SBC News

GamCare has confirmed the appointment of D’Arcy Myers as the new Interim CEO of the problem-gambling treatment support charity and operator of the 24/7 National Gambling Helpline.

Myers’ appointment follows the leadership departure of Anna Hemmings, who ended her five-year tenure as CEO of GamCare in June.

An expert in leading high-profile charity organisations, Myers has led and mentored multiple charities through periods of change, including Allergy UK, The Percy Hedley Foundation, the TV and Film Charity, and The Solicitors Charity.

Further experience in the third sector has seen Myers serve as a founding member of the Small Charities Coalition and as Chair of The Association of Charitable Organisations and The Smallwood Trust.

Welcoming the appointment, Margot Daly, Chair of GamCare Trustees, commented: “I am delighted to welcome D’Arcy to GamCare. His wide-ranging experience will be invaluable for the organisation at a time of great change for this sector.”

Myers takes leader..

Ygam’s ‘Mindful Resilience’ workshops have been validated by a Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) evaluation, one of its partners in the programme, showing a positive response from participants.

The RGC reported that 91% of participants in the workshops rated the programme as ‘good’ or ‘very good’.

Around two-thirds of participants – which included GPs and nurses, among other healthcare professionals – also stated that they had begun implementing lessons from the workshops into day-to-day practices.

Mindful Resilience was launched in September 2020 as a joint-initiative of Ygam, the RGC, Betknowmore UK and the University of Bournemouth, with the objective of training healthcare professionals on gambling addiction treatment, and ran until 2022.

Linda Scollins Smith, Director of Programmes at Ygam, said: “The findings of this evaluation are encouraging and a positive step in addressing the need for better understanding of gaming and gambling harms within the health care sector.

“Th..

Using data from GambleAware, the relationship between mental health and gambling harms has shown new and revealing links between mental health and betting.

Studies by Alma Economics – which used the gambling harm education group’s, Annual GB Treatment and Support Survey.1 – found that there is a ‘significant link’ between higher rates of gambling harms and worse mental health.

It showed that a one unit increase in Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) 2 score increased the probability of someone having a diagnosed mental health condition by 3%.

For example, the group detailed, an individual with a PGSI score of zero has a 22% probability of having a mental health diagnosis, while an individual with a PGSI score of eight has a 41% probability of having a mental health condition.

GambleAware Chief Executive, Zoë Osmond, said: “The relationship between gambling and mental health is significant for medical practitioners and gambling support organisations, as it can influence the ty..

GambleAware has initiated an application process to protect the funding of gambling harm prevention, support and treatment projects and programmes across the UK.

The initiative is required as the funding of gambling harm prevention projects/programmes enters a transition period from a voluntary to a statutory levy – established as a guaranteed outcome of the Gambling Review.

Stakeholders were notified that “the Gambling Commission and GambleAware have agreed to ringfence a proportion of the funding to help stabilise the system of gambling harm prevention, support and treatment”.

A stop-gap fund is required to support organisations in England, Scotland, and Wales affected by potential changes in funding following the Government’s intention to introduce a statutory levy on problem gambling research, education and treatment (RET).

Funding will be allocated according to GambleAware’s ‘strategic framework’, requiring organisations to show they meet one or more of its five outcomes rela..

GamCare has unveiled a new addition to its services with a specific focus on women experiencing gambling-related harm, the Way Forward support group.

A virtual event, the support group will be held over Zoom between 6.30pm and 8pm and conducted by trained facilitators specialising in supporting women impacted by gambling harm.

In order, the seven sessions will focus on allowing participants to get to know each other, understanding gambling addiction, self-care, dealing with guilt, shame and enabling behaviours, dealing with anger and resentment, having difficult conversations, expectations and acceptance, and concluding with a reflection session.

The launch of the support group closely follows the addition of live chatrooms to GamCare’s service, also with a specific focus on assisting women who have encountered gambling related harm.

The themed chatrooms will take place 6pm-7pm Monday-Friday on a weekly basis from 31 July onwards, covering five different areas of focus on each day ..

