Fan accuses Everton of ‘selling soul of club’ in agreeing betting sponsor deal

More than 20,000 people have signed a petition opposing Everton’s choice of a betting firm as their main shirt sponsor, with one recovering gambling addict fan accusing the Toffees of “selling the soul of the club”.

A club-record deal with Stake.com has produced a mixed response but season ticket holder Ben Melvin, who lost hundreds of thousands of pounds over more than a decade, is firmly against it.

He accepts the Merseyside outfit have made a business decision but does not believe if reflects well on the club.

“When I heard Everton had signed a partnership with Stake.com it was a shock because it wasn’t something I saw as fitting well with Everton’s standards they set themselves,” he told the PA news agency.

“This jeopardises that and I don’t see how it can fit with the work they do with ‘Everton in the Community’ looking after vulnerable people.

“A lot of people were saying ‘We need every penny we can get’ but that doesn’t involve selling the soul of the club for it.

“At a time when clubs are trying to step away from it and think it is not a good thing, Everton have taken a giant leap towards it for a big payday.”

Melvin, who helped the club’s charitable arm ‘Everton in the Community’ with an education session on gambling addiction only last year, began betting as a teenager but it reached a peak in his late 20s.

Gambling had taken control of me. It was the first thing I would think about when I woke up in the morning and last thing before I went to bed- Recovering addict Ben Melvin

He says it affected him and his family – he has a wife and two children – as it consumed his whole life but he has now not had a bet for two and a half years and attends weekly Gamblers Anonymous meetings.

“Gambling had taken control of