This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The Church of England and healthcare professionals have criticised the footballer Wayne Rooney over his transfer to Derby County, which involves a lucrative deal to promote a betting company.

The former England captain has signed with the Championship side for a reported salary of £90,000 a week, part of which will be paid by the online casino 32Red. He will also wear the number 32 shirt for the club, it was announced on Tuesday as part of his multimillion-pound overall deal.

Dr Alan Smith, the bishop of St Albans and the church’s gambling spokesman, said celebrities must have a greater awareness of the impact of their choices and that Rooney should refuse to wear the shirt.

“Stars need to wake up to the fact they’re doing their fans no favours by wearing gambling logos,” he told the Guardian. “There is a clear academic consensus on the impact these types of adverts have on children.

“Rooney should take the lead and stand up for his fans by refusing to wear this shirt. If young footballers see a national treasure refusing to sully his personal brand and taking a moral stand it will better protect families from gambling-related harm both now and in the future.”

A group of leading healthcare professionals and academics, including Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, also condemned Derby’s decision to require Rooney to wear the number 32 shirt and called on the government to ban gambling sponsorship.

“There is now a substantial body of evidence which shows the impact of gambling advertising on children,” the group said in a letter. “International evidence also shows that children and young people are influenced by the behaviour of their heroes.

“The worldwide deregulation of gambling has been accompanied by a proliferation of advertising, promotion and sponsorship.”

They said politicians in Australia, Belgium and Italy had introduced restrictions, and criticised the British government for being “reluctant to act” and preferring “self-regulation and industry-led responsible gambling campaigns”.

“Acting now will help to prevent the next generation of gambling harm,” the letter concluded.

32Red was fined £2m last year for repeatedly failing to help a problem gambler. It offered the customer VIP status and free bonuses instead of advice as he deposited more than £750,000 over two years.

Newspapers have highlighted how Rooney previously admitted that his own gambling losses had been “stupid”.

Wayne Rooney wants one final chapter of football glory with Derby County Read more

“I had an idea I was doing badly and did what most gamblers do,” he wrote in his autobiography. “I chased my bets and tried to recoup my losses by putting on bigger sums. Eventually the story appeared in the newspapers. In a way I’m glad it did all come out. It shocked me into realising how much I’d been betting and losing and how stupid I’d been.”

Play Video 1:31 Wayne Rooney says he is a player first in Derby County move - video

Half of the Premier League’s teams will feature a gambling company’s logo on their shirts during the 2019-20 season, and that figure rises to 17 out of 24 clubs in the second-tier Championship.



In February, the Church of England’s governing body called for tighter regulation around gambling advertising.

“More children gamble each week than drink, smoke or take drugs,” Smith said at the time. “This generational scandal sees young people immersed in social media and tech platforms where the gambling industry relentlessly promote their products as part of a £1.5bn annual spend … Gambling advertising is pervasive and is remembered and understood by young people.”