Wayne Rooney stars in ‘Stay In Control’ series

Former England captain Wayne Rooney has collaborated with Kindred-owned 32Red as the gambling operator emphasises its focus on responsible gambling with the launch of its ‘Stay In Control’ series.

The opening episode of the series, which is available via Youtube, was hosted at the training facility of the Championship side. Rooney, who last Thursday debuted for Derby County, was joined by former football league midfielder Scott Davies, who currently does extensive work in promoting the risks of gambling with Epic Risk Management.

Rooney revealed the potential impact gambling can have on the career of a young player, particularly as they are forced to spend an abundance of time away from their family and loved ones.

“I was a young lad who just come into a lot of money. And when you go away with Manchester United, to an away game, you stay in a hotel, and especially when you’re away with England, you’re in a hotel for seven to 10 days, you get bored and you end up doing things to fill time, and at that time gambling was one of them. said Rooney, explaining a quote from autobiography regarding his gambling issues.

“It was easy to put bets on and at that time, it wasn’t like I had to into a bookies to put bets on where there were limits, this was over the phone where it was just numbers and it didn’t feel like real money and before you know it, you’ve lost quite a bit of money,” he added.

“Thankfully I managed to obviously just pay up what I’d lost and move on, and I didn’t gamble again. I’ve learned from my mistakes and I think if you carry on gambling, you lose more. That’s when you can get sucked in and you could be in a bad situation,” stated Rooney.

As part of the “Stay in control’ campaign, football teams Rangers F.C., Derby County, Leeds United, Preston North End, and Middlesbrough, all took on the responsible gambling messages but only in matches where 32Red-sponsored teams played against one another.