Counting down to EPIC and GIS’ Wembley Summit
The release of EPIC Risk Management’s inaugural white paper and a ground-breaking day of discussions and awareness around gambling harm’s effects on elite sports and esports at Wembley is all set to take place this week.
Wembley Stadium will play host to the Gambling Harm Prevention in Sport Summit, presented by EPIC Risk Management and UCFB’s Global Institute of Sport (GIS), on Wednesday 8th February, where in excess of 100 key decision makers – including C-level executives and player welfare specialists from major sports clubs, leagues, governing bodies, as well as their support networks and the gambling industry – will be in attendance to learn what they can do to safeguard their organisation from gambling harm.
The invite-only audience will hear from keynote speakers, engage in discussion around best practice and learn from the findings from the first year of activity by EPIC’s Pro Sport Advisory Board.
The select panel of player protection and welfare experts from the sporting, esports and gambling sectors will be unveiling the collective steps that they believe need to be taken to reduce gambling-related issues within the ecosystem of elite sports and esports, with discussions over the release of the inaugural EPIC Risk Management Pro Sport Advisory Board white paper, supported by ‘lived experience’ stories from those who have been directly or indirectly affected by problem gambling.
“It was always an ambition of EPIC’s when we set up the Pro Sport Advisory Board to end the year with a big event and release a white paper with our initial findings,” explains Mike Holinski, EPIC’s head of business development.
“The last ten to 12 months has all been working towards this event and the white paper, using all the input that we’ve got from the different members of the Board.
“A lot of the planning started quite a long time ago; about six or seven months ago we got around the drawing board and started putting plans in place.
“The partnership we struck with UCFB’s Global Institute of Sport has been a big help and a big influence on putting the event together.
“I’m really excited for the day itself, bringing all those different individuals that are going to be in the room together, sharing a lot of knowledge experiences.
“It’s important that we take this chance for a lot of influential people to really delve into the last 12 months work of the Pro Sport Advisory Board and talk about the sort of prevention around gambling harm that is needed across the industry.”
Among the high-profile speakers on the day will be former Premier League manager Brian McDermott, who will be able to reflect on the challenges of witnessing forms of addiction within the dressing room during his esteemed career throughout the football pyramid.
Though the summit is only accessible to individuals on an invite-only basis, EPIC will release the findings of the ‘Gambling Harm Prevention in Sport Review’ white paper via this site after the event takes place, to ensure that a wider sporting audience can learn from the investigations and act upon wider recommendations to remove gambling harm from their industry wherever possible.
