Groundbreaking gambling awareness programme completes delivery to all 32 LOI teams

1. Three-year programme has been delivered to 1,250 players, FAI staff and club and match officials since January.
2. Programme teaches players and coaches about gambling awareness and how to look out for team-mates.
3. Majority of players show marked increase in integrity awareness (94%) following first-of-its-kind peer-led educational initiative.

A ground-breaking new gambling awareness course for footballers has been delivered to all 32 senior teams across the men and women’s game in just three months – the League of Ireland revealed today.

More than 1,000 League of Ireland players have attended courses delivered by award-winning education specialists EPIC Global Solutions since a pioneering three-year partnership was announced in January.

The details came as almost 100 staff members of the Football Association of Ireland met at FAI Headquarters yesterday and attended the educational workshop.

The three-year programme between the League of Ireland and EPIC – funded by Paddy Power-owner Flutter – delivers 70 workshops annually which will reach over 2,000 participants each year.

This includes:

• 32 sessions to senior LOI teams (20 men’s and 12 women’s)
• 26 sessions to LOI Academy clubs (U17s men’s and women’s)
• 10 sessions to Women’s Development League senior teams
• 1 session to League of Ireland Match Officials
• 1 session to FAI staff

EPIC said the first phase of the programme showed 89% of male and female participants are now confident they can recognise signs of harmful gambling behaviour and know how to approach these conversations.

Separately, 94% of players across reported excellent awareness of FAI and UEFA integrity regulations post-session – a significant jump from 71% (men) and 53% (women) before attending.
Almost all – 98% – of female participants rated the overall quality of EPIC’s sessions 8-10 out of 10.

League of Ireland officials believe the data will provide clear, gender-specific insights to inform targeted support messaging and harm prevention strategies.

The inclusion of academy and development pathways is particularly significant, with early awareness programmes recognised as crucial in establishing healthy attitudes towards gambling amongst the next generation of Irish footballers.

League of Ireland Director Mark Scanlon said: “We were delighted to see the initial impact of our partnership with EPIC and the early results validate our commitment to proactive education.

“The jump in integrity awareness – particularly among our women’s teams, from 53% to 94% – shows this education is genuinely landing with players and making a real difference.

“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.”

Stephen McGuiness, General Secretary of the Professional Footballers Association of Ireland, added: “It is great to see the significant impact this programme is having in supporting and guiding players. Feedback from our members has been extremely positive, particularly to the reallife experience EPIC bring as an independent third party.

“This type of education is vital in helping players identify problem gambling behaviours and avoid the pitfalls that can arise. We’re also looking forward to the impact the programme will have on academy players and to former PFA Ireland members sharing their personal stories as part of the training going forward.”

Paul Buck, CEO of EPIC, commented: “Seeing 89% 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.

“Over the next three years, the expansion to academies will amplify this impact across the entire pathway.”

EPIC has delivered similar gambling awareness courses across all three divisions of the English Football League in a partnership with Flutter’s Sky Bet brand for the past eight years.