Gambling Awareness Program Reaches Over 1,250 Irish Football Players

(AsiaGameHub) –   The first phase of the League of Ireland initiative has already been completed after its launch in January.

Ireland.- Organisers have announced that a national gambling awareness programme has reached every senior football team in the League of Ireland. Over three months, more than 1,250 players, alongside Football Association of Ireland (FAI) staff and match officials, have participated in the initiative, marking the completion of its first phase.

The programme, which is funded through a three‑year partnership between Paddy Power’s parent company Flutter Entertainment and education provider EPIC Global Solutions, kicked off in January. It has delivered workshops for all 32 senior men’s and women’s teams, and nearly 100 FAI staff have taken part in sessions hosted at the federation’s Dublin headquarters.

EPIC, which rebranded from EPIC Risk Management in 2023, has customised its workshops to include personal lived experiences from former professional players. Among those sharing stories is ex-Liverpool defender Dominic Matteo, who gave open accounts of his own battles with gambling debt. With plans to host 70 sessions each year, organisers expect to engage more than 2,000 participants annually, with the goal of boosting awareness and cutting gambling-related harm within the football community.

Early data indicates the sessions are connecting well with attendees. Surveys show 89 per cent of participants feel confident identifying harmful gambling behaviour and know how to raise related concerns. Awareness of FAI and UEFA integrity regulations increased to 94 per cent, and female players rated the sessions especially highly, with 98 per cent giving the sessions a score between 8 and 10 out of 10. League officials said the results provide “gender‑specific insights” that will help shape future programme messaging.

Stephen McGuiness, general secretary of the Professional Footballers Association of Ireland, praised the programme’s early impact: “It is wonderful to see the meaningful difference this programme is making in supporting and guiding players.” 

Paul Buck, CEO of EPIC, said: “Seeing 89 per cent of players confident in recognising harmful gambling behaviour – and knowing how to respond – confirms every goal we built this programme around. When education comes from former players who have lived through these experiences, it truly resonates.”

Mark Scanlon, director of the League of Ireland, added: “We look forward to rolling this education programme out across our clubs’ academy teams over the next few months, and we are confident this prevention-focused approach will deliver significant impact over the three years of this partnership.”

EPIC has previously worked with Flutter’s Sky Bet to deliver similar training across the English Football League. The Irish initiative is being launched at a time of shifting gambling regulation in the country. The new Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) came into force just over a year ago, and began accepting new applications for in-person Irish gambling licences in February this year.

Online gambling licences remain under the control of the Irish Revenue Commissioners for now, but will also be transferred to the GRAI. Eurasia Sports is the latest operator to secure an online betting licence.