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How 2 Bolton Based Businesses are Tackling Addiction in the Aftermath of Lockdown
Two Bolton based businesses, Acquiesce and WHYSUP, recorded a podcast discussing addiction, and how they are tackling it following the coronavirus lockdown.
Acquiesce is a private rehabilitation centre, offering luxury accommodation and an urban recovery model that integrates recovery into everyday life. Tina, the senior practitioner at Acquiesce, oversees each individual’s entire journey.
WHYSUP was founded by Mark and Liam. They work to deliver presentations, workshops and keynotes to schools and businesses across the UK to educate and raise awareness of mental health and addiction.
Mark’s Story
Mark begins by explaining his battle with a gambling addiction that started with a bet when he was just sixteen. By 21 he realised he needed help and attended Gamblers Anonymous meetings.
“I remember going to a GA meeting, looking around and thinking ‘Well I’ve not lost my house, not lost my wife, not lost my family. I’m not as bad as these so I don’t need help.”
By 25 he had a girlfriend and a professional job. Everyone around him thought he had left his old life behind and was on the road to recovery. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.
At 29, he was kidnapped and held hostage by a group with machetes who were demanding ransom from his mother. Luckily, the police tracked his phone and rescued him.
Mark finally hit rock bottom when his family turned their backs on him. Without his family, he felt that suicide was the only way out of his mess but knew the impact this would have on everyone around him, including his children.
With help from his mum, Mark went to rehab in Birmingham. He took part in the fourteen week programme but stayed there for another five and a half months.
In rehab, Mark wrote down all of his debts. He initially thought he owed a total of £100,000 but now says it was closer to £306,000.
“It’s like I’m talking about a different person now when I look back. Thankfully that’s where it turned around for me. Rehab saved my life.”
Liam’s Story
Around the age of 13, Liam started to experiment with alcohol and drugs like many teenagers at the time.
“There was no prevention or awareness, no knowledge of addiction. My decisions were based on ‘Am I going to get caught?’”
“By 15 I was taking Class A drugs several times a week. I thought drinking and drugs were a normal part of life. I also thought I was good at it because I could do it and still do what I was supposed to be doing.”
Liam got his GCSEs, enjoyed Thai boxing, got his A levels and had a long term girlfriend, all whilst taking drugs.
“I was living a double life. No one knew. From the outside I was seen as popular and successful, the things that you don’t associate with addiction. That’s why I never thought I had a problem.”
He also started struggling with his mental health, dealing with feelings of shame, guilt and paranoia. Liam finally acknowledged his problem after crashing four cars in one week and his family started to ask questions.
“From the minute rehab was mentioned I booked myself in. I pretty much destroyed everyone I loved because I had to tell them what had been going on. When I came out, I went back to normal life, the life where I’d taken drugs for 19 years.”
Following rehab, Liam continued to take drugs after he relapsed at a funeral. His wife became frustrated with the chaos and arranged for him to stay with Mark.
“It wasn’t easy but I was given a safe place. I was able to build a recovery in the real world, which is very important because you can’t just live in a bubble.”
Mark encouraged Liam to make weekly plans, give up his cash card and attend the gym in the same way that he did when he was in recovery at the halfway house.
“I didn’t need to change my location, I needed to change my mindset. People, places, routine, structure- I had to relearn it all to get where I am today. This is why we got in touch with Acquiesce. It integrates the real world into your recovery.
Acquiesce
Acquiesce provides a discreet, highly supported and safe environment within the community to recover in. Without being hidden from the real world, the urban recovery model allows individuals to gain all the tools and experience necessary whilst maintaining a carefully monitored level of responsibility over their own recovery.
This makes the transitional period from treatment a much smoother process, resulting in a more sustainable recovery journey.
WHYSUP
Mark and Liam started WHYSUP after discussing how their addictions started and the mental challenges they had faced. They wondered if anything would have changed had they been given a talk in school.
Three years later, their service is well established and works in three different sectors; education, business and sport.
They have spoken to over 30,000 people nationwide. Over the last 18 months, people with some form of experience have joined the team. Initially their key focus was addiction but they now focus more on mental health and wellbeing.
