32Red Operator Kindred Launches New ‘Stay In Control’ Campaign
The operator of online casino 32Red has launched a new responsible gambling campaign featuring footballer Wayne Rooney.
Kindred Group launched the campaign this week through its 32Red casino brand with an aim to promote safe and responsible gambling. The campaign, titled Stay In Control, is comprised of a series of YouTube videos which are set to feature the firm’s key sporting partners.
In the first video in the series, Rooney meets former professional footballer Scott Davies to discuss the issue of problem gambling. In the video, Davies questions Rooney about a quote from his autobiography that said: “I had an idea I was doing badly and did what most gamblers do, I chased my bets and tried to recoup my losses by putting on bigger sums.”
Responding to the quote in the video and reflecting on his own struggles, Rooney explained: “I was a young lad, just come into a lot of money. And when you go away with Manchester United to an away game, you stay in a hotel. And especially when you’re away with England you’re in the hotel for seven to ten days and you get bored and you end up doing things to fill the time and at that time, gambling was one of them.
“It was easy to put bets on. It weren’t like I had to go into a bookies and put bets on, where there is limits. This was over the phone, where it was just numbers and it didn’t feel like real money but before you know it you’ve lost a good bit of money and you don’t realise actually the amount you’re putting on at the time.”
He continued: “I won at the start actually, a couple of bets and thought ‘This is easy. It’s easy money.’ So it sucks you in a bit more and then ended up losing, ended up down, ended up chasing my bets trying to win my money back. You’re there to play for your country or to play for your club and when you’re losing money the way I was, then it will affect you.
“Thankfully I managed to obviously just pay up what I’d lost and move on, and I didn’t gamble again. I’ve learned from my mistakes and I think if you carry on gambling, you lose more. That’s when you can get sucked in and you could be in a bad situation.”
The Aim Of The Campaign
Throughout the interview, the video also included responsible gambling tips for gamers. Some of the tips included “Never gamble when bored, tired or stressed”, “Set deposit limits so you don’t chase your losses” and “Keep track of all your bets using the bet history feature”.
In a statement announcing the launch of the brand new 32Red campaign, Kindred UK General Manager Neil Banbury said: “We have focused heavily on efforts around mental health – launching Team Talk models and commissioning a groundbreaking piece of research into the impact of mental health among working-class men in the UK.
“But we also made a key commitment to utilising our assets to form an important part of our responsible gambling strategy through our 32Red and Unibet brands in the UK. Games featuring 32Red sponsored teams feature-heavy Responsible Gambling branding, both on the shirts and around the grounds.”
“We are proud to launch our ‘Stay In Control’ series – a unique set of content with some of our key sporting partners in the UK, starting with Derby County star Wayne Rooney. Wayne is an international football icon with tens of millions of followers across his social platforms and a reach that cuts across club rivalries. The truth is – when Wayne speaks, people listen.”
Neil Banbury ended the announcement by saying: This is part of our commitment to the moral and financial responsibility we have to tackle problem gambling effectively in 2020 and beyond.”
The new 32Red campaign further iterates the firm’s commitment to promoting responsible gambling. Last year, 32Red partnered with Unibet to launch a responsible gambling promotion in which football clubs sponsored by the casino display responsible gambling messages on their kits during the 2019-2020 football season.
As part of the campaign, football teams Rangers F.C., Derby County, Leeds United, Preston North End, and Middlesbrough, all took on the responsible gambling messages but only in matches where 32Red-sponsored teams played against one another.