SBC News

GambleAware has published new insights into the lived experience of gambling harms suffered by members of minority communities across Great Britain.

New findings have been published in the ‘Minority Communities & Gambling Harms: Qualitative and Synthesis Report‘ authored by the research teams of Ipsos UK and Clearview.

Research was conducted as GambleAware recognises that “gambling harms need to be understood in the context of inequalities present in British society. Racism and discrimination impact the opportunities and affect the life experiences of people from Minority groups in complex ways.”

Insights were provided by ethnic and religious minority groups, alongside participants from asylum seeker and refugee backgrounds, as well as non-native English speakers.

Key findings detail that adults from minority communities with gambling issues are 50% more likely to have experienced racism or discrimination in public compared to those from non-minority backgrounds.

Researchers are c..

Spillemyndigheden, the Gambling Authority of Denmark, has launched the new website StyrPåSpillet.dk to provide the Danish public with information related to gambling and compulsive gaming.

StyrPåSpillet.dk will serve as the Danish gambling public information portal, gathering all information related to Denmark’s land-based, lottery, and online gambling sectors.

Additionally, the website will feature informative content designed for parents, teachers, and caregivers to inform young audiences about safer gambling practices and how to spot compulsive behaviours.

Spillemyndigheden detailed, “Primary and lower secondary school teachers can also find teaching materials that can be used directly from the website. The material is aimed at students aged 13-15.”

StyrPåSpillet.dk will also host the podcast “Vi snakker om spillet” (“We talk about the game”), developed by Spillemyndigheden, to provide audiences with the lived experience of people who have suffered from gambling addiction and it..

GambleAware has called on the UK government to ensure the protection of essential treatment support services for gambling harms commissioned by the partners of the National Gambling Treatment Service (NGTS).

The demand follows GambleAware’s publication of the annual statistics of the NGTS, detailing that “Gambling harm support delivered by third-sector partners helped nine out of ten improve their conditions.”

Recognised as the frontline in the treatment of gambling harms across England, Scotland, and Wales, the NGTS comprises 10 organisations qualified to provide free and confidential treatment, intervention, and prevention services developed by the GamCare Network.

Publishing the NGTS annual statistics, GambleAware highlighted the effectiveness of services provided “with nine in 10 patients seeing an improvement after completing treatment” and the efficiency of the network as “half of the users are seen within five days or less of referral, and 75% within nine days.”

Anna Hargrav..

In the words of Tom Friston, Co-founder of MTV: “Innovation is taking two things that exist and putting them together in a new way.” Taking that as inspiration, Dr. Mary Donohue, CEO of The Digital Wellness Center – winner of the Alpha Hub Play Well Challenge 2023 – offers her view on the future of player well-being.

MTV changed the music industry by connecting artists directly with fans through groundbreaking videos. In a similar vein, the dynamic world of technology and gaming thrives on innovation, the catalyst for progress. It’s the art of blending existing elements ingeniously to spark industry revolutions.

Flutter’s Alpha Hub Play Well Challenge 2023, a collaboration between global gaming and entertainment leader Flutter and The Responsible Gambling Council (RGC), embodies this spirit of innovation, akin to MTV’s pioneering journey.

It’s a quest for superior systems, technology, and research, promising an enriched customer experience, addressing responsible gaming challenge..

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) the Netherlands Gambling Authority has announced that six projects have been awarded funding through the ZonMw Prevention of Gambling Addiction research programme.

Considered vital to the development of Dutch government’s treatment, intervention and support of gambling addiction the projects will begin no later than February 2024 and are financed through the Addiction Prevention Fund, which is managed by the KSA.

The programme will run from 2022 to 2029, with its breakthrough round focusing on vulnerable groups, prevention, treatment and interventions, gambling-related damage and the product characteristics/context of gambling.

Two Amsterdam UMC projects, two Trimbos Institute projects, and one project each from the University of Amsterdam and IVO have been awarded funding.

