SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Responsible gambling organisations GamCare and YGAM are set to launch the Kick the Habit campaign in cooperation with Cambridge United Community Trust (CUCT).
The campaign will see CUCT promote podcasts, articles and interviews via social media channels. The media releases will focus on the consequences of gambling problems and provide education regarding the topic.
Additionally, the drive will focus on two key initiatives, prevention and awareness. For the prevention aspect, the three participants will deliver sessions in schools providing education to young people on the potential dangers of gambling addiction, including discussions regarding video game loot boxes.
“Admitting you have a problem is the hardest part. The next steps to recovery are you talking to someone about your addiction and then having people there to listen to you,” said John Taylor, the campaign’s Lead Ambassador and former Cambridge United FC striker.
Vicky Neal, Wellbeing Manager of the Community Trust, added: “We want to be able to support individuals that are affected by gambling, either themselves or someone they are close to, by signposting them to the support GamCare offers, as well as educate our younger generations on the topic of addiction & gambling with support from YGAM.”
Last month YGAM revealed that it had massively exceeded its first year educational targets, training 2,906 practitioners in 2020, well above its initial target of 2,592. These practitioners in turn have provided educational sessions to 184,700 young people, surpassing the set goal of 170,300.
GamCare, which has been cooperating with YGAM on the Young People’s Gambling Harm Prevention Programme with support from the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), also surpassed its own targets for 2020.
The charity revealed it had taught 4,185 professionals specialising in working with young people, in addition to delivering educational workshops to 3,947 young people.
