Former England Goalkeeper Peter Shilton to Deliver Anti-Gambling Petition to UK Prime Minister 

Legendary ex-England national soccer team goalkeeper and recovered problem gambler Peter Shilton (pictured) has joined an anti-sports betting advertising campaign, “The Big Step.”

Shilton is the England soccer team’s all-time appearance leader. He played in the number-one goalkeeper’s jersey in three World Cups and two European Championships. 

In recent years, he publicly revealed his 45-year struggles with gambling, having lost large amounts betting on horse racing. He has since joined several problem gambling awareness groups, including The Big Step.

The Big Step Campaign aims to eliminate all gambling and sports betting advertisements at English Premier League soccer grounds and matches. That includes shirt sponsors and stadium signage. 

Shilton will join the campaign delivering a petition signed by 125,000 people to the UK Prime Minister’s office in London on Tuesday, December 3.

Keeping off the Horses

Shilton is one of England’s and the world’s most decorated footballers. In the late ’80s, Shilton was the national team’s number-one goalkeeper throughout the decade. 

He has played for the England national team in more matches than any other player. He also holds the joint record for goalkeeper with the most clean sheets (no goals conceded in a match) at World Cup Finals. In his club career, he won the 1977 English First Division, the precursor to the Premier League, with Nottingham Forest. He also won the English League Cup twice.

However, behind the glittering headline career for both club and country, Shilton recently revealed a dark side. The now 72-year-old admitted in a 2021 book, co-written with his wife Stephanie, that he had battled a serious gambling problem for some 40 years. 

Shilton was gambling as late as 2012, and mostly losing some £20,000 ($15,700) a month on horse racing, the book said. He had been betting thousands per horse race daily for decades, he said. And a lot of that was during a time when £20,000 was worth far more than in recent years. 

After retiring from football and seeing his income dry up somewhat, his gambling began to affect his life. Things came to a head when Shilton had to confess to his then-new wife that he couldn’t afford to book their planned 2012 honeymoon, because he’d gambled away the money he’d saved for it.

“I always managed to separate it from my football,” he said, speaking to The Racing Post in 2021. 

“I never bet when I was away on tours and wouldn’t bet on matchdays. Nothing interfered with my football, and I kidded myself that because I was such a model professional footballer – worked hard, trained hard, did all the right things – that I was a model gambler as well.”

“But once you’re addicted, that’s it. And I was addicted. And the more you earn, the more you bet. Don’t get me wrong, I had the good things in life on the money I earned – the houses, the horses, the holidays – but I also had money to bet.”

With the help of his wife, Shilton kicked his 40-year habit while in his 60s. He now works to raise awareness of problem gambling and treatment options, including this latest campaign. As of 2021, when he joined The Big Step, he had not placed a bet in six years.

The Big Step 

Meanwhile, The Big Step is aiming to tackle stories like Shilton’s (and those of other problem gamblers in the world of soccer) head-on. 

Their recent petition, calling on the UK Government to ban all gambling advertising from Football Association stadiums on match days, attracted 125,000 signatures. 

On Tuesday, December 3, with Shilton present, as well as individuals and families affected by problem gambling in England, the group will deliver the petition to the office of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. 

To make a further point, The Big Step plans to march from Arsenal Football Club’s Emirates Stadium in North London to the Prime Minister’s offices in 10 Downing Street in Westminster, central London. Recently-elected Starmer is a keen soccer fan and supporter of Arsenal.