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YGAM launch ‘Parent Hub’ as university research highlights loot box danger amongst children

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National charity, YGAM has joined with research teams from Newcastle and Loughborough Universities to help parents and carers understand the danger of loot boxes, with one young respondent in the Economic and Social Research Council funded project confirming how he spent nearly £500 buying packs of random cards.

The expert insight and advice is being posted on YGAM’s new ‘Parent Hub’ website www.parents.ygam.org. The hub which has been developed thanks to funding received from Lottoland, GVC and Playtech, provides families with the resources, information and activities to help build digital resilience and safeguard children. ‘Parent Hub’ helps explain why children are drawn to purchase loot boxes, ranging from the surprise and suspense of opening a box and the desire to win something rare, to receiving specific items that deliver an in-game advantage or boost their social status.

The research covers the potential harm loot boxes can cause, such as young people’s exposure to and normalisation of gambling style systems, as well as the emotional and financial harm from repeat spending – with one young person telling researchers how he spent nearly £500 in a mobile card game by buying packs of random cards, playing for up to seven hours a day. The advice covers how parents can take important steps to safeguard children, including the use of parental controls and identifying potential signs of harm.

“For some children, the act of opening a loot box is as important as what it contains” explains Dr James Ash, Reader in Technology, Space and Society at Newcastle University, who is leading the research. “Feelings of surprise and suspense lead to the repeat purchase of loot boxes. But this is often short-lived.

“Children and young people have told us how they feel disappointment, frustration, anger, and regret at loot box purchases, yet they are still driven to purchase again. This is concerning, given the deliberate design of these mechanisms – the visual stimulus, the randomised contents, and the very unfavourable odds for unboxing rare items – which can lead to repeat loot box purchases.”

Amanda Atkinson, Head of Parental Engagement at YGAM said the research will help inform and develop the charity’s educational programmes so that all young and vulnerable people are safe from gaming and gambling related harms. She stated: “Certainly the enormous variety of games and in-app purchases that are available can make it confusing for parents to keep on top of safety controls. Through our educational resources, we are focused on providing crucial information to parents so they can identify changes in behaviours and understand the effects this may have on mental and financial wellbeing.”

In collaboration with GamCare, YGAM is delivering the UK’s ground-breaking National Gambling Education and Prevention Programme. Supported by members of the Betting and Gaming Council, the £10 million programme will reach over 3 million young people to raise awareness of the risks of potential gaming and gambling related harms.

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Flashscore: 1.99m UK users track World Cup group stage ahead of England v DR Congo

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Flashscore says 1.99 million UK users followed the World Cup group stage on its app and website between 11 June and 28 June, generating 264.1 million views ahead of England’s Round of 32 match against DR Congo in Atlanta on 1 July.

In the UK, England was the most-tracked team with 872,900 profile opens, followed by Scotland with 394,200, according to the company’s dataset. Flashscore said England fixtures took the top three spots for UK user engagement, led by the group-stage match against Croatia with 631,684 users and 2.9 million views. The other two most-viewed England games were against Ghana (2.21 million views) and Panama (2.05 million views).

Flashscore also published global figures for the group stage, reporting 7.16 billion views from 62.26 million unique users. Portugal was the most-followed nation worldwide on Flashscore with 11.2 million team profile opens, ahead of Brazil (9.1 million), France (8.7 million), Spain (7.8 million) and Argentina (7.7 million). England ranked eighth globally with 6.5 million profile opens.

The company highlighted Cape Verde as one of the tournament’s “surprise stories”, placing sixth globally by team views and fourth among UK users. Flashscore also released a “Team of the Group Stage” selected using its new “Flashscore Rating”, which it said analyses more than 70 on-ball and off-ball metrics. Erling Haaland was rated 9.0, with Lionel Messi (8.9) and Kylian Mbappe (8.6) also included in the attacking trio, while Marc Guehi (8.4) was the only England player selected.

The post Flashscore: 1.99m UK users track World Cup group stage ahead of England v DR Congo appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Playson launches €25m BLASTS & RACES network campaign

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Playson has launched BLASTS & RACES, a new global network campaign carrying a €25,000,000 prize pool. The supplier announced the rollout on 1 July 2026, with the campaign running until 30 June 2027.

The initiative follows Playson’s previous Non-Stop Drops & Races edition, which the company said generated record participation from operators and players worldwide. Playson said the new prize pool is up from €10,000,000 in the previous edition.

Operators can opt in at any time during the year-long period, and Playson said no additional integration is required. The company positioned the campaign as a retention tool built around its network engagement mechanics and a mix of top-performing and newly released titles.

As part of the refresh, Playson has renamed several campaign features. Cash Blast is now Power Blast, Tournaments have been renamed Grand Races, and Short Races are now Turbo Races. Playson said the underlying mechanics and integration approach remain unchanged.

Waldemar Antypov, Product Owner at Playson, said: “BLASTS & RACES represents a significant milestone in the evolution of our flagship network campaign, and we are delighted to officially launch it to operators and players around the world.

“Following the outstanding success of previous editions, we have increased the rewards budget from €10 million to €25 million to deliver even greater value across the network. Combined with our trusted engagement mechanics, refreshed campaign identity and seamless operator integration, BLASTS & RACES is designed to keep players engaged with exciting opportunities to win throughout the year.”

The post Playson launches €25m BLASTS & RACES network campaign appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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CT Interactive Launches New Titles on Ifortuna.sk

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CT Interactive has announced the expansion of its presence in the regulated Slovak market through the launch of a selected portfolio of the company’s top-performing games on Ifortuna.sk, part of the Fortuna Entertainment Group.

Slovak players can now enjoy some of the company’s most popular titles, including 50 Treasures, Fruits & Sweets Buy Bonus, 100x Crypto Magic, Duck Of Luck Buy Bonus, 20 Mega Star, 100x Fresh, Dancing Dragons, Nanook The White Ghost Buy Bonus and The Big Chili. Several of these games feature the company’s engaging Buy Bonus mechanics, offering players enhanced interactivity and greater control over their gameplay.

“The expansion of our content offering on Ifortuna.sk represents a major step in our broader international growth strategy. We are delighted to provide our valued partner with a compelling and diverse portfolio of games, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the Slovak market,” said Martin Ivanov, Chief Operating Officer at CT Interactive.

“Our newly certified portfolio brings a fresh and dynamic gaming experience tailored specifically to the Slovak audience. Each title has been carefully developed to boost player retention while delivering a more personalized and engaging gaming experience,” added Ivan Zoumpalov, Regional Manager for the Czech Republic and Slovakia at CT Interactive.

The post CT Interactive Launches New Titles on Ifortuna.sk appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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