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YGAM win four national awards including prestigious PSHE Education Award

Published

5 years ago

March 8, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Young Gamers & Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM) team are celebrating after receiving national recognition for their education programmes on gaming and gambling harm.

During an evening of two virtual award ceremonies, the charity picked up wins across four categories. YGAM started the evening by winning the PSHE Education Award at the Children & Young People Now Awards (hosted by the famous voice of Strictly Come Dancing, Alan Dedicoat). The PSHE Education Award honours organisations that ‘provide outstanding resources to educators for PSHE education, delivering materials and lesson plans that align cohesively with current national curriculum requirements.’ YGAM were up against some highly commended finalists including Aik Saath, MCR Pathways, Ormiston Academies Trust and Peer Productions.

The specific praise for YGAM relates to its City & Guilds Assured training and resources provided to teachers and youth workers through the Young Peoples Gambling Harm Prevention Programme. The four-year national programme is being delivered in partnership with GamCare and supported by members of the Betting and Gaming Council.

The evening got even better for YGAM when they scooped three more awards at the Digital Impact Awards. Alongside their design agency Me&You Creative, they picked up Silver Awards for ‘Best Communications during Covid-19’ and ‘Best use of Digital for Education’ followed by a Bronze Award for ‘Best use of Digital for a Charity’. These awards were in recognition of the substantial digital transformation of the YGAM resources which has enabled the team to continue to deliver their programmes during successive lockdowns.

Reflecting on a memorable evening for the charity, YGAM Head of the National Programme Linda Scollins Smith said: “Our dedicated Education Team are absolutely delighted to receive this award in recognition of our PSHE Resources. We, as qualified teachers, wanted to ensure our resources were practical and easy to use for teaching staff and enjoyable for children and young people whilst addressing difficult topics such as mental health and addiction. As part of the Young People’s Gambling Harm Prevention Programme, we have been able to roll out these resources to teachers in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. We receive consistently positive feedback from teachers and PSHE leads who say our purposeful resources allow them to address these topics meaningfully with the children they work with.”

Amy Bussey, YGAM’s Education Manager for Yorkshire & Humber said: “We are so honoured to receive this award and hope that it gives us a platform to reach even more young people. It’s fantastic to get this acknowledgement and such a wonderful reward for the hard work that the team have put into our Education Programme. I hope we can continue to work with youth facing professionals to inform, educate and safeguard our young people on such important topics.”

The awards come just six years after YGAM founders Anne and Keith Evans set up with the charity with Chief Executive Lee Willows.

Both YGAM and GamCare have surpassed the first-year targets for their joint Young People’s Gambling Harm Prevention Programme, despite significant challenges imposed by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Figures released by YGAM show that the education charity trained 2,906 practitioners in 2020 (up from its original target of 2,592). With this training, those practitioners have reached an impressive 184,700 young people to provide vital educational sessions on the harms associated with gambling and gaming (up from a target of 170,300).

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Tony Bellew signs as PartyPoker brand ambassador through 2026

Published

16 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Wladimir P.

Former WBC cruiserweight champion to appear at PartyPoker Tour UK stops and take part in online activations.

PartyPoker has appointed former WBC Cruiserweight World Champion Tony Bellew as a brand ambassador for the remainder of 2026, with appearances tied to the operator’s live PartyPoker Tour and online poker offering.

The company said Bellew will be “a regular face” at its remaining UK tour stops this season following an earlier appearance at the PartyPoker Tour Birmingham. Bellew will also take part in online activity linked to the PartyPoker schedule.

“I had such a great time at the PartyPoker Tour Birmingham. The atmosphere, the people and the passion for the game were incredible. I’m really excited to be joining the PartyPoker team for the rest of the year, getting involved at the live events, meeting players and seeing where the cards take me,” Bellew said.

PartyPoker said Bellew is scheduled to attend each remaining UK stop on the 2026 PartyPoker Tour: London in July, Glasgow in August, Cork in November, and London in December. The operator also referenced a series of exclusive online events running alongside the live calendar.

The post Tony Bellew signs as PartyPoker brand ambassador through 2026 appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Arizona

Arizona regulator orders five operators to stop alleged illegal gambling activity

Published

16 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Wladimir P.

arizona-regulator-orders-five-operators-to-stop-alleged-illegal-gambling-activity

Cease-and-desist letters cite alleged felonies and underage access tied to BetOpenly, Bookmaker, Club WPT Online Poker, Kutt Inc., and Raffle Creator.

