by Lee Willows and Anna Hemmings

YGAM and GamCare are working in partnership to deliver the ‘Young People’s Gambling Harm Prevention Programme: Education, Training, Support’.

BGC members are providing £10 million to support the programme, which is evidence led, independently created, delivered and evaluated.

All 11-19-year-olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive at least one session of gambling awareness education during their secondary or further education, while all teachers, youth workers and other professionals should have access to information about the risks of betting, how to identify betting-related harm and where to get help.

Parents and families will also have access to information about young people’s gambling, how to keep them safe and where they can be referred for help and support.

And under-18s who are at risk of, or have developed, a problem with gambling or are affected by the gambling of someone close to them have access to age-appropriate treatment.

Since YGAM’s inception five years ago, we have always had an aspiration to deliver a truly national education programme in collaboration with a national partner such as GamCare.

Having the opportunity to now deliver this aspiration is a huge responsibility and something we are determined to get right.

GamCare have been working with young people and professionals to deliver gambling education for many years. We believe that gambling education should have parity with education around other risky behaviours and the extension of this programme will help us take a significant step towards achieving that aim.

(Lee Willows is chief executive of YGAM and Anna Hemmings is chief executive at GamCare.)