Support During Lockdown
The team were managing the number of calls well, especially once they hired a professional who helped with more severe cases. Unfortunately, when lockdown started, calls quadrupled and they could no longer meet the demand.
“We underestimated how many and how severely people were declining. They were threatening suicide and we had to drop off flowers at funerals of people who would likely still be here if it wasn’t for lockdown.”
Acquiesce also had an increase in calls, with people experiencing anxiety and fear from a loss of jobs and uncertainty about the future. Tina explained that the number of individuals at high risk from drinking has doubled according to Public Health England.
“We found that some clients have relapsed after being clean for many years and have had to come back into treatment.” Tina added.
When defining addiction from a professional point of view, Tina says they look at withdrawals, tolerance, loss of control, broken promises and consequences, but that in reality it’s a much wider perspective.
“I define addiction as a compulsive behaviour that is impossible to stop without professional help and support. As much as you try to convince yourself you can do it alone, I know from experience that you just can’t.” Added Mark
Liam’s definition of addiction has changed over time. He said, “Two and a half years ago, I’d have talked about drugs. For me now it’s more than a substance or behaviour, it centres around thinking and feeling.”
Tina explained that the Acquiesce programme is very much about positivity, positive self talk, self esteem, gaining confidence.
“When clients come in, their addiction has robbed their self esteem and we work to get it back.”
If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction or mental health issues, please book a callback with Acquiesce at acquiesce.org.uk/contact or 01204 771940, or get in touch with WHYSUP at whysup.co.uk/contact
To listen to the whole podcast, please visit acquiesce.org.uk/how-2-bolton-based-businesses-are-tackling-addiction-in-the-aftermath-of-lockdown/
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FIRST.bet introduces UltraCup: a single destination that keeps players engaged across the entire World Cup – live group standings, knockout brackets, tournament Outrights, Blind Bets on matchups before they’re even drawn, and automatic Bet Builder boosts in the slip. Everything fans need to follow and bet the tournament in one place, from the first whistle to the last.
FIRST.bet, the Tier 1 sportsbook technology provider, today launched UltraCup, a World Cup-focused sportsbook engine built to help operators own the biggest betting event in football.
The next World Cup is not a short tournament spike. It is 48 teams, 104 matches and one continuous peak with no recovery window. UltraCup is built for that reality, giving operators a complete tournament destination that keeps players engaged from the opening group match through to the final.
UltraCup connects the full World Cup betting journey in one place: live group standings, tournament-context match listings, bracket navigation from R32 to the final, dynamic outrights, Blind Bets on future matchups and automatic Bet Builder boosts inside the bet slip.
Tom Light, Founder and CEO of FIRST.bet, said:
“The World Cup is the one moment when every football fan is watching, betting and hunting for somewhere to follow it all – and most sportsbooks lose that player to a dozen rival apps. UltraCup keeps the entire tournament in one place: live standings, knockout brackets, Outrights, automatic boosts and Blind Bets on matchups that haven’t even been drawn yet. Operators capture that attention from the opening whistle and hold it all the way to the final.”
At the heart of UltraCup is a dedicated World Cup hub that mirrors how fans follow the competition. Players can track group tables, move through the knockout bracket, bet on tournament-wide markets such as Champion and Top Scorer, and engage with odds that shift dynamically as the tournament unfolds.
The product also introduces Blind Bets, allowing players to bet on future World Cup matches before the final matchup is confirmed. This turns tournament progression into the betting mechanic itself, creating suspense and repeat engagement across every stage.
UltraCup also includes Auto Boost Builder, which applies automatic odds boosts to qualifying Bet Builders directly inside the bet slip. Operators can configure boosts by sport, tournament, or league, and customer segment, with instant enable or disable controls and boost tiers of any percentage desired.
UltraCup also introduces the Welcome Bonus Boost, a new feature that allows operators to create boosted odds promotions exclusively for new customers who have not yet placed a bet. The mechanic targets the critical first-bet moment, giving operators a targeted tool to convert new registrations into active players during the tournament.
While UltraCup is being launched with a clear World Cup focus, the framework is built to live beyond one tournament. FIRST will extend the same journey into major league and tournament formats across football and other sports, giving operators a reusable engagement engine for the biggest moments on the calendar.
