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GambleAware invests £2.5m into gambling harms prevention education programme across England and Wales

Published

2 years ago

April 21, 2022

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Following a competitive tender, GambleAware is awarding £2.5m to GamCare, YGAM and partners, and Adferiad Recovery to expand The Gambling Education Hub Service across England and Wales as part of its commitment to help reduce gambling harms among young people
The Gambling Education Hub (The Hub) is a gambling education programme which includes toolkits, training and peer-based theatre performances, is aimed at professionals and volunteers who work with young people and families and at young people, parents and carers themselves.
The expansion follows an independent evaluation[1] of the GambleAware commissioned Scottish Gambling Education Hub (The Hub) by IFF Research, which reveals success of its early intervention and prevention methods leading to dramatic improvements in gambling harms awareness and understanding
The Hub, which is primarily for practitioners, educators and youth workers, uses early intervention and prevention methods to reduce gambling harms among children and young people, working holistically within local communities, to promote a safer environment – especially for those most at risk

GambleAware has today announced the expansion of its Gambling Education Hubs across England and Wales, following a successful pilot in Scotland. The Hubs, which help prevent gambling harms among young people through early intervention and education, resulted in 92% of practitioners from the Scottish Hub saying they felt confident in identifying the signs of gambling harm, compared to just 35% pre-training. The Hubs also resulted in more than eight in ten young people from the Scottish Hub saying they were more aware of the consequences of gambling and 84% felt confident about where to turn to for support if needed.

This investment from GambleAware comes at a critical period, with the Hubs designed to reach all communities across the nations by engaging at a local level in a way that central Government sometimes cannot. Young people are increasingly exposed to easily accessible gambling through the growth of online gaming and social media. GambleAware research published in 2020 showed that 94% of 11-17-year-olds in Great Britain had been exposed to gambling adverts in the last month, seeing six adverts on average[2]. This data directly led to recent caps and restrictions imposed on industry advertisers to further curb their appeal to children and youths.

The Scottish Hub delivered gambling education to almost 3,000 professionals and volunteers working with young people, as well as young people themselves, parents, and carers. GambleAware partnered with Scotland’s national youthwork organisation Fast Forward[3] to deliver the locally focused prevention programme. An independent evaluation of this project by IFF Research found that the Hub:

improved knowledge and awareness of youth gambling harms and gambling education among practitioners, and
reached over 15,800 young people resulting in increased awareness of the consequences of gambling and confidence in asking for support.

Building on this success, GambleAware has today announced the award of a £2.5m grant to expand the Hub Service to both England and Wales. Following a competitive tender process, the grant has been won by GamCare, in partnership with YGAM, ARA, Aquarius, Beacon, Breakeven and Neca to carry out the work in England, and by Adferiad Recovery, which will carry out the work in Wales.

Anna Hemmings, Chief Executive of GamCare, said: “We are delighted to be receiving this grant to deliver gambling education hubs across England. We work in collaboration with a number of organisations who bring unparalleled experience of working with young people around these issues, including; Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM), Addiction Recovery Agency (ARA), Aquarius, Beacon, Breakeven and Neca, to deliver Education Hubs across England.

Both GamCare and our partners passionately believe that information on the risks associated with gambling and gaming should be a key part of young people’s education, gaining parity with other risky behaviours such as drugs and alcohol.

We are looking forward to building on the successes of our work with young people, their parents and professionals in a new programme aimed at increasing visibility of both local and national education and support, and to working with GambleAware and our partners towards our shared aspiration of reducing gambling-related harms for young people.”

Leon Marsh, Director of Hospital & Residential Services at Adferiad Recovery said: “We look forward to working with GambleAware on this great initiative to help reduce gambling-related harm caused to young people and to provide comprehensive training, education and resources to key stakeholders to reduce the risks associated with gambling addiction. We were delighted to hear that we had been selected to be the providers of Wales’s Gambling Education Hub and are looking forward to replicating the success of the project currently being undertaken in Scotland. Our extensive knowledge and experience in young people services puts us in a good position to be able to effectively deliver this project in Wales, and we are excited to be able to offer young people this valuable service.”

GamCare, together with YGAM and other partners, brings over nine years’ experience delivering services for thousands of young people, including relevant skills, local knowledge, and stakeholder networks. Meanwhile, Adferiad Recovery is an industry leader in the fields of addiction, mental health, and young people’s services. Each organisation is best placed to carry out the expansion of the Hub Service in their own region. The new Hubs will also reflect differences in curriculums, languages, regions, need and demand, and political and other contexts, specific to each nation.

