More than 60 people who have been harmed by gambling are walking from Manchester to Liverpool to demand reform within the industry. The group includes families who have lost loved ones to gambling-related suicide and is walking in memory of Liverpool fan Ryan Myers, who took his own life in 2014 when he was 27 after becoming addicted to gambling.
Walkers will call at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium and Manchester United's Old Trafford ground on Friday before finishing at Goodison Park and Anfield the following day. "Ryan was a bubbly, happy lad. Our world fell apart when we he died,” said Ryan’s dad John.
"The adverts played a massive role in his addiction – they wouldn’t let him break free and didn’t warn him about the dangers. Instead, they kept telling him gambling was fun and safe.
"Unless the adverts are going to show what can happen to families – the funerals and the heartbreak – then they’ve got to go."
Among the group will be Everton fan and former gambling addict Ben Melvin, who on arrival at Goodison Park will hand over a 30,000-plus name petition objecting to the club accepting online casino Stake.com as their main shirt sponsor this summer.
The walk is the latest event organised by The Big Step, a campaign to end all gambling advertising in football which now has the support of 27 clubs in the UK and Ireland. A Government White Paper is set to be published in the coming weeks as part of a review of gambling legislation.
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