On 30 June 2025, the Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) and the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) held the closing conference of the “Football Players Betting Addiction” (FPBA) project at the Athens Marriott Hotel. Launched in December 2024, the project gauged the prevalence of sports-betting addiction among footballers and maps out preventive measures. Jointly designed by both federations, the initiative drew on the Council of Europe’s technical expertise, in particular the Secretariat of the Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions and the Pompidou Group, whose specialisms are sports integrity and online-gambling addiction respectively.

The initial findings, drawn from an anonymous questionnaire completed by almost 1,400 players and designed with particular attention to adolescents and young professionals, provide a clear picture of the situation in Portugal and Greece. In keeping with the focus of the closing session, participants first reviewed these results before outlining practical next steps: rolling out awareness-raising programmes, securing expert support and implementing other targeted measures to curb betting-related risks and safeguard the integrity of the game. The measures proposed are intended to serve as a model for other leagues, with a view to wider adoption across Europe and beyond.

The final report, which details all of the project's findings and recommendations, will be published over the summer.