The Arizona Department of Gaming said it has issued cease-and-desist orders to five online platforms—BetOpenly, Bookmaker, Club WPT Online Poker, Kutt Inc., and Raffle Creator—after investigations that the Department says involved alleged illegal gambling activity and underage access in Arizona.

In its announcement, the Department said each enforcement action alleges conduct giving rise to three felonies under Arizona law: promotion of gambling, illegal control of an enterprise, and money laundering. The agency cited Arizona’s prohibition on gambling unless specifically authorized (Ariz. Rev. Stat. Tit. 13, Ch. 33) and said the legal gambling age in the state is 21.

“Arizona is taking decisive action against illegal gambling operators that put Arizonans at risk,” said Jackie Johnson, Department Director. “Our top priority is protecting Arizonans and I’m grateful for the efforts of our intelligence unit led by Chief Law Enforcement Officer Doug Jensen to do just that. Through these cease-and-desist orders we are putting operators on notice: their conduct runs contrary to Arizona law and they must stop promoting illegal gambling.”

The Department’s letters describe different alleged violations by operator. For BetOpenly, the Department said peer-to-peer gambling rules prohibit third-party benefit, and alleged the platform benefited via a commission structure while enabling event wagering and daily fantasy sports contests without the required state licenses, including availability to underage Arizonans. For Bookmaker, the Department said its investigation found wagering on horse racing, casino games, and sports betting without an event wagering license or an advanced deposit wagering provider license, adding that online casino games are not legal in Arizona.

For Club WPT Online Poker, the Department alleged the platform enabled individuals under 21 in Arizona to enter pay-to-play online poker tournaments for prizes while using deceptive “no purchase necessary” language; the Department said online poker is illegal in Arizona. For Kutt Inc., the Department said Arizona “social” gambling prohibits third-party benefit and directed the operator to stop allowing Arizona users to deposit money and wager on sports, politics, pop culture, and casino-style games. For Raffle Creator, the Department said the operator did not meet requirements that allow Arizona nonprofits to conduct lawful raffles and alleged it allowed people under 21 to purchase tickets for prize chances.

The Department said the notified entities are directed to immediately stop all gambling operations and activities in Arizona “whether through mobile applications, online, or otherwise,” and to cease any future illegal gambling in the state. It added that future actions may include criminal charges or civil action against entities, principals, and employees, and that operators “may be subject to a potential award of restitution” and forfeiture of monies acquired due to the alleged conduct.

The post Arizona regulator orders five operators to stop alleged illegal gambling activity appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Former WBC World Champion Tony Bellew Joins PartyPoker as Brand Ambassador

Published

16 hours ago

July 10, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

Tony Bellew has officially joined the PartyPoker Brand Ambassador team for the remainder of 2026, strengthening the brand’s growing roster of ambassadors and reinforcing its commitment to bringing poker to a wider audience.

A former WBC Cruiserweight World Champion and one of Britain’s most recognisable sporting personalities, Bellew will play an active role across both PartyPoker’s live tour and online offering throughout the rest of the year.

Speaking about joining the team, Tony Bellew said: “I had such a great time at the PartyPoker Tour Birmingham. The atmosphere, the people and the passion for the game were incredible. I’m really excited to be joining the PartyPoker team for the rest of the year, getting involved at the live events, meeting players and seeing where the cards take me.”

His return follows a hugely successful appearance at the PartyPoker Tour Birmingham earlier this year, where he embraced the atmosphere, spent time with players and immersed himself in the event. After thoroughly enjoying the experience, Bellew will now become a regular face at the remaining UK stops on the PartyPoker Tour throughout the rest of the 2026 season.

As part of his ambassadorial role, Bellew will attend every remaining UK stop PartyPoker Tour in 2026:

London – July
Glasgow – August
Cork – November
London – December

With four live festival stops and a series of exclusive online events still to come, players will have plenty of opportunities to meet Bellew at the tables throughout the remainder of the 2026 PartyPoker calendar. Look out for opportunities to take him on online, and at the PartyPoker Tour in Glasgow, Cork and London.

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