Sahara fundraisers set off this week

A team of 21 volunteers, the majority from bookmaking companies, will trek the Sahara Desert this week to raise funds for the UK’s leading problem gambling treatment charity. The team will be walking for 5 days from the “Door of the Desert” at Achbarou to Anoun El Fraolia, crossing 100 kilometres of dunes and open desert. The volunteers aim to raise more than £45,000 for the Responsible Gambling Trust, the UK’s leading funder of research, education and treatment of problem gambling.

This is the Responsible Gambling Trust’s second annual fundraising expedition. Last year volunteers raised more than £70,000 by trekking up the world’s highest free-standing mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro.

 Marc Etches, Chief Executive of the Responsible Gambling Trust, will also be taking part in the trek. He said: “I am delighted that so many from the gambling industry have volunteered to take part in what promises to be a gruelling challenge. The money we raise will help to build civil society’s knowledge of the harm caused by problem gambling and put in place the education and treatment services that minimise that harm. Our annual trek is fast becoming a flagship fundraising event for the Responsible Gambling Trust and everybody who cares about minimising gambling-related harm.”