Online Sportsbook Bet365 Does Its Part for the Local Community

Bet365 offers scholarships to encourage university attendance among students from Stoke-on Trent.

As online sportsbooks in the UK are becoming more and more popular among bettors, some operators are actually trying to find ways to give something back to the community. British bookmaker Bet365 is setting an example, by handing out GBP 1,500 scholarships to 35 students born in Stoke-on-Trent.

The city has among the lowest university attendance rates in the UK, but the scholarship might encourage young people to get a higher education. Professor Nick Foskett, vice-chancellor of Keele University, stated: “Both ourselves and Bet365 are very keen to do something to raise the aspirations of students in the area.”

Andy Pointon, chief operating officer of Bet365, pointed out that the only condition recipients have to fulfill in order to have a shot at getting the scholarship is to “have roots” in the Potteries. “We’ve such strong links to the community and we want to give something back,” he added.

New headquarters in Etruria

Over the past few years, Bet365 has grown and become one of the world’s biggest online bookmakers, as thousands of players use the service to bet on sports in the UK. Last year, the company decided to move its headquarters from Festival Park to the offices formerly occupied by The Sentinel, in Etruria.

The bookmaker employs 2,200 people in the Potteries and needs a bigger space for its headquarters, so the company made plans to knock down the old offices and construct a new three-storey building. Bet365 announced that it plans to create 600 more jobs, over the next decade.