UK bookmaker William Hill is catching heat from both rival bookies and anti-gambling parliamentarians over “appalling” tactics it employed to poach betting customers.

On Friday, the Guardian reported that staff at betting shops run by bookmakers Ladbrokes-Coral and Betfred had reported bizarre scenes of Hills staffers appearing outside their shops waving flashlights to attract the attention of punters inside.

If punters ventured outside to see what the fuss was about, the Hills staffers reportedly alerted the punters to the fact that Hills’ shops offered live television coverage of Arena Racing Company horseraces that the other bookies didn’t have, due to the media rights deal Hills struck in December with The Racing Partnership. Punters were also offered a free race bet if they accompanied Hills staff back to their own betting shops.

The Guardian claimed to have obtained an internal Hills memo that directed staff to take part in what it called the “torch challenge” and urging staff to “get disruptive and make sure their punters see the light.” In addition to their attention-getting flashlights, Hills staff were urged to “take your free bets down too.”