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has allocated £32,844,197.31 to GambleAware for the creation of a ‘system stabilisation’ in regards to a transition period from voluntary funding to a statutory levy.

This is the latest allocation of funds gained by the UKGC through regulatory settlements, and is intended to “stabilise the system of gambling harm prevention, support and treatment” during the changeover. A previous high of $8.8m was also issued to GambleAware in April 2020.

A statutory levy to fund research, education and treatment (RET) was one of the biggest and most highly debated changes of the UK gambling white paper review of the 2005 Gambling Act.

Zoë Osmond, Chief Executive of GambleAware, previously called for the government to “move with urgency” regarding a range of consultations associated with the white paper, the first of which were addressed earlier in the week.

She said: “We welcome government plans to introduce a statutory levy as outlined in its Gambling white pape..

After over two years of waiting, the betting industry and research, education and treatment sector (RET) finally learned the proposals of the Gambling Act review when the White Paper was published in April.

The generational legislative overhaul of the UK’s regulatory framework for betting laid out a series of recommendations for change. This has included a mandatory levy to support RET activities and finance risk checks, although little mention of advertising reforms that some campaigners were hoping for.

Ahead of the review’s publication, SBC Media spoke to Gordon Moody at the treatment organisation’s Manchester clinic, gaining an understanding of a leading RET organisation’s views on forthcoming regulatory changes.

“I think the industry has done a lot,” said Gordon Moody CEO Matthew Hickey, reflecting on responsible practice adopted by UK operators in recent years.

“I think it really has come a long way. My evidence in that is in the conversations I and Gordon Moody have with the..

GambleAware has released the full list of betting operators and B2B gaming suppliers which donated to support research, education and treatment (RET) programmes in the opening quarter of the 2023/24 fiscal year.

The charity received £430.9m in total, consisting of £317.1m in RET donations and £113.7m in non-RET donations, the latter being funds from unclaimed winnings or dormant betting accounts.

None of the ‘Big Four’ operators – Entain, Flutter Entertainment, bet365 and William Hill – were present in this quarter’s update, which covers April-June 2023.

However, given the operators’ large donations in previous quarters and the fact the donations commitment is annual, it can be expected that these companies will appear in lists later in the year.

Notable operator donors in Q1 2023/24 included high-street giant and online bookmaker Betfred (£50,000), web-only sportsbook Betway (£25,000), Star Racing (£28,916), Virgin Bet (£22,836) and the Postcode Lottery (£18,708).

The UK current..

Rightlander has secured an extension to its partnership with bet365, as the betting group targets enhanced responsible gambling compliance across its international operations.

The Stoke-on-Trent-based firm will continue to leverage Rightlander’s platform and features to maintain compliance with various regulatory frameworks as regimes across the world continue to evolve.

Keeping track with regulatory changes and promoting responsible gambling has become a key area of focus for bet365. The company is active in multiple markets undergoing regulatory change such as the UK and Netherlands, with the Gambling Act review White Paper published in the former and a ban on advertising coming into force in the latter.

“We are excited to renew our contract with Rightlander,” said a bet365 spokesperson. “Their comprehensive compliance solution has become an integral part of our affiliate program.

“The extended partnership reinforces our commitment to responsible gambling and our dedication to pr..

VBET has been named a partner of the charity match Game4Ukraine, set to take place on 5 August at Stamford Bridge.

The gambling company’s branding is set to appear on the players’ shorts and will also organise activities to promote the match in Ukraine, as well as other European countries where the global group of VBET operates. (including the UK).

Artem Ivanytsky, CMO, VBET Ukraine, stated: “We understand the value of responsibility towards the country, society, and players, that’s why VBET could not stay indifferent to this event.

“We proudly support Andriy Shevchenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko in their endeavours. The global brand VBET will not only be a partner of this symbolic football match. VBET Ukraine will actively participate in additional activations aimed at increasing the donation amount.”

Game4Ukraine has outlined that its main focus is to drive donations for the restoration of Mykhailo-Kotsiubynsky Lyceum in the Chernihiv region – the educational institution which was..