Safer Online Gambling Group launched by former gambling addict

62 yr old David Bradford, a former online gambling addict, and his 26 yr old son Adam Bradford, a social activist and entrepreneur, have led a campaign over a 5 year period to slash the odds on gamblers becoming addicted to online gaming by launching The Safer Online Gambling Group to help them.

They are hoping to raise awareness of the problems that online gambling addiction can incur, and help them get support via an NHS framework. They are also working with the government and gambling operators to tighten up the gambling policy and therefore protecting vulnerable players.

David and his son Adam have meetings in the pipeline with GAMSTOP and  Sky Bet and are hoping to form a customer-led coalition with gambling operators, customers who have had real life experiences on the effect of  gambling addiction and the policy makers. They are hoping that operators will commit to a Safer Online Gambling Charter, which will be audited with user testing and research  via the group.

Loopholes

In the last week, the father and son exposed loopholes in the GAMSTOP’s self-exclusion scheme, and the Gambling Commission have promised to tighten this up.

David said: ‘Online gambling became a devastating addiction for me. An addict will not know they have the problem until it’s too late. Psychologically it takes you over. I was like a hamster in the hamster wheel. This work is going to become the rest of my life and I am proud to be able to turn a corner by providing a solution which will improve the lives of thousands of addicts across the country. Free bets and glamorous adverts kept me betting until there was nowhere else to go but to steal money to keep the whole facade alive. It was a desperate and unforgivable situation, I just wish help was around at the time.’