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YGAM calls for Government to support education as part of the Gambling Act Review

Published

5 years ago

April 16, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM) has told the Government that the need to educate our future generations on the potential harms of gambling is more important than ever, regardless of any legislative changes.

The charity has submitted its written evidence to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as part the call for evidence for the Gambling Act Review. In their response, YGAM outlined the importance of education and the impact of their portfolio of evidence-led programmes.

The Gambling Act Review has been labelled a ‘once in a generation’ moment for everyone connected to the sector and YGAM believes the process presents an opportunity for the UK to set standards for the world to follow.

YGAM wants the issue of gambling harm to be is given the same level of focus as other public health issues such as alcohol and drugs. In their response, the independent charity has called for increased long-term funding to be directed towards research, education and treatment and meaningful engagement from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education. YGAM has also encouraged the Government to ‘support the progress that has been in the third sector and promote initiatives that demonstrate meaningful impact’. The charity is supporting the notion of a statutory levy.

James Matthewson, Marketing & Communications Manager at YGAM said “The Gambling Act Review presents a much-needed opportunity for the regulation to catch up but also an opportunity to demonstrate the ongoing progress being made to educate and safeguard future generations. This review will scrutinise all aspects of regulation and, as an education charity, we do not claim to have the expertise to contribute to most of these intricate policy decisions. We believe keeping our young people safe should be the key focus of any outcomes from this review. Prevention is a better solution than treatment and we want Government to recognise that education has a vital role to play.”

The topic of gambling harm prevention now features on the PSHE curriculum in England and whilst YGAM welcomes this, they argue it should be a compulsory awareness session for young people during secondary education. Figures released by YGAM earlier this year show that the education charity trained 2,906 practitioners in 2020 (up from its original target of 2,592) as part of the Young Peoples Gambling Harm Prevention Programme. 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).

The written evidence submitted by YGAM also calls for the gambling industry must do much more to protect consumers and admits that education alone will not prevent gambling harms. They charity welcomes the introduction of any further protections for young people and wants to see more done to minimise the exposure that children have to gambling advertising.

Lee Willows, Chief Executive of YGAM recently wrote a column for The Times newspaper in which he said ‘we have a responsibility to educate young people about the risks of gambling’ and highlighted YGAM’s close working relationship with the education sector.

BLAST

BLAST opens New York HQ as 2025 revenue tops $133m on 40%+ growth

Published

19 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

Wladimir P.

blast-opens-new-york-hq-as-2025-revenue-tops-$133m-on-40%+-growth

Esports and live events operator says it stayed profitable in 2025 and plans 15 arena events across 13 cities in 2026.

BLAST has opened a New York City headquarters in Brooklyn as the company reported record growth and profitability in 2025, including more than $133 million in revenue and over 40% year-over-year growth.

The new U.S. headquarters is located at 45 Main Street in Brooklyn within a shared 55,000-square-foot office space. BLAST said the hub will support partnerships, live events and commercial growth across North America as it expands its U.S. operations.

The North American push is being led by Chief Business Officer Leo Matlock, who has relocated to New York, alongside Steve Rossi, who joined earlier this year as SVP of Brand Partnerships. BLAST said its U.S. team has grown to eight full-time employees.

BLAST said it has staged seven tier-one esports events in North America over the past 16 months, across Austin, Fort Worth, Boston, Raleigh, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. The company cited “more than $102 million” in economic impact from the 2025 BLAST.tv Austin Major alone, including more than $9 million in hotel expenditures. It also recently announced the Rocket League World Championship will return to Fort Worth in September 2026.

In 2025, BLAST said its broadcasts delivered more than 2 billion live views globally and 300 million hours watched, spanning live events in 22 cities worldwide. The company also said it distributes content via 29 broadcast partners, including SuperSport, France TV and RTBF, reaching audiences in more than 150 territories and 30+ languages.

“Competitive entertainment has become one of the fastest-growing sectors in global media because it combines community, technology and live experiences in entirely new ways,” said Robbie Douek, CEO of BLAST. “The next generation of fans want entertainment that feels participatory, social and global by default. That shift is creating enormous opportunities for brands, publishers, creators and host cities, and we believe BLAST is uniquely positioned to help lead that evolution after a landmark year in 2025.” BLAST said it plans to host 15 arena events across 13 cities and three continents in 2026.

The post BLAST opens New York HQ as 2025 revenue tops $133m on 40%+ growth appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

BLAST

BLAST reports 40% revenue growth in 2025, opens New York headquarters

Published

19 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

blast-reports-40%-revenue-growth-in-2025,-opens-new-york-headquarters

BLAST, the Denmark-founded competitive entertainment and esports events company, reported record growth and continued profitability in 2025 and said it has opened a New York headquarters as it expands across North America.

The company said it delivered more than 40% year-over-year growth and generated more than $133 million in revenue in 2025, while remaining profitable and continuing to invest in global expansion. BLAST said its U.S. headquarters at 45 Main Street in Brooklyn sits within a shared 55,000-square-foot office space and will serve as its central base for partnerships, live events and commercial growth across North America.

The expansion is being led by Chief Business Officer Leo Matlock, who has relocated to New York, and Steve Rossi, who joined earlier this year as SVP of Brand Partnerships. BLAST said its U.S. team has grown to eight full-time employees.

BLAST pointed to recent North American activity, saying it has hosted seven tier-one esports events across Austin, Fort Worth, Boston, Raleigh, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City over the past 16 months. The company said these events have generated economic impact for host destinations, including more than $102 million from the 2025 BLAST.tv Austin Major alone, including more than $9 million in hotel expenditures. BLAST also said the Rocket League World Championship will return to Fort Worth in September 2026.

On content reach, BLAST said its 2025 broadcasts delivered more than 2 billion live views globally and 300 million hours watched across live events in 22 cities, distributed through 29 broadcast partners across online platforms and linear broadcasters. “We’re seeing tremendous momentum globally and all across North America, not just in esports fandom, but in how brands, game publishers, cities and entertainment companies are thinking about gaming culture, engaging competitions and digital-first audiences,” said Leo Matlock, Chief Business Officer at BLAST. The company said it plans to host 15 arena events across 13 cities and three continents in 2026.

The post BLAST reports 40% revenue growth in 2025, opens New York headquarters appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

analytics

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

Published

1 hour ago

July 1, 2026

Wladimir P.

flashscore:-1.99m-uk-users-track-world-cup-group-stage-ahead-of-england-v-dr-congo

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.