SBC News

GambleAware has called on partners and stakeholders to actively engage in addressing the stigma associated with problem gambling treatment which, it claims, continues to represent a major barrier for those seeking support.

The announcement comes as new data commissioned by GambleAware reveals that nearly two-thirds (64%) of adults in Great Britain who have experienced gambling problems have not discussed their issues with anyone, with 39% attributing their silence to stigma.

This data underscores GambleAware’s concerns about the high incidence of silence among those suffering from gambling harms and addiction. In response, it is launching the next phase of its stigma campaign to encourage those experiencing harm to seek support.

Chief Executive Zoë Osmond said: “It’s alarming to see the number of people who are struggling in isolation. As a hidden addiction, gambling harms can be incredibly hard to spot from the outside.

“It is therefore critical that people impacted are aware of t..

Gordon Moody has published its ‘Insights Report’ for the first half of 2023/2024, providing a detailed overview of its efforts to deliver localised therapy and treatment for victims of problem gambling.

The report aims to provide UK stakeholders with an understanding of the day-to-day dynamics impacting problem gambling interventions and treatments, which Gordon Moody has offered since 1971.

The charity details significant progress in the reach and effectiveness of its interventions, reporting a 10% increase in applications (481 patients) compared to the previous year.

The report underscored the ‘evolving make-up‘ of patients receiving treatment by gender, age, and ethnic origin, showing trends and changes over time. Regarding gender, 76% of applications were male, 23% female, and 1% transgender or other.

Mirroring wider UK problem gambling trends, Gordon Moody saw the age group of 24-34 as the largest segment of applicants. However, the charity underlined improved reach and effect..

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Netherlands Gambling Authority, has initiated a ‘pilot campaign’ to raise public awareness of CRUKS, the Dutch gambling central self-exclusion register.

Pilot campaigns have commenced across social media platforms, informing audiences about how to self-exclude from all Dutch licensed gambling operators via CRUKS.

Operated by the KSA, the CRUKS register was launched on 1 October 2021 to coincide with the Dutch government’s introduction of the Remote Gambling Act (KOA) marketplace, regulating online gambling services.

CRUKS allows gamblers in the Netherlands to “voluntarily take a break from gambling.” Once registered, they cannot participate in legal online casinos and other gambling offers in the country for a minimum of six months and up to 99 years.

During H1, KSA launched its revamped CRUKS 2.0 register. The update made it easier to unsubscribe from gambling activities and added an eight-day reflection period for those considering unsubscribing.

Th..

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has released its “Young People and Gambling Survey for 2023,” which investigates the gambling behaviors and experiences of young individuals aged 11-17.

Prior to the 2023 survey, a research program was initiated to enhance the collection of official gambling participation statistics. Stakeholders were reminded that the datasets for 2021 and 2020 were not updated due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on young people lives.

The Commission’s previous reports concentrated on the 11-16 age group. The 2023 edition has broadened to include 17-year-olds in year 12 and pupils from independent schools, with the survey engaging 3,453 online participants from England, Scotland, and Wales.

The report provides an overview of young people’s involvement in gambling, noting that around 26% of those aged 11-17 gambled with their own money over the past year. Among these activities, 19% played arcade gaming machines, while 11% bet money with friends and family.

The ..

Kindred has revealed that it is funding gambling education sessions designed for players and staff at Rangers FC.

In line with the operator’s ten years of collaboration with the Scottish football team, the independent sessions will be led by gambling harm minimisation consultancy, EPIC Risk Management.

Sam Mead, UK General Manager at Kindred Group, commented: “Kindred wants to run a sustainable business built on people enjoying themselves safely. That’s why we have reaffirmed our commitment not only to this project with Rangers but to our Journey towards Zero too.”

The group’s Zero % Mission holds the aim that over time, 0% of revenue should be generated from harmful gambling.

It also marks the next step in driving towards a better model of sponsorship that benefits sporting organisations and their communities.

“Added to that, we are investing in our technology stack to further develop our sophisticated detection software,” Mead added.

“This, allied with a greater emphasis on e..

Blackpool FC, with its principal partner LeoVegas, are demonstrating solidarity for Safer Gambling Week.

