In order to give members of the Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA) access to gambling harm education and awareness programmes, Entain and Epic Risk Management have partnered with the MLSPA for three years.

Over the course of a three-year programme, Epic Risk Management and Entain Foundation US will offer personalised gambling harm education and awareness programmes as well as advising materials. The programmes will be available to the 29 teams that make up the MLSPA.

Epic will provide workshops on gambling harm prevention and education as part of the programme. The MLSPA membership as a whole will have access to preventive resources, advisory resources, and material from Epic.

Recently, there has been much discussion about gambling in sports. England football player Ivan Toney was banned for eight months after he admitted to breaking gambling regulations. Toney later came clean about his addiction to gambling, and the NFL has recently seen instances of this kind of behaviour.

"We are looking forward to working with the MLSPA and its membership in delivering this national programme to provide crucial education and advice regarding the ever-growing relationship between wagering and professional sports in the US," stated Ben McGregor, Director of Sports Partnerships at Epic Risk Management.

Due to their global presence, the players, staff, and MLS as a whole will attract a lot of interest from sports bettors worldwide.

"The goal of this programme is to give MLSPA members the knowledge and skills necessary to reduce the possibility of problems with sporting integrity resulting from gambling activities. It also makes use of the extensive firsthand experience of our facilitators, who are experienced in elite sports and can offer guidance on the impact that gambling-related harm can have on an individual's well-being and performance."