The programme is aimed at preventing gambling harm in young people and will be piloted at schools in Essex, Manchester and Northern Ireland.
According to a press release published by the group, it aims to influence the way gambling awareness education is delivered to young people and address the lack of information and help currently available.
Speaking about the programme, James Grimes, Head of Education at Gambling with Lives, said: “What makes this programme unique is that it includes the role of addictive products and predatory marketing in causing harm.
“We can protect the young by giving them information that is unbiased and evidence based, raising awareness of how addiction occurs is better than just waiting for it to develop. But education is not enough, we need real change to regulation and enforcement to protect the public.”
The charity states that its programme is based on solid, published research about education and awareness raising across other products like drugs, tobacco and alcohol, and covers basics about gambling, including understanding odds, risk and the “house edge”.
What sets this apart from programmes by industry-funded charities, the organisation claims, is its focus on how addictive products work and the methods and impact of industry marketing.
Launched today in London, the program included a screening of a short film dramatisation that is a key part of the education programme highlighting the risk of harm from different gambling products and industry practices, including insight from professionals and those with lived experience of gambling harm.
