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We must be guided by the education sector to deliver effective prevention programmes to young people
YGAM Chief Executive Lee Willows reflects on some of the key topics to emerge from three reports published last week and highlights the valuable contribution the charity is making.
Last week was a significant week for everyone connected the gambling industry. Reading the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling (ABSG) annual progress report; The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report and the Lords Select Committee report, it was pleasing to read these reports all featured insight from people with direct experience of the tragic harm that gambling can cause some individuals, such as the YGAM Founders. As Chief Executive of the YGAM charity and personally as someone who lost everything to a gambling addiction, I was grateful for the opportunity to contribute my insight and experiences. Such inclusion would have been unheard of five-years ago. Having three incredibly helpful reports published in quick succession over a period of five days is in many ways helpful and timely as YGAM continues to evolve our strategy. I congratulate everyone involved in producing three fascinating reports that will inform the debate moving forward.
At YGAM, we strongly believe that prevention, including education is an essential component to reduce gambling-related harms. We engage with the education sector daily and we are constantly listening to the needs of teachers, practitioners and young people. It is very clear from these conversations that teachers and practitioners need and appreciate our resources more than ever. The feedback we get from teachers, practitioners and young people and the insight from external evaluations is overwhelmingly positive and there is an enormous demand for information on gambling and gaming. Whilst it was pleasing to see education feature in all three reports, the voices of the professionals working in that sector should also be taken into consideration. We must continue to be guided by professionals working in the education sector to deliver effective prevention programmes to young people.
The focus on the blurred lines between gaming and gambling is welcomed. The YGAM workshops help build digital resilience and educate people on the different types of games accessible to children. We agree with the DCMS Select Committee and the Children’s Commissioner that loot boxes that contain the element of chance should not be sold to children under 18. The concern about allowing children to access loot boxes is that it is conditioning them to gambling behaviour from an early age. Building on our discussions with DCMS we look forward to contributing to the government’s call to action on loot boxes which will hopefully lead to consideration of an appropriate regulatory intervention.
The debate around gambling advertising and the impact it has on younger generations is imperative. You do not have to work in this sector to notice that gambling adverts dominate the promotional spaces at most sporting events. The YGAM resources tackle this topic head on as we continue to raise awareness of the potential harms and the support available. We believe concerns about marketing and sponsorship should be addressed by evidence-based analysis that puts the safety of young people first and we look forward to contributing to this debate.
When the Gambling Commission launched the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling-Related Harms, there was real hope for change and there has been some positive change; yes more can be done and some actions need to move in a more expedient manner, but change does take time. I also worry that in the desire to affect structural change, or radically change strategic direction part way through a national strategy may result in valuable insight being lost. I do see many people and organisations coming together to deliver the strategy which is superb and that is where we will continue to have a relentless focus.
Certainly in my time in YGAM I have seen Safer Gambling teams within operators increase from one employee, who led Safer Gambling work on a part-time bases, to now large Safer Gambling teams with twenty plus employees working full-time in this area of work. In that time, I have also seen and been fortunate to work alongside others who have been affected by gambling-harms set up their own organisations and I have witnessed the rise of passionate campaigners who demand change, often following tragic circumstances. At the heart of all this work is a shared commitment to reduce-harms and it would be so oxygenating if more time can be spent finding common goals and delivering the national strategy.
As a prevention charity we will continue to focus on the delivery of education, building and sharing insight and demonstrating impact. This is a crucial period for the future of this sector and everyone at YGAM looks forward to working collaboratively with all stakeholder groups to ensure all young and vulnerable people are safe from gaming and gambling related harms.
Finally, YGAM has published its strategic plan 2019 – 2021 and within our annual review filed with the Charity Commission and Companies House we share progress against our strategic goals and insight. However next week, we will have a dedicated page on our website which will also show this progress, insight, and our impact in a succinct manner. I am incredibly proud of the YGAM team and many colleagues from all parts of the sector (inc charities, trade bodies, operators, regulators, ABSG, DCMS, teachers, young people, EbEs); working hard to make a difference in this space.
Lee Willows
Chief Executive, YGAM
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As part of The Unit’s company restructure, its highly successful in-house marketing division will be launched as an agency serving iGaming and sports betting industries
The Unit, a leader in product design and development for sports betting and iGaming, has invested €500,000 to launch marketing agency tentenseven. This exciting transformation of The Unit’s in-house marketing division marks the latest step in its growth strategy and expansion roadmap.
Following an expansion in The Unit’s marketing offering, the marketing team will now operate as tentenseven, which will stand as its own entity. On top of paid search and marketing planning, tentenseven will offer SEO, PPC, social media, brand strategy, editorial content, influencer marketing services and social media production among its many areas of expertise.
Feargal Byrne, Director of Strategic Marketing at The Unit, will head up the new phase of growth at tentenseven as Director of iGaming, Ecommerce and Fintech.
In January, The Unit announced a refresh of its visual brand identity, including a new company logo and redesigned website, which reflected the company’s recent growth and ambitious expansion plans. These expansion plans were signified by the recent opening of The Unit’s North American hub in New York City. As part of the brand refresh, the company is focusing on product design and development, with the marketing side of the business now operating as a standalone agency.
Paddy Casey, Co-founder at The Unit, said: “After kicking off 2025 with our brand refresh, we are redefining our structure as a business. With additional funding in place, we think now is the right time for tentenseven to stand in its own right as a marketing leader in the industry. With this investment, tentenseven has the means to grow and maximise its potential in the coming years. We expect to see tentenseven expand in the short and long-term, just as we expect with The Unit.
“In his time with The Unit, Feargal has demonstrated his ability to help clients develop their marketing strategies, establishing channel-level approaches across PPC, social and SEO. Feargal is perfectly positioned to run tentenseven and steward the company into this new and exciting era.”
Feargal Byrne added: “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead tentenseven as Director of iGaming, Ecommerce and Fintech.
“This is an exciting period for The Unit as a company, and with this significant investment, tentenseven will have the capability to expand and make further headway in the market. That’s great news not just for us, but also for our clients. I can’t wait to get started on this project with the team and I look forward to putting our plans for tentenseven into action as quickly as possible.”
The post TENTENSEVEN MARKETING AGENCY LAUNCHES WITH €500K INVESTMENT FROM THE UNIT appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
The Gambling Commission has launched a new consultation aimed at making gambling in Britain safer and fairer.
This is the Commission’s third consultation to implement proposals from the 2023 Gambling Act Review White Paper High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age.
The consultation, which will run for 16 weeks (from 29 January 2025 to 20 May 2025), is focussed on the gaming machine technical standards and the related testing strategy. It includes proposals to:
• introduce five new standards, a licence condition and a social responsibility code provision designed to support and empower consumers to use gaming machines safely at every stage of the customer journey – this includes proposals on time and monetary limit setting functionality and information provision such as safer gambling messaging and the display of net position and session time
• amend three existing standards having considered industry proposals to improve customer enjoyment and gameplay
• consolidate the existing 12 gaming machine technical standards into a single standard, whilst amending the format to be more consistent with our Remote gambling and software technical standards for greater clarity
• update the gaming machine technical standards and the related testing strategy to remove obsolete material.
Tim Miller, Gambling Commission Executive Director for research and policy, said: “The White Paper sets out that a top priority is ensuring that gambling happens safely. We share this commitment and today’s consultation proposes how we could implement gaming machine changes in the land-based sector.
“We recognise that regulatory changes that impact the design of machines can come with considerable costs. We are encouraging consumers, gambling businesses and other interested groups to share evidence that will assist us in measuring both the likely regulatory impacts of the proposed changes and the likely costs of implementing them. This evidence will be invaluable to helping make a robust assessment on whether the benefits to consumers are proportionate to the costs involved.”
The post UKGC Launches Latest Consultation on Gaming Machine Technical Standards appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
On Tuesday, 28 January 2025, the newly appointed Permanent Secretary within the Ministry for the Economy, Enterprise, and Strategic Projects, Mr Godwin Mifsud, paid an official visit to the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA/Authority) offices at SmartCity. He was greeted by MGA CEO Charles Mizzi, alongside members of the MGA Executive Committee and staff.
During his visit, Mr Mifsud was given a tour of the Authority’s offices and had the opportunity to engage directly with team members from various departments. These interactions provided him with a deeper understanding of their responsibilities, the core functions of each department and the challenges they face in their day-to-day work.
The MGA CEO outlined the Authority’s strategic direction to Mr Mifsud and shared details of key projects currently underway, as well as those planned for the future.
The post Permanent Secretary for the Economy Visits MGA Offices appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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