Scotswoman Wins Betting Shop Manager of the Year Award for Hills

by Roy Brindley, 14 November 2025

The 2025 Racing Post/SIS Betting Shop Manager of the Year award has gone to Tracey Mooney, manager of a William Hill shop in Prestwick, Scotland.

A William Hill shop manager has claimed the prestigious award for the first time in 13 years. © Getty Images

Key Facts:

• William Hill’s Tracey Mooney is the new Betting Shop Manager of the Year.
• The 55-year-old Scotswoman is the fifth female winner in the past six years.
• The winner showed a “genuine passion about the role of her shop in the community.”

Tracey Mooney has been crowned the winner of the 2025 Racing Post/SIS Betting Shop Manager of the Year competition. The 55-year-old, who manages William Hill’s shop in Prestwick, Scotland, has given her employers their first success in the contest since 2012.

First staged in 1988, the Betting Shop Manager of the Year is the most prestigious award in retail betting. The competition highlights and celebrates the managers who go above and beyond to deliver excellence in their shops.

During the later stages of the 2025 competition, when 16 candidates remained, the shortlisted nominees spent a day at Kempton Park Racecourse, where they met the judges for the first time.

Beforehand, managers’ respective shops had been visited by a ‘mystery shopper’ charged with assessing their shop environment and the customer experience. This process helped to narrow the field down to eight finalists. They were:

• Sharon Conaghy – Ladbrokes, Mullingar
• Birat Devkota – Paddy Power, Folkestone
• Georgina Giles – Paddy Power, Birmingham
• Tracey Mooney – William Hill, Prestwick
• Victoria Nichols – William Hill, Newmarket
• Paul Oxtoby – Betfred, Beverley
• Scott Sweet – Ladbrokes, Teignmouth
• Peter Wilde – William Hill, Caernarfon

Mooney Impresses the Judges

The final stage of the competition took place in London, where each manager, accompanied by a key member of their shop team, met the judges for a question-and-answer session. The judging panel included IBAS Chief Executive Richard Hayler and Levy Board Chief Executive Alan Delmonte.

Nigel Boardman and Helen Scott of SIS – the leading supplier of 24/7 betting content to retail and online operators – and the Racing Post’s retail director, Alan Pepperell, along with editorial production journalist Andrew Pennington, were other judges.

When deliberations were complete, it was Tracey Mooney, who began her working life as a florist and has successfully battled cancer, who was awarded the coveted title. Former England international cricketer Alec Stewart presented her with the trophy.

Yesterday marked the conclusion of this year’s SIS/Racing Post Betting Shop Manager of the Year at Lincoln’s Inn, where eight outstanding finalists gathered to see who would be crowned champion.

Congratulations to Tracey Mooney of William Hill, our well-deserving winner! 🎉… pic.twitter.com/2Oad2TWIQ0

— SIS Ltd (@SISLtd) November 11, 2025

The Scotswoman and her William Hill shop staff will now attend Ascot Racecourse for a fixture in December as guests of SIS. Other high-profile international racing fixtures and industry events are now on her schedule for the coming year.

Praise from People in High Places

Following the awards ceremony at the historic Lincoln’s Inn, Helen Scott, Head of commercial delivery at SIS and member of the judging panel, said: “Tracey’s passion for her customers and her dedication to delivering exceptional service shone throughout the competition.”

“The Betting Shop Manager of the Year award recognises the vital role managers play in keeping the retail betting experience vibrant, and Tracey is an outstanding ambassador for the industry.”

Judge Richard Hayler, the managing director of the Independent Betting Adjudication Service, added: “This was an extremely high-quality final-eight entirely legitimate overall winners, and several from the previous stage who were unlucky to miss out too. It was apt that Tracey was presented with her trophy by a cricketer, because she turned in an excellent all-rounder’s performance.”

“She understood the needs and expectations of her customers and talked with genuine passion about the role of her shop in the community, especially the often-overlooked, whose daily trip to the bookies makes up the majority of their social contact outside of their own home.”

A Grand Tour Is Sure to Follow

Mooney is the fifth female to take the prize in the past six years. Days into her 2024 Betting Shop Manager of the Year success, Irish winner Georgina Moloney was tasked with presenting a trophy at the Irish Greyhound Derby final meeting sponsored by her employer, Boyle Sports.

In recognition of her achievement and commitment to the retail industry, and as part of her prize, Tracey Mooney will be invited to several key industry events during her year as champion. Her employers, William Hill, are also sure to utilise her notoriety at some of the many sporting events the company sponsors in the UK and Ireland.