SBC News

Training delivered by the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM) has achieved outstanding results in preparing Health and Social Care practitioners to detect gaming and gambling harms affecting children and young people, according to an evaluation conducted by consultancy Rocket Science.

The evaluation showed that practitioners developed a 72% greater ability to identify harmful behaviours after completing the training. Their knowledge of gaming and gambling risks increased from 14.8% to 95.1%. The evaluation also highlighted a 91.9% increase in practitioners’ confidence to speak with young people about these issues, and a 92.8% improvement in their ability to provide support and appropriate help.

In 2024, YGAM trained 1,957 professionals, who collectively reached an estimated 199,467 children and young people, surpassing delivery targets by 166%. Clinical teams at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and frontline staff at the mental health charity Place2Be were among key partners in the training programme.

The evaluation also demonstrated strong knowledge retention, with 57.8% of participants maintaining high levels of understanding three months after training, rising to 75.0% after six months.

Sandy Thompson, who leads YGAM’s Social Care Programme, said the evaluation confirmed the charity’s evidence-based approach: “Our evidence-based methodology serves as the core foundation for all our activities. The evaluation shows our impact while reinforcing our dedication to reflection and continuous improvement.

“We have incorporated thorough evaluation procