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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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Genius Sports Partners with European Leagues for Groundbreaking GeniusIQ Innovation and Exclusive Betting Data
Genius Sports Limited has secured the exclusive official betting data rights for a select group of competitions within the European Leagues Association. As part of this multi-year partnership, Genius Sports will also deploy its GeniusIQ platform across European football.
Genius Sports is the leading provider of live football content to the global regulated sports betting market, with the European Leagues now joining a top-tier content portfolio that includes the Premier League and French Ligue 1.
As part of a shared commitment to driving innovation, Genius Sports will deploy its next-generation GeniusIQ platform in stadiums across Europe.
This proprietary, AI-powered system underpins a suite of innovations across tracking, officiating, team performance, and fan engagement. Already used across the Premier League, Belgian Pro League, and Danish Superliga, GeniusIQ enables leagues and teams to deepen fan engagement, improve officiating accuracy, and unlock performance insights.
GeniusIQ is designed to future-proof the commercial value of official football data for all stakeholders, and this partnership now establishes a strong foundation for long-term strategic collaboration and innovation.
Alberto Colombo, General Secretary of the European Leagues, said: “As part of the continued evolution of the European Leagues, we are proud to have once again supported our members in their future business and commercial development. This landmark deal with Genius Sports reflects both the evolution of the sports data market but also the way technology will play an increasingly intertwined role in the way commercial deals come to fruition.”
Steven Burton, Chief Partnerships Officer at Genius Sports, said: “This expanded partnership with the European Leagues significantly enhances the breadth and depth of official, premium data available to our sportsbook partners.
“More importantly, it reflects a fundamental shift in the rights model, where technology investment resets traditional frameworks and creates a longer runway for future sales and revenue opportunities. By delivering the next-generation, AI-powered solutions that leagues want and need, we’re deepening alignment, strengthening our competitive moat, and accelerating the next wave of technological innovation across European football.”
European Leagues’ Members included in the agreement:
- Belgian Pro League
- Ligová Fotbalová Asociace
- Danish League
- Dutch Eredivisie
- Dutch Keuken Kampioen Divisie
- Finnish Veikkausliiga
- Deutscher Fußball Bund (on behalf of 3. Liga and Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga)
- Greek Super League
- Israeli Professional Football League
- Kazakhstan Football League
- Latvian Virslīga
- Norwegian Professional Football League
- Liga Portugal
- Romanian Professional Football League
- Serbian Super Liga
- Slovak Niké Liga
- Föreningen Svensk Elitfotboll
- Swiss Football League
The post Genius Sports Partners with European Leagues for Groundbreaking GeniusIQ Innovation and Exclusive Betting Data appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Rise & Hustle, Africa’s next-gen tap-to-earn gaming operator, has rolled out its proprietary AI-powered Rise Core solution to enhance performance, personalisation, and protection.
Officially launched last week in Nigeria, Rise & Hustle is a rewards-based mobile street game series built on its PlayZuzu Gaming platform. Rise Core uses advanced algorithms to stop fraud, identifying and preventing everything from Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) manipulation to gameplay exploitation. The solution excels at fortifying cybersecurity, proactively identifying threats to safeguard player data and platform integrity.
From a creative standpoint, Rise Core will generate and refine in-game visuals and imagery to immerse players in the experience of rising from Hustler to Kingpin. Furthermore, the solution is trained to analyse user behaviour and recommend content in real time to drive engagement and retention.
Deploying Rise Core at the heart of Rise & Hustle’s platform instantly heightens mobile-first gaming by combining entertainment, integrity, and progressive tech in one world.
Rise & Hustle CEO and co-founder Josh Jones commented: “Integrating our in-house Rise Core solution into the Rise & Hustle platform puts AI front and centre of all we’re building. It will help us build quicker, safer, and smarter than anyone else in the space. Players’ security is paramount, and backed by sophisticated AI we’re in position to detect and prevent fraud in real-time. We have the ability to seamlessly personalise content not just in design, but based on player interests. Rise Core is more than just a tool – it’s our edge in creating player-first experiences for Africa’s mobile-native generation.”
The post Rise & Hustle enhances platform with proprietary AI-powered Rise Core solution appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Leading iGaming content provider Spinomenal has released 4 Horsemen III: Inferno to complement the wildly popular Mythology series.
4 Horsemen III: Inferno invites players into an apocalyptic hellscape where the reels are engulfed by a scorched wasteland under burning skies. A relentlessly surging and dark soundtrack creates an atmosphere thick with tension. The Horsemen return, Conquest, War, Famine, and Death, each carrying their own Free Spins feature, which is triggered with three or more full-sized Scattered Free Spins symbols.
Each time players discover three or more Free Spins symbols, they can move on to the next Free Spins feature, seeking bigger returns. The first Horseman is Conquest and offers Winning Symbols Respins. In this first stage, all winning combinations trigger a respin, with winning symbols staying in place while non-winning symbols are substituted for new ones.
The next Free Spins stage is Extra Wilds and this is represented by War. This time while the reels are spinning, three to five extra Wild symbols can appear on the slot to increase winning chances. Five Wild symbols on a winning line will pay x300.
Any players who find another three or more full-sized Scattered Free Spins will follow the map onto Famine – which is a Shifting Reels Free Spins feature. During this round, after each win the game will trigger a free respin where all the reels move one row down and a new row on top will be revealed.
The final resting place is Death for the Stacked Wild Respins feature where each occasion a stacked Wild symbol appears fully on the reel a respin will be triggered.
Spinomenal CO-CEO, Omer Henya commented: “4 Horsemen III: Inferno is a chaos-fuelled title packed with four epic features within the Free Games mode. The red-hot design is visually striking, and players will be hoping to ride from the flames with a fortune.”
The post Spinomenal presents 4 Horsemen III: Inferno appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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