FIRST.bet powers 75+ live operators, 100+ partners and millions of daily transactions across LatAm, Europe and Africa. The company was named ‘Sportsbook Supplier of the Year’ at the SBC Awards 2025 and EGR LATAM Awards 2025, and ‘Best Sportsbook Provider’ at BiS SiGMA South America 2026.
About FIRST.bet
FIRST – Best in Sports is a Tier 1 sportsbook technology provider powering 75+ operators globally, including leading brands among Brazil’s top 20 by GGR. Founded by former SBTech leaders, FIRST delivers a fully managed, high-performance sportsbook engineered for speed, scale and precision across LatAm, Europe and Africa. The company holds licences from the Malta Gaming Authority and the Swedish Gambling Authority, and is GLI-33 certified and ISO-audited. FIRST was named ‘Sportsbook Supplier of the Year’ at the SBC Awards 2025 and EGR LATAM Awards 2025, ‘Best Sportsbook Provider’ at BiS SiGMA South America 2026, and received the ‘Individual Achievement Award’ at the EGR Awards 2026.
Mexico City, Mexico, June 3rd, 2026, PlayNewswire
The international crypto entertainment platform 1win has announced the addition of Ilia Topuria to its VIP community. The signing of the contract with the fighter became publicly known on June 2, 2026.
Topuria becomes a new member of the global 1win VIP Community, the brand’s exclusive project that brings together prominent figures from sports, music, and entertainment industries. One of the most dominant fighters of his generation, Topuria remains undefeated with a professional MMA record of 17 wins and 0 losses. His excellence in sport will become a unique asset and source of inspiration for other 1win members.
The collaboration between a globally recognized brand and one of MMA’s most unstoppable fighters promises exclusive moments for fans, a closer look into the lifestyle of a true 1win VIP member, and a wave of premium entertaining content for international audiences. The expansion of the project highlights the international scale of the initiative and further strengthens 1win’s position as a brand operating at the intersection of sports, digital culture, and entertainment. Previously, famous rapper Tyga had also joined the VIP community.
On June 14, Topuria takes part in one of the year’s most highly anticipated fights – UFC Freedom 250 – a bout against Justin Gaethje that will take place during the UFC tournament at the White House. The upcoming fight has already generated significant attention from the MMA community and sports media worldwide.
1win is also widely known for its collaborations with MMA representatives and professionals in the sports industry. The brand’s ambassadors include legendary UFC fighter Jon Jones, Olympic champion and UFC fighter Gable Steveson, and Latin American athlete Ignacio Bahamondes.
About 1win
Founded in 2016, 1win is a crypto-focused platform in the global gaming industry. Operating across Asia, Latin America, and Africa, 1win offers a wide range of entertainment products adapted to regional audiences. The brand has active collaborations with international public figures, including actor Johnny Sins, martial artist Jon Jones, and Olympic champion and UFC fighter Gable Steveson. In 2026, 1win welcomed American rapper Tyga as a new member of the 1win VIP community.
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The UK online gambling market has reached a stage where bigger does not always mean better. Players have seen years of welcome bonuses, free spins, cashback offers, reload deals, loyalty rewards, and complex promotional terms.
That maturity is changing how bonus value is judged. Instead of only looking at the headline amount, more players now ask a simpler question: how much of this offer can actually be used?
The UK Is a Mature Online Gambling Market
The UK is one of the most developed online gambling markets in the world. Gambling Commission data for April to July 2025 showed that 38% of adults in Great Britain had gambled online in the previous four weeks, although this falls to 17% when lottery-only players are removed.
That matters because mature markets create more informed consumers. When players have been exposed to years of sign-up offers, free spins, boosted odds, reloads, and cashback promotions, they become better at spotting the difference between headline value and real value.
Bonus Size Is No Longer the Whole Story
For years, casino bonuses were marketed around size. A £500 welcome bonus sounded better than £50, and 200 free spins sounded better than 30.
But size alone tells players very little. A large bonus with 40x wagering, strict game limits, short expiry rules, and a low maximum cashout can be less useful than a smaller offer with simple terms.
Why No Wagering Offers Fit the Current Market
This is where no wagering casinos fit naturally into the wider UK trend. They appeal to players who want bonuses that are easier to understand, easier to compare, and less dependent on complicated playthrough rules.
A no wagering bonus does not automatically make an offer perfect. Players still need to check game restrictions, withdrawal rules, free spin value, and expiry dates. But removing wagering requirements makes the core value much clearer.
Regulation Is Also Pushing the Market Towards Clarity
The direction of UK regulation is clearly towards safer and simpler promotions. In March 2025, the Gambling Commission announced new rules designed to increase the safety and simplicity of consumer promotional offers, including limits on how many times bonus funds must be re-staked before winnings can be withdrawn.
The Commission also said mixed-product promotions can confuse consumers because of complex terms and conditions. That point is important because it shows the regulator is not only looking at harm, but also at whether promotions are fair and understandable.
Players Are Not Always Comfortable With Incentives
The trend towards simpler bonuses is not just regulatory. It also reflects how many players now feel about gambling promotions.
Gambling Commission research found that 47% of surveyed gamblers who had received incentives felt they received too many, while 48% said they would prefer not to receive free bets and bonus offers. At the same time, 31% said free bets or bonus offers encouraged them to gamble more than they wanted to.
Bonuses Still Matter, But Trust Matters More
None of this means casino bonuses are becoming irrelevant. The same research found that promotional offers are still widely used, with nine in ten quantitative respondents having received an offer in the previous four weeks, and 76% of those who received an offer going on to use it.
The point is that players still value bonuses, but they increasingly want them to feel fair. A welcome bonus, reload, cashback deal, or free spins offer has more appeal when the player can quickly understand what they are getting.
The Rise of Value-Led Bonus Comparison
This is why bonus comparison is becoming more focused on usable value. The strongest offer is not always the one with the biggest number attached.
A 10% cashback offer with no wagering can be more attractive than a larger cashback bonus with restrictive terms. A smaller free spins package can be better than a larger one if the winnings are easier to withdraw.
Online Slots Make the Issue Even More Important
Slots remain a major part of the UK online gambling market. Gambling Commission operator data for January to March 2025 showed online slots gross gambling yield increased 11% year-on-year to £689 million, with 23.4 billion spins during the quarter.
That scale makes bonus transparency especially important. When free spins and slot bonuses are such a major part of the market, players need clear information about wagering, maximum bets, game eligibility, and withdrawal rules.
Is This a UK-Specific Trend?
Some of this is uniquely UK. The UK has a long-established online gambling sector, high consumer awareness, strong regulatory pressure, and a dense market of competing operators.
That combination makes simplicity more valuable. Operators cannot rely forever on huge headline bonuses if experienced players understand that the terms may reduce the real value.
Or Is the UK Showing the Future?
At the same time, the UK may also be showing where other markets go as they mature. Newer online casino markets often begin with aggressive acquisition offers, large welcome bonuses, and heavy promotion.
Over time, players become more educated. Regulators become more active. Comparison sites become more sophisticated. When that happens, the market starts rewarding transparency, usability, and real bonus value rather than raw promotional size.
What This Means for Operators
For operators, the lesson is clear. Bonus terms are no longer just a compliance detail hidden below the main offer.
They are part of the product. A simple bonus can help build trust, reduce confusion, and make the casino feel more player-friendly from the first deposit.
What This Means for Players
For players, the lesson is just as simple. A good bonus is not the biggest one, but the one with the clearest path to real value.
Welcome bonuses, reloads, free spins, and cashback can all be worthwhile. But the best offers are usually the ones where the terms are easy to understand before the player deposits.
Final Thoughts
The growth of no wagering bonuses in the UK is not a random trend. It reflects a mature market where players are more informed, regulators are demanding clearer promotions, and operators are under pressure to compete on trust as well as size.
The UK may have its own regulatory and cultural conditions, but the broader direction looks global. As online gambling markets mature, simplicity and usable value are likely to become more important everywhere.
The post Why Simpler Casino Bonuses Are Gaining Ground in the UK appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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