SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
In a move which seeks to improve the accessibility to racing for those suffering with mental health problems, Kindred Group-subsidiary Unibet has confirmed it has made an investment into #GoRacingGreen.
Unibet will invest in the initiative, spearheaded by Debbie Matthews, which will see the duo partner at Newbury Racecourse on Saturday 17 August for Unibet Hungerford Day.
#GoRacingGreen aims to:
- Get more people living with invisible conditions to go racing
- Work with racecourses to make them accessible
- Create a #GoRacingGreen community
- Get more people out of the house and going to the races
Ed Nicholson, Head of Racing Communications & Sponsorship at Kindred Group, commented on the new partnership: “The investment we are announcing today means GoRacingGreen can continue to build on their fantastic work since they started the project earlier this year.
“I attended the training session undertaken at Newbury earlier in the week and saw at first-hand what a fantastic scheme this is. Our partnership with GoRacingGreen shows a new model for sport sponsorship is possible. Kindred is leading the way in becoming a sponsor for a sport and it’s communities and we are looking forward to piloting the project at Newbury this Saturday”
The announcement follows on from Kindred’s plans outlined back in April which set out to develop a ‘new model of sport sponsorship’ via its 32Red brand. The new sponsorship model saw 32Red invest heavily into the development of Team Talk centres across the city where men can seek advice, help and encouragement to discuss their mental health.
As part of the new project, visitors to the Unibet Hungerford Day are encouraged to wear the colour green to raise awareness of mental health issues. The initiative has worked alongside racecourses to implement changes to the site, including staff awareness and training as well as offering safe and quiet spaces for people to use at the course to enjoy the racing in a comfortable environment.
Debbie Matthews, Founder of #GoRacingGreen, said: “This investment is a fantastic boost for the #GoRacingGreen project, and I am delighted to be working with Kindred through its Unibet brand. Working in partnership with them, we can now expand the programme and reach many more people with mental health problems across the racing community in the months ahead.”
Harriet Collins, Marcomms and Sponsorship Director at Newbury Racecourse added: “We are delighted to be working with both Kindcinred Group and Debbie Matthews on this initiative. Members of our permanent staff have undergone training with Debbie and we have plans to keep increasing this number. We have created a dedicated #GoRacingGreen Quiet Zone this Saturday for those looking for a safe space away from the crowds and hope it will be well received.”
The new investment from Unibet will allow the project to become much wider spread, with Unibet already having donated 1 in 3 of its adverts for the raceday.
