GambleAware takes Bet Regret on the road with mobile barbershop
Punters given advice and education on responsible gambling in exchange for a free haircut
GambleAware has continued its Bet Regret campaign with a new mobile barbershop that provides gambling education to customers while giving them free haircuts.
The barbershop tour started in Manchester last week and is now travelling to venues with a large number of sports bettors, including sporting events, university campuses and city centres.
Multiple universities will host the barbershop truck as research for the Gambling Commission found that two in three students gamble, whilst another study has shown 67% of younger male sports bettors agree it is easy to get drawn into risky betting behaviour.
“With our barbers, people will have the opportunity not only to receive a haircut, but also develop their understanding of Bet Regret and consider their betting behaviour in the future,” explained Marc Etches, GambleAware CEO.
Barber Nick Mclure added: “As barbers, we are used to our customers opening up to us about personal topics that they wouldn’t typically discuss. I’m looking forward to touring the country and chatting openly to fellow sports’ fans about their betting behaviour, raising awareness about Bet Regret.
“We will be shining a spotlight on bets they might immediately regret, promoting conversations between friends, with the ambition of encouraging bettors to reduce higher risk betting so that their future betting is safer and less impulsive.”
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The mobile barbershop is the latest physical incarnation of the Bet Regret campaign after GambleAware took over a pub earlier this year, branding it the No Bet Inn in a bid to discourage betting made while drinking.
The campaign was criticised by Sky Bet CEO Richard Flint as an “ill-considered and poorly targeted stunt”.
The wider Bet Regret theme has also been criticised by the industry for “shaming” problem gamblers.