Betting company pledges £50,000+ to LGBT causes in World Cup stunt

A betting company will give tens of thousands of pounds during the football World Cup to back LGBT issues.

Irish firm Paddy Power will donate £10,000 every time the hosts, Russia, score in the competition.

The company will give a minimum of £50,000, including for LGBT programmes in schools.

‘Safe spaces’

Homosexual magazine Attitude will distribute the money and says it will also go to making local football “safe spaces for LGBT+ players”.

Transsexual activist Caitlyn Jenner is backing the move, along with Christopher Biggins.

Darren Styles, who publishes the magazine said: “When Paddy Power approached us with this idea we leapt at the chance.”

£480m profit

Paddy Power operates over 600 betting shops across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, claiming to offer a “fun, social environment”.

It reacted to the recent Government crackdown on fixed-odds betting terminals by claiming the move would help the gambling industry in the long run.

According to a report last month, Paddy Power Betfair expects to make profits of around £480m over the course of the year.

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