During this Saturday’s (18 November) home fixture against Shrewsbury Town, the operator’s regular branding on the front of all home shirts will be replaced by key messaging and logos surrounding safe betting practices.

Sam Behar, LeoVegas Group Director of UK and Ireland, commented: “Responsible gaming is at the heart of our offering at LeoVegas.

“We are incredibly proud to work with Blackpool and to make sure all fans understand the range of tools we have on offer to ensure our players keep their play safe.”

Taking place 13-19 November, the annual campaign returns to promote safer betting practices across the UK and Ireland with the support of a wide range of partners.

“Safer Gambling Week is an important time of the year and, as such, ensuring that we replace our logo on the front of shirts to promote the week was crucial to us at LeoVegas,” added Behar.

“We thank Blackpoo..

GamCare is making good progress on delivery of its youth training and outreach initiatives this year, according to an update from the charity.

The group explained that over 100,000 young people have now attended its training sessions, with the 100,000th person stepping through the doors this week.

On top of this, over 25,000 professionals such as teachers and youth workers have also been trained by the group, as part of a plan to ensure those working with and in positions of influence with young people have skills in dealing with gambling-related issues.

Alexa Roseblade, Head of Youth at GamCare, said: “We are incredibly proud of the work the Young People’s Gambling Harm Prevention Programme has accomplished in raising awareness about the risk and prevalence of gambling for young people.

“Equipping 100,000 young people with the facts about gambling, supporting them to make informed decisions and giving them the knowledge of where to go if they need help is a significant achievemen..

Bulgaria’s National Revenue Agency (NRA) has confirmed that the country’s self-exclusion scheme has seen more than 24,000 newly registered people since December 2022.

After being brought to a halt with a series of regulatory changes back in 2020, the scheme was reactivated again on 12 December 2022 by the NRA to encourage consumers who believe they could or have been influenced by gambling harm to sign up for the self-exclusion scheme.

The registry itself is not in the public domain, with only a limited number of employees being given access by the General Director of the NRA, which was designated in 2020 as the supreme legislative authority overseeing gambling activity in the country after the abolition of the State Gambling Commission.

To ensure that they stay in line with local laws, gambling operators can request access to the registry so that they can monitor their customer base and flag down any person who has self-excluded.

Recent regulatory shifts also saw the NRA imple..

Drogenbeauftragter, the Federal Drug Commissioner of the Bundestag, has published the ‘Gambling Atlas of Germany’, providing comprehensive statistics and data on the harms and addiction associated with problem gambling.

The Atlas is the first ‘scientifically grounded report’ to measure problem gambling in Germany following the launch of the Fourth Interstate Treaty on Gambling (GlüNeuRStv), which came into effect on 1 July 2021. The law regulates online gambling activities across Germany’s 16 federal states.

The report was co-authored by academic stakeholders from the Institute for Interdisciplinary Addiction and Drug Research of ISD Hamburg and the Gambling Research Unit at the University of Bremen, with the support of the German Centre for Addiction Issues (DHS).

As stated by the report’s authors, “published today, the ‘Glücksspielatlas Deutschland 2023: Numbers, Data, Facts‘ offers a comprehensive and clear representation of all relevant impacts of the cross-sectional topic of ga..

Betting and gaming media publisher XLMedia (XLM) has entered into a partnership with safer gambling organisation Better Change.

The agreement commences at the start of the UK’s Safer Gambling Week, a seven-day initiative focused on prompting responsible gaming across the country’s betting and gambling sector.

Initially, the partnership will focus on XLM’s whichbingo.co.uk brand, with the wider arrangement encompassing delivery of Better Change’s training programmes to XLM staff around safer gambling best practices.

Karen Tyrrell, Chief People and Operations Officer, commented: “WhichBingo.co.uk exists to provide our audiences with hours of entertainment and fun, key to protecting that entertainment is for us to ensure that wherever we can, we act in a safe and responsible way.

“Partnering with Better Change will give us direct access to a dedicated and knowledgeable team of experts who will help us in that endeavour. We are proud to be able to further educate our teams to deliver s..