Flutter and FAI announce extension of EPIC’s gambling awareness program

Flutter will fund the extension of a ground-breaking Gambling Awareness program to cover all new Football Association of Ireland (FAI) National League clubs, delivered by EPIC Global Solutions.

As the 2026 inaugural FAI National League season got underway this weekend, the FAI and Paddy Power-owner Flutter UK & Ireland confirmed the program will be rolled out to incorporate the 15 founding member teams by the end of this year. 

The initial three-year program, developed in partnership with the League of Ireland, has seen over 70 workshops delivered by award-winning education specialists EPIC Global Solutions, reaching over 2,000 League of Ireland players and FAI staff, since January (pictured above: an earlier session at Galway United, delivered by Dominic and Jess Matteo).

Interim FAI National Competitions Lead, Garret Higgins said: “The impact of this program across League of Ireland has been a huge success story. So naturally, we’re incredibly grateful to see this extended to our new FAI National League teams.

Paul Buck, CEO of EPIC, commented: “We have delivered similar programs across a wide range of sports globally, but our partnership with the League of Ireland has proven to be one of our most effective yet.

“The number of players who are now confident in their knowledge around this subject has reached 89%. That validates everything we’ve built this program around. When education comes from former players who’ve lived these experiences, it resonates. The expansion to FAI National League teams will amplify this impact across the entire pathway.”

The first phase of the program showed 89% of male and female participants are now confident they can recognize signs of harmful gambling behavior 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 – 98.5% – of 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 programs recognized as crucial in establishing healthy attitudes towards gambling amongst the next generation of Irish footballers.