The four-year national programme and joint initiative, Young People’s Gambling Prevention Programme, is supported by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and has been launched across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as agencies in Scotland.
The aim of the programme is to deliver evidence-led education, training and support to young people across the UK, to prevent them from developing gambling harms.
YGAM figures show that it trained 2,906 practitioners in 2020, which surpassed its original target of 2,592 and with the training, the practitioners are expected to reach 184,700 young people to provide education on gambling.
While GamCare trained 4,185 professionals who work with young people and delivered educational workshops to 3,947 young people and stated it has already exceeded training targets by almost 3,000 people with around two months left of first year delivery.
The exceeding of the initial targets comes despite the national lockdown enforced by the coronavirus pandemic, with both charities able to deliver the workshops online throughout.
YGAM founder and CEO Lee Willows said: “Now that the delivery is entirely digital, we have removed enormous barriers which may have prevented some individuals and organisations from taking part. The result is a truly national programme, which is set to continue its fantastic growth in the following years.”
GamCare CEO Anna Hemmings added: “I am particularly proud of the team considering the circumstances in which this has been achieved.
“The pandemic has proved a huge challenge, yet our teams have continued to deliver great engagement with professionals and young people. We’ve also developed a dedicated support service tailored to the needs of young people.”