Zoë Osmond, CEO at GambleAware, said: “At a time when young people are increasingly exposed to gambling, the delivery of local focused programs for gambling education and prevention of harms has never been more important. We hope to see the positive short-term impacts from the Scottish Education Hub’s activities replicated in our newly commissioned English and Welsh Education Hubs, and we are excited to have awarded this grant to these two highly experienced organisations.

“As the lead commissioner working to prevent gambling harms, GambleAware is committed to working with local organisations and stakeholders to fund and establish tailored, best-practice prevention programmes. With young people in the UK now growing up being widely exposed to gambling marketing and advertising, these projects represent a meaningful step towards delivering a society where all children and young people are protected from the risks of gambling related harms.”

The Hubs across all nations will incorporate input from people with lived experience of gambling harms in the development of training content, service delivery, and any supporting tools or resources. GambleAware expects that equality, diversity and inclusion policy and procedures to be at the heart of the service design, provision, and day to day operations.

Latest News

BGaming donates to Brazilian art institute in support of creative children’s projects

Published

4 hours ago

May 7, 2024

George Miller

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Popular iGaming content provider BGaming has bolstered its ongoing commitment to grassroots arts by making donations to the A7MA Galeria Institute in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which supports children’s creative development.

As part of its ‘When Art Meets Gaming’ project, BGaming has collaborated with several local artists to create murals for industry events over the last year. For SiGMA Americas in April, the studio also chose to give back to the host city by funding art projects for children.

BGaming made a donation to support three charity initiatives. A portion was donated to coordinate a visit to the A7MA Gallery, where children from the Felicidarte Project took a tour of popular tourist attraction ‘Batman’s Alley’ and learnt about the art. Later, A7MA funded an activity where children were invited to transform the facades of their homes into colourful murals.

Another part of the donation was allocated to renovations for Felicidarte Project’s warehouse space, to revamp the area so it can invite school groups each week and distribute food to the underprivileged areas.

The significant charitable push follows a successful SiGMA Americas in Sao Paulo from 23^rd to 26^th April, where BGaming collaborated with artistic duo, Clandestinos Art, to reinterpret BGaming’s iconic game heroes, and create a limited edition merchandise collection, branded gifts and their stand design.

Marina Ostrovtsova, CEO at BGaming, said: “At BGaming, it brings us so much joy to see our donations promoting art among the young people of Sao Paulo.

“As we have proven over the past year with our ‘Art Meets Gaming’ project, creativity unites us all and we were delighted to hear how much the children enjoyed the activities provided. We can’t wait to hear about these budding artist’s creations in the future.”

Marcos Ramos Enivo, Artist and Counsellor at A7MA Galeria Institute, said: “We are grateful to BGaming for their support of our work at A7MA. The activities exceeded our expectations, with 47 artists present and 46 facades revitalised by the children.

“It was an absolute success. People in the favelas who are sometimes invisible to the government can now feel seen, recognised and valued.”

BGaming is a fast-growing iGaming content provider converting gambling into gaming. Thanks to an expert team and a player-driven approach, the studio creates innovative and engaging products featured on reputable platforms and 1,100+ online casinos worldwide. BGaming is the world’s first to support cryptocurrencies and offer Provably Fair games. Today the brand’s portfolio includes 150+ products with HD graphics and a clear user interface for every device. The studio is also known for its brand exclusives created in partnerships with leading operators in the industry.

The post BGaming donates to Brazilian art institute in support of creative children’s projects appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

eSports

Revolut unveiled as presenting partner for the BLAST Premier Spring Final at London’s OVO Arena Wembley

Published

4 hours ago

May 7, 2024

George Miller

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Esport entertainment company BLAST has revealed the global financial technology company Revolut as presenting partner for the BLAST Premier Spring Final, ahead of Counter-Strike’s long-awaited return to the United Kingdom in the summer.

The partnership with BLAST is Revolut’s first foray into esports – an industry known for its next-level global entertainment and world-class experiences. It is part of the fintech’s strategy to provide unique experiences to a global audience of tech-savvy gamers.

With more than 40 million customers worldwide in 38 countries, Revolut’s popular online banking platform aims to revolutionise the way people spend, send, save and interact with money.

Revolut comes on board as the Official Finance and Payments Partner of the BLAST Premier Spring Final, which is due to take place at London’s OVO Arena Wembley from 12-16 June. Revolut will feature heavily across the event, with both digital broadcast integration across BLAST.tv, Twitch and YouTube, with dedicated Revolut broadcast segments and physical branding and activations at the arena.

