The Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research has announced its inaugural International Interdisciplinary Colloquium with a range of key speakers, including Peter Shilton, the iconic former England goalkeeper.
Hosted at the M Shed in Bristol, the event will be held on 12 October.
Alongside Peter Shilton, who struggled with gambling for 45 years, his wife Steph, a qualified therapist, will be in attendance.
On the event, Shilton said: “We are really looking forward to attending and speaking at this event.
“Steph and I are proud to be patrons of the grassroots football study and to support the terrific work being undertaken by the University of Bristol for research into gambling harms.”
The Lord Foster of Bath will also attend the event, as well as Rob Davies, the journalist credited with exposing a range of practices in the British gambling industry.
A total of 150 experts will be invited, covering health, regulations, marketing and policies from around the world.
Agnes Nairn, Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research Co-Director and University of Bristol Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement, said: “Experience of gambling harms is a worldwide phenomenon.
“However, the cultural context, provision of support and approach to regulation varies dramatically across countries.
“We are delighted to bring together experts from 13 nations to debate how strong interdisciplinary research can help tackle this growing issue.”
Last month, the University of Bristol found in its research that out of the 11,000 gambling messages sent to fans during the opening weekend of the Premier League, only 21% of these contained gambling harm reduction slogans.
Raffaello Rossi, University of Bristol Lecturer in Marketing, said: "Self-regulation of the gambling industry is completely failing.
“Other countries such as Italy, Spain, Poland, Netherlands and Belgium have all started to introduce harsh restrictions and even bans on gambling marketing.
“It is shocking that the White Paper has completely ignored the need for stricter gambling marketing curbs – something strongly supported by the public.”
