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Odds Are: They Win

“Odds are: they win”

Greater Manchester Combined Authority's gambling harms prevention campaign, launched for the 2022 Qatar World Cup on billboards, Metrolink posters and social media, which co-produced with people with lived experience tells the public that operators profit from customers' losses rather than urging individuals to 'gamble responsibly'; rerun around major betting events.

Years
2022
Country
United Kingdom
Topic
Gambling
Asks people to
StopSupport a policy
Strategy
Industry denormalizationStigma reduction
Channel
OutdoorSocial (organic)Social (paid)
Audience
General publicMen
Greater Manchester residents, especially football fans during major tournaments.

Evidence

NoneUnknown

No outcome evaluation found. A commentary by the campaign's developers and LSBU researchers (Mills 2023) sets out the evidence-based rationale for industry-focused messaging and calls for a robust evaluation.

Sponsor (who paid)

Credits (who made it)

  • PHIRST South Bank, London South Bank University Research evaluation, 2023 source

Related campaigns

Sources

  1. New campaign lifts the lid on gambling harms in Greater Manchester (GMCA, 23 Nov 2022) sponsor · 2022
  2. Mills T et al. 'Odds Are: They Win': a disruptive messaging innovation for challenging harmful products and practices of the gambling industry. Public Health 2023 reference · 2023 · DOI 10.1016/j.puhe.2023.08.009 · PMID 37714065
  3. New campaign takes on addictive gambling products and ad surge (Brighton & Hove City Council, 10 June 2026) sponsor · 2026

Research notes

Drafted by Claude (Claude Code) on 2026-10-28 for #130 from the sources listed; unreviewed, including the cardSummary. Launch release cites 'a gambling advert roughly every 10 seconds' during football and '1 in 15 residents (over 180,000) experience harm'; check before quoting. GMCA's harm reduction programme awarded GBP 300,000 in grants to local organisations at the same time; that is not the campaign budget. Creative agency not named. GMCA says it reruns around major betting events; later bursts not checked. Spread: Brighton & Hove City Council ran its own 'Odds Are They Win' public health campaign for the 2026 World Cup (council news, 10 June 2026, https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/news/2026/new-campaign-takes-addictive-gambling-products-and-ad-surge), with a page on can-campaigns.co.uk, suggesting the campaign is offered to other councils; Southampton's 2025 scrutiny inquiry also heard a GMCA presentation on it (search result).

Record cases/gb-gmca-odds-are-they-win.json, updated 2026-10-28· Link to this campaign