK’s national self-exclusion program, has announced its first collaboration with an English Premier League club, Crystal Palace FC. The club’s male and female teams will both share information about GamStop’s services on their social media channels. Advertising space will also be donated at Selhurst Park stadium as part of the deal.

GamStop will also offer free training in the Eagles‘ South London home to illustrate how its service can benefit at-risk people in the local community. GamStop currently has over 195,000 people registered across the UK, with monthly sign-ups predicted to rise in 2021 as online gaming “during lockout” increases. GamStop revealed earlier this year that over 55,000 women had signed up to self-exclude from gambling websites, with the number of women signing up increasing since coronavirus lockdowns began last year.

GamStop CEO Fiona Palmer said that Crystal Palace’s support will be greatly helpful in ensuring that people who could benefit from using the program are aware of the existence of the service. Palmer added that GamStop has seen a rise in sign-ups as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and that it is trying to make sure that anyone directly or indirectly affected by problem-gambling knows where to get help.

“The support of Crystal Palace will help us extend our reach and we hope that other Premier League and women’s clubs will follow their example,” Palmer declared.

Crystal Palace Commits to Safe Gambling

Crystal Palace stated on its website that players can obtain professional assistance and help from recovery providers, as well as use other means such as blocking apps and bank blocking to prevent risky gambling habits.

Crystal Palace Chairman Steve Parish said the club is glad to be helping to raise awareness around GamStop and its services. While most soccer bettors do so to boost their enjoyment of the game, GamStop aims to help anyone who is having issues with gambling to regain control, he added.

Crystal Palace emphasized its commitment to encouraging its fans to gamble wisely, citing the club’s 2018 agreement with BeGambleAware, the Premier League’s first of its kind.

The announcement comes as the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) conducts its review of the 2005 Gambling Act, which is drawing increased attention from both the political and public spheres to the relationship between professional sports and betting.

On Thursday, a coalition of Premier League clubs met to discuss how the two sides of the gambling industry could cooperate, with a focus on jersey sponsorships with betting companies.