‘Evaluation and innovation of effective CBT treatment for gambling: stepping up the game, a mixed methods study’ from Amsterdam UMC, will focus on investigating cognitive behavioural the..

PayPlan has stressed the importance of reducing the stigma around gambling harm and the impact this can have on people’s finances.

The debt advice provider has put its weight behind a campaign led by GambleAware and GamCare, two of the UK’s leading treatment organisations, based on research by the two charities as well as investigations by PayPlan itself.

GambleAware research found that 62% of respondents believed that people experiencing gambling harm are judged negatively and 56% agreed with the statement that it ‘is important to challenge the stigma around gambling harms’.

Zoë Osmond, Chief Executive of GambleAware, said: “Gambling harms are hidden and complex in nature, making it incredibly hard to spot from the outside when someone may need help.

“It is therefore critical that when accessing financial services, especially when due to the impact of gambling harms, people feel they can talk openly about the issues they may be experiencing and are made aware of the wide range of ..

Sky Betting & Gaming (Sky Bet) has donated more than £250,000 to fund life-changing support at one of Yorkshire’s leading charities – the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.

Hundreds of staff and guests gathered at SBG’s Annual Charity Gala in Leeds on Wednesday for a night of fund-raising activity, hosted by ITV Racing’s Oli Bell and Ed Chamberlin.

A silent auction, raffle prizes, sponsorship packages and a Mascot Race helped raise an extraordinary amount on the night.

Sky Bet parent company Flutter UKI rounded off the evening by donating £120,000 towards to help pay for a new, state-of-the-art echo software package at the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit.

The software provides highly-detailed analysis of a patient’s heart and can help free up doctor’s and other clinicians to do other crucial duties.

The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund (CHSF) is a not-for-profit organisation that provides lifesaving and life-changing support for children with congenital heart disease across Yorkshire.

Over ..

The Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) has reported a significant increase in the reach and coverage of Safer Gambling Week (#SGWeek), noting a 70% rise in promotional activities compared to the previous year.

The surge resulted in over 50 million interactions on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and another unnamed platform.

In its seventh iteration, Safer Gambling Week, held from November 13 to 19, continued its mission to unite the gambling sector in emphasizing available resources for players. The focus remains on helping players manage their gambling activities, offering advice, and fostering discussions about safer gambling practices among friends and family.

Organised by the BGC, bacta and the Bingo Association, the initiative’s website received half a million visits during the week, several cross-party senior MPs and peers backed the campaign, and the UK Gambling Commission supported the event as well.

The more than 50 million impressions on social media for Safe..

SKS365 has announced that a corporate forest of 1,000 trees has been planted as part of the PlanetGreen365 corporate sustainability program.

This is the first initiative that the Italian market operator has completed in its plan to promote environmental sustainability and support rural communities in different parts of the world. The trees were planted across Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Brian Dean, Chief People Officer of SKS365, expressed that the group is extremely aware of the urgent need to address the issue of climate change and environmental sustainability.

“From heat waves to hurricanes, from droughts to floods and fires, extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent, putting human lives at risk and the future of our planet in jeopardy,” he said.

“Therefore, it is necessary to raise awareness and responsibility among all of us in the fight against climate change and to safeguard the environment: governments, businesses, communities, and even individuals, ev..

The betting brand members of Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) are donating more than $3m over three years to provide financial counselling services for Australians.

Entain, bet365, betfair, PointsBet, Sportsbet and Unibet are each participating in the initiative, which has seen RWA partner with the Federal Government, the financial counselling sector and a range of industries including banking, energy and insurance.

This initiative effort aims to establish a not-for-profit body that will distribute funding to financial counselling services around the country from early 2024, aiding Australians in accessing sessions ‘promptly if needed’. 

CEO of RWA, Kai Cantwell, emphasised that financial counsellors play a ‘vital role’ helping Australians in financial difficulty by providing free, independent and confidential advice on ways to manage debts, make informed choices about their money and build a future with financial freedom.      

“RWA members are proud to set the industry standa..