The Spring Final 2024 will be the biggest Counter-Strike event to take place in the United Kingdom since the London Major 2018, which took place in the OVO Arena Wembley and saw Danish organisation Astralis crowned champions.

Fans online will enjoy an economy focussed broadcast segment as well as a bespoke giveaway with fantastic prizes. Revolut will be kicking off the Spring Final action with an opening party on Friday, 14th June. A Revolut booth on-site will allow fans to sign up to exclusive discounts for Revolut customers and exclusive perks including queue skip for meet and greets with professional esports players.

Alexander Lewin, SVP, Commercial Revenue at BLAST said: “We’re thrilled to mark the historic return of CS arena events to the UK with a groundbreaking presenting partnership. Revolut has been at the forefront of digital banking and financial innovation for nearly a decade, and shares BLAST’s dedication to creating fantastic experiences for fans and customers. As presenting partner, Revolut will feature prominently across our entire broadcast and arena experience, and we look forward to incorporating their innovative digital-first approach. This partnership is testament to the value esports can bring to a leading global brand, and we are delighted Revolut has chosen BLAST for their first entry into competitive gaming.”

Deborah Wajsbrot, Head of Growth – Strategic Partnerships & Sponsorships at Revolut, said: “We’re delighted to be able to unveil Revolut’s marketing partnership with BLAST – our first in esports. BLAST is a world-class esports tournament and an iconic event for the gaming community. Just like Revolut, the gaming industry is at the forefront of innovation worldwide. This partnership is the beginning of our efforts to bring unique and unforgettable experiences to Revolut customers and gaming fans – not just at Wembley, but worldwide.”

The BLAST Premier Spring Final gets underway on Wednesday, 12th June, with eight of Counter-Strike’s best teams descending on the UK’s capital to battle for a total prize pool of $425,000. The winning team will qualify for the BLAST Premier World Final later this year.

Participating teams: Astralis, FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, SAW, Virtus.pro, Team Spirit and Team Vitality.

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Latest News

Golden Whale forms strategic sales partnership with SCCG management

Published

4 hours ago

May 7, 2024

George Miller

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Golden Whale Productions, the pioneering data science company that specialises in AI and machine learning-powered solutions for the iGaming industry, has announced that it has formed a new strategic partnership with advisory firm, SCCG Management.

While the industry expertise brought by the firm will undoubtedly bring myriad benefits to Golden Whale’s operations, the major goal of the collaboration will be to promote awareness of the company’s products and services across the Americas and beyond over the coming months.

Founded by Stephen A. Crystal – a seasoned veteran in the global gaming industry with over 30 years of experience under his belt – SCCG Management has an established track record of delivering expert solutions for strategic success in areas such as iGaming and casino technology.

With a global network of clients and offices in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and Latin America, SCCG is well-known for connecting companies with the right strategic partners for global-scale growth, which is exactly what Golden Whale is looking for as it enters its next phase.

Having already made a major impression across Europe – where its innovative data-driven solutions and pioneering products for the Gaming industry such as Foundation – scalable optimization modules for high-leverage decision making or the iterative machine learning system, LOOPs, have already been short-listed for a number of industry awards – Golden Whale its understandably keen to expand its outreach and the new partnership will give it the foothold to do precisely that.

As such, both parties are looking forward to the collaboration and the business opportunities SCCG will create for Golden Whale in the near future, with the former’s industry know-how and far-reaching network combining with the latter’s trailblazing technology to hopefully great effect.

Eberhard Dürrschmid, Chief Executive Officer at Golden Whale, said: “While Golden Whale has enjoyed an incredible year of growth during which the company quadrupled its revenue without the help of an external investor, our partnership with SCCG is definitely the next big step.

“By teaming up with an industry expert like Stephen, we’ll be able to broaden our horizons, expand our reach and really start pushing our game-changing products across the Americas and beyond. We’re really looking forward to collaboration and are hugely optimistic about the business opportunities it’ll bring as Golden Whale enters the next exciting stage of its evolution.”

Stephen Crystal, Founder and CEO of SCCG Management, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership: “Golden Whale Productions brings a wealth of expertise and a proven track record in data science to the gaming industry. By combining their state-of-the-art technology with our global reach and extensive industry relationships, we are well-positioned to deliver unparalleled value to gaming operators worldwide. This partnership will empower companies to maximize their data potential and achieve new levels of success.”

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