32Red hit with £4m fine

THE UK Government face fresh calls to crack down on gambling advertising in football after Rangers’ main shirt sponsor was fined £4million for multiple breaches of social responsibility and money laundering rules. The Gambling Commission fined 32Red £4.2m while Platinum Gaming, which is also part of Kindred Group, will pay £2.9m. Rangers’ shirt sponsors since 2014, 32Red were hammered for failing to identify customers at risk of harm and failure to identify and protect potential problem gamblers. Celtic are also sponsored by betting firm Dafabet and MP Ronnie Cowan argues that advertising on the front of shirts ‘normalises the industry’. Vice-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Related Harm, the Inverclyde MP plans to press home the case for a ban in talks with Gambling Minister Stuart Andrew. ‘These fines highlight the problem, but don’t address the causes,’ said Cowan, son of former Scotland international and Morton legend Jimmy. ‘The damage here has already been done. The Government White Paper on gambling reform is long overdue and it needs to provide stricter regulation, so we don’t get to this point in the first place.’