Chicago Fire, which plays for Major League Soccer (MLS), became the first American football team to offer awareness sessions on betting and related issues through a partnership with EPIC Risk Management and the Entain Foundation US, non-profit entity of Entain aimed at spreading safe gaming.
Epic Risk Management will hold educational sessions with grassroots teams, in addition to the professional roster. Each meeting will be adjusted according to its target audience, covering topics such as problems with gambling, uncontrolled gambling and integrity in sports betting.
These actions are expected to start in May and extend until the end of the year, in order to provide ongoing support to the Chicago Fire Performance Program (PASS). Due to the pandemic, the meetings will take place by videoconference and will migrate to face-to-face meetings at a safe time.
Brian Roberts, director of PASS for the Chicago Fire, said: “We know that young athletes are most at risk of being affected by gambling problems and we recognize the need to take an educational approach to our players and parents about this.”
Roberts continued: “The real-life stories that EPIC Risk Management uses in its educational sessions bring the focus to the game in a way that will have a real impact and provide young people with the understanding they need to make informed decisions. We are excited to work with an organization that is open to personalizing its approach. ”
https://twitter.com/epicpgc/status/1382035595053121546Entain representative celebrates ‘milestone in promoting responsible gaming’
John Millington, vice president of US operations at EPIC Risk Management, stated: “We are delighted to be able to work closely with the Chicago Fire. Our cooperation with the Entain Foundation US represents a fundamental strategic piece of our prevention pillar ”.
Millington added: “It is essential that professional sports teams and leagues recognize the collective responsibility to educate their players, collaborators and fan base. And we are delighted that the Chicago Fire has embraced this market-leading education. I hope that many other teams will follow your example ”.
Martin Lycka, senior vice president of Regulatory Affairs and Responsible Gaming at Entain and administrator of the Entain Foundation US, noted: “This new partnership between Chicago Fire, EPIC Risk Management and the Entain Foundation US is another milestone in promoting responsible gaming – a of our priorities. I am proud to associate our foundation in the United States with these two exceptional partners ”.
So far, EPIC Risk Management and the Entain Foundation US have partnered with the NFLPA Professional Athletes Foundation, American universities, the Division on Addiction at Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School to research elite athletes and problematic gaming behavior and bets.