Lottstift, the Gambling Authority of Norway, has confirmed that Blå Kors (Blue Cross) will take control of Hjelpelinjen, the country’s Gambling Helpline.

The decision follows Lottstift ending its partnership with the Norwegian health trust, Sykehuset Innlandet, which will cease operating the Gambling Helpline on 31 December 2023.

The appointment meets a growing concern by Lottstift on the increased demand of Hjelpelinjen, which in 2022 registered 825 inquiries, up 15% on 2020 figures.

Blå Kors was deemed as the optimal agency to operate the Gambling Helpline, which in 2024 will feature the support of 54 addiction care centres operating across Norway.

Expanding Hjelpelinjen’s support, Blå Kors operates a network of 1,700 skilled employees, 1,500 dedicated volunteers, and 2,400 active partners on addiction matters.

The appointment was announced by Lars Petter Degnepoll, Senior Health Advisor of Lottstift, who cited: “Blue Cross has worked with gambling problems for a long time and ..

GambleAware has identified further regional discrepancies regarding gambling harm across Great Britain, highlighting how Scotland has the least engagement with support services.

The charity has released a series of interactive maps in recent weeks designed to break down the experience of gambling harm across Great Britain’s countries of England, Scotland and Wales, which make up three of the four nations of the UK.

According to the maps, Scottish people facing gambling harm are less likely to access support and treatment services than the Great Britain average, engaging with such services at a rate of 17% as opposed to an island-wide rate of 21%.

Additionally, the proportion of this group in Scotland – the second most populous country in Great Britain – was also lower than the general British average of 19.4% at 15.5%.

Gambling participation in Scotland as a whole, meanwhile, remains fairly consistent with Great Britain-wide levels, with 60.5% of people in the country, or 2.7 mill..

GamCare has published its annual report and financial statements, signed by the board of trustees of the problem gambling treatment support charity.

The 2022/2023 period represents GamCare’s 25th year delivering frontline treatment support services such as its 24/7 National Gambling Helpline, family counselling and youth programmes.

Expanding its services, GamCare has taken on the role of system coordinator appointed by GambleAware of the UK’s National Gambling Support Network (NGSN).

The role sees GamCare provide NGSN organisations and stakeholders with clinical facilities, gambling harm data insights and operational support to ensure the NGSN provides immediate intervention for those suffering harms.

As system coordinator of the NGSN, GamCare recognises that UK gambling stands at a point of inflection, as the government proceeds to overhaul industry laws and standards under the remit of the Gambling Act Review.

Margot Daly – GamCare
“GamCare has shared our deep sector expertise..

Brigid Simmonds (OBE), Chair of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), has urged the government to guarantee the funding of third sector organisations in its consultation of a mandatory levy on problem gambling harms.

Announced yesterday by DCMS, an eight-week consultation has been launched to gather stakeholder insights on the structure, management and oversight of a fixed levy collecting funds for problem gambling research, education and treatment (RET) disciplines.

Proposals drafted by DCMS, will see the NHS supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) serve as primary commissioner of the funding RET projects and organisations across the UK.

Headline objectives see the government target raising £100m per year from direct levy contributions set at gross gambling yield for online operators whilst betting shop and casino operators will pay less 0.4% GGY.

This afternoon, Simmonds responded to the government’s plans: “the reality is, the industry is already donating millions, supp..

The New South Wales (NSW) government has planned a series of responsible gambling events and initiatives to mark the state’s Safer Gambling Week, which concludes on 22 October.

Backed by a AUD$100m investment, Safer Gambling Week will see 45 events held across NSW including showcases, roundtables, information sessions, workshops and community drop-in events, whilst information stalls will also be set up at shopping centres.

Significantly, the government will utilise funds gained from a series of fines against Star Casino – penalised by the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) – to fund a range of long-term safer gambling programmes.

Authorities plan to invest $6.4m in self-exclusion and to introduce third party exclusions in pubs and clubs and $10m across the remainder of the year to the Responsible Gambling Fund for the provision of GambleAware counselling and support programmes.

NSW Minister for Gaming and Racing, David Harris, said: “We know there are people out there exper..

Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) member bookmakers are preparing themselves for NSW GambleAware Week, centred around the theme ‘What’s gambling costing you?’.

The trade association and industry standards body, which includes prominent licence holders bet365, Betfair, Entain, Sportsbet, PointsBet and Unibet as members, encouraged ‘all Australians to join in supporting this worthwhile initiative’.

However, the RWA also reiterated long-held concerns by Australian betting stakeholders regarding the threat posed to the regulated industry by unlicensed operators. These sites offer ‘strong inducements’ with ‘no deterrent’ for customers.

Kai Cantwell, RWA CEO, remarked: ‘RWA members are proud to set the industry standard for keeping customers safe, going well beyond the requirements set by governments. The biggest risk to safe gambling in Australia is offshore operators enticing Australians to gamble through illegal promotions.

“While RWA members and other licensed wagering service pr..

Monica Shafaq has been appointed CEO of Gordon Moody – a UK-based charity which provides support and treatment to those suffering from severe gambling harm.

Source: Gordon Moody
Following what the company described as an ‘extensive and thorough’ recruitment process conducted by its board of trustees over recent months, Shafaq will take over in January of next year.

Bringing around 13 years of experience in the charity sector, the CEO will join Gordon Moody from mental health and wellbeing organisation, The Kaleidoscope Plus Group, where she has served as CEO since 2010.

Claire Arnold, Gordon Moody Trustee, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Monica to the Gordon Moody team as our new CEO, and we would also like to express our sincere thanks to our departing CEO, Matthew Hickey, who has worked tirelessly to advance our cause over the past four years.”

Monica succeeds Hickey, who will continue to support the leadership team at Gordon Moody until the end of the year, in the aim of..