Paddy Power has hit a social responsibility double via its partnership with the PDC World Darts Championship (WDC), repeating the high-figure charitable donations to Prostate Cancer UK seen at last year’s tournament.
At the close of the 2025 WDC the Irish bookmaker donated over £1m to Prostate Cancer UK via its ‘The Big 180’ campaign, part of its title sponsorship deal with the WDC. The initiative involves Paddy Power donating £1,000 to Prostate Cancer UK for every 180 hits during the tournament as well as an additional £60,000 for every nine-darter thrown.
The WDC came to a close on Friday 3 January with English teenage star Luke Littler securing his first world title with a 7-3 win over Dutch darts legend Michael van Gerwen (MVG). In total, 907 180s were hit during the three week tournament as well as two nine-dart finishes, the latter hit by Christian Kist and Damon Heta.
Combining its £10,000 and £60,000 commitments, Paddy Power’s total donations amounted to £1.027m. This marks an uptick from the £914,000 raised last year, which Paddy Power rounded up to £1m after the 2023 tournament came to an end.
Darts has emerged as Britain’s favourite sport of the Christmas period, with a peak audience of 3.1 million turning in to watch the 2025 final between Litter and MVG on Sky and Now, though this did mark a slight downturn in 2024 viewership figures.
Paddy Power’s sponsorship of the event has likewise proven a success, with the bookmaker securing a strong association with the sport of darts in the UK. The support for Prostate Cancer UK has further complemented this, benefiting the company’s public image and social responsibility objectives.
Speaking to betting industry news outlet SBC News, Jack Wilson, Paddy Power Head of Content, said: “We thought the first Paddy Power World Darts Championship last year was big but 2025 went into a whole new stratosphere.
“Darts really is the people’s sport. TV viewing figures have gone through the roof and for those lucky enough to attend, it really is the hottest ticket in town.”
Wilson added to SBC News that Paddy Power has taken a lot of pride in helping the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) make darts events at the Alexandra Palace (Ally Pally) the ‘greatest night of their year’.
Furthering the company’s SG agenda, Paddy Power has worked with Sky Sports in calling on 180,000 men to check their risk of prostate cancer, one of the leading forms of cancer among men.
“More than 150,000 have done so so far,” Wilson told SBC News. “And with Sir Chris Hoy leading the calls as a campaign ambassador, that number continues to rapidly rise.
“It’s been a huge few weeks for darts and men’s health, and everyone at Paddy Power is excited to see where it goes next.”
The Littler effect
Darts has also enjoyed a strong following in the UK, with the WDC having been a mainstay of the winter sports schedule since its inception in 2008 and the likes of MVG and Phil Taylor becoming household names.
However, the sport’s presence between 2023-2025 can be attributed largely, though not entirely, to one person – the aforementioned teenage sensation Littler. Nicknamed ‘the Nuke’, Littler exploded onto the scene in the 2024 tournament at 16 years old and has now become the sport’s youngest ever world champion.
“With Littler, we were ahead of the game”, James Tattersall, Managing Director of darts equipment manufacturer and player management firm Target Darts, told Insider Sport in an interview last month.
With this fame has of course come commercial opportunities. Notably, Littler – an avid fan of video games – signed a sponsorship deal with Xbox ahead of the tournament, in a deal which has likely proven lucrative for the youngster.
For betting brands like Paddy Power, which has attached itself strongly to darts via its Big 180 initiative and sponsorship, there is a risk of associating too closely with younger sports figures.
The fact Littler is not even old enough to place a bet will be enough to deter any bookmaker from entertaining the idea of a deal with him – UK bookmaker marketing and compliance teams are not stupid, and are well aware of the laws around this.
The difficulty moving forward is that the UK, along with other countries like the Netherlands and Belgium, has introduced stricter rules around bookmakers partnering with or including in their marketing sports figures deemed to have a strong appeal to younger people. This could keep Littler closed off from any betting marketing deals even after he turns 18.
Richard Moffat, CEO of UK betting tipster network OLBG, comments: “At a time when the popularity of darts has soared to unprecedented heights, Littler being the face of the sport poses a challenge to gambling partners in particular.
“Even though Littler turns 18 on January 21, it’s unlikely to make much difference as the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code states that no one ‘who is, or seems to be, under the age of 25’ should be featured gambling or playing a significant role in an ad for a gambling product.
“Even if Littler were over 25 – and some would argue he looks it – his appeal to a young demographic would make using his image potentially problematic for gambling partners. The CAP code also states that ads must not include a person ‘who has a strong appeal to those aged under 18’.
“It’s a far from ideal scenario for a headline sponsor but, on the other hand, the elevated status of darts since Littler’s arrival has probably given them more bang for their marketing buck than they could have ever hoped for when originally signing the deal to coincide with his debut tournament.”
