Irish gambling awareness programmes reaches over 1,250 football players
The first phase of the League of Ireland initiative is already complete following rollout in January.
Ireland.- A nationwide gambling awareness programme has reached every senior football team in the League of Ireland, organisers have said. In three months, more than 1,250 players, along with Football Association of Ireland (FAI) staff and match officials, have taken part in the initiative, marking the completion of its first phase.
The programme, funded through a three‑year partnership between Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment and education provider EPIC Global Solutions, began in January. It has delivered workshops across all 32 senior men’s and women’s teams while nearly 100 FAI staff have attended sessions held at the federation’s Dublin headquarters.
EPIC, rebranded from EPIC Risk Management in 2023, has tailored its workshops to include lived experiences from former professional players. Among them, ex‑Liverpool defender Dominic Matteo shared candid accounts of his struggles with gambling debts. With plans to run 70 sessions annually, organisers expect to engage more than 2,000 participants each year, aiming to strengthen awareness and reduce gambling‑related harm within the football community.
Early data suggests the sessions are resonating. Surveys show 89 per cent of participants feel confident recognising harmful gambling behaviour and know how to raise concerns. Awareness of FAI and UEFA integrity regulations rose to 94 per cent, while female players gave particularly strong ratings, with 98 per cent scoring sessions between eight and ten out of ten. League officials said the findings offered “gender‑specific insights” that will help shape future messaging.
Stephen McGuiness, general secretary of the Professional Footballers Association of Ireland, praised the early impact: “It is great to see the significant impact this programme is having 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 – validates everything we’ve built this programme around. When education comes from former players who’ve lived these experiences, it resonates.”
Mark Scanlon, director of the League of Ireland, added: “We look forward to rolling out the education programme across our clubs’ academy teams over the next few months and we’re confident this prevention‑based approach will have a 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 initiative in Ireland comes amid a shift in gambling regulation. The new Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) came into force just over a year ago and began taking new in-person Irish gambling licence applications in February of this year.
Online licences remain under the Irish Revenue Commissioners for now but will also pass to the GRAI. Eurasia Sports is the latest operator to gain an online betting licence.
