GamCare & YGAM to offer free workshops for RGWeek

UK problem-gambling treatment and support charities GamCare and the Young Gamblers Education Trust – YGAM will offer free training and educational workshops, as a key directive of the IGRG’s third ‘Responsible Gambling Week’ (RGWeek7-13 November).

Both organisations have developed comprehensive training programmes supporting all-levels of industry management and wider community stakeholders – ‘tailored to provide guidance on how to start conversations with vulnerable people who may be at risk’.

2019’s RGWeek will see both charities offer free training and workshops broadening the scope and relevance of safer gambling as a public concern. 

Anna Hemmings, Chief Executive Officer at GamCare, said: “Safer gambling is a key message for GamCare, which we hope to encourage in our RG Week sessions. Our youth-outreach programme, BigDeal, is dedicated to educating young people and youth-facing professionals about gambling-related harm. Our work with young people encourages informed choices, understanding of risk and knowledge of where to get support. RG Week provides a platform to promote our existing work to a wider audience.”

GamCare and YGAM programmes have been designed to provide participants with:

• The confidence to have honest conversations with young people about gambling
• The knowledge to recognise the risk factors, signs, and symptoms of a gambling issue
• The resources to advise where to seek help if they identify someone who needs it

Supporting initiatives, Carly Boyt, Head of Marketing & Communications for YGAM, said: “We have been running YGAM workshops for the past five years to help inform, educate and safeguard young people by providing information and resources around safer gambling. RG Week is a great opportunity to not only highlight YGAM’s workshops but for organisations and charities to come together to help amplify the messages around safer gambling.”

RGWeek is a cross-industry initiative to promote safer gambling in the United Kingdom and Ireland, featuring the participation of all industry stakeholders (bookmakers, bingo halls, arcades, casino and online operators), promoting the core mandate of safer gambling and wider public awareness of gambling harms.

John Hagan, chairman of the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling, said:“We are delighted that GamCare and YGAM are supporting Responsible Gambling Week by offering these important training and briefing sessions during the campaign.  Supporting conversations about what it means to gamble responsibly is central to the gambling industry’s approach all-year-round, and during Responsible Gambling Week we are proud to work with the collective networks, venues and staff of all gambling sectors, and our digital channels, to provide resources, reach a wider audience, and raise awareness.”