William Hill Brings Gambling Awareness to SPFL
Safer Gambling Week 2024 has recently finished, but William Hill continues to promote responsible gambling actively. The brand, one of the UK’s biggest, recently became the title sponsor of the Scottish Professional Football League. It’s using this new position to spread messages of responsible gambling.
A New Sponsorship
On Friday, 7th June 2024, the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) announced a five-year title sponsorship deal with William Hill worth £10 million. This deal started at the beginning of the 2024/25 season.
As well as being the SPFL’s official betting partner, William Hill is now the title sponsor of all four SPFL divisions. They are currently named: William Hill Premiership, William Hill Championship, William Hill League 1 and William Hill League 2.
William Hill’s Responsible Gambling Talks
William Hill has involved people across all four SPFL divisions to raise awareness and promote sensible gambling practices. Staff, players and fans alike have been offered talks to help them manage their own gambling.
The campaign has been delivered in partnership with EPIC Global Solutions, the UK’s leading independent gambling harm prevention consultancy. Its talks have involved real-life examples of people’s experiences with gambling.
By including these, William Hill hopes to effectively teach people how to spot signs of addiction and what resources are available for those who have a problem.
As of the time of writing, 16 of the SPFL’s clubs have been involved in the initiative, while a further five are due to offer talks at the end of November. So far, it seems that the campaign has been a success.
SPFL players who attended talks filled in a survey. The results from this showed that 94% of players have a better understanding of the harmful ways in which gambling can affect top-tier athletes.
It also showed that 96% of players questioned have renewed confidence in being upfront about their gambling behaviour. They feel that if they start developing a problem, they will be able to deal with it sooner.
They feel better equipped to deal with any problems related to gambling thanks to the presentations delivered by EPIC Global Solutions.
The SPFL’s Group Chief Executive, Neil Doncaster, has said the following about the campaign:
“It’s great to see such a strong start to the campaign. The feedback has been positive and, while the size of the problem remains relatively small in Scottish football, we can’t afford to be complacent and are looking forward to a fuller roll-out of the programme as the season progresses.”
Real-Life Examples
What’s made the talks particularly effective is the inclusion of former players who have experienced harm from gambling. Ex-Wales U21 forward Marc Williams and former Scotland defender Dominic Matteo have participated in and helped deliver the talks so far.
By involving people who have stories of problem gambling to share, it’s hoped that the safe gambling messages will hit home and have a meaningful impact on those who attend the talks.
Marc Williams has spoken about the campaign and shared his thoughts on it:
” The sessions have been really well received and we’ve had lots of positive conversations about our message. Crucially, players are coming forward to discuss their personal relationship with gambling or the culture around gambling that they’ve experienced in Scotland.”
He also said that it was great to see how other players could relate to his own story. At first, gambling was a fun hobby for him, but it spiralled and ended up affecting both his performance and his mental health.
Lastly, he emphasised the importance of the campaign and its talks. He believes that they’re important for both players and staff as anyone, no matter who they are, can develop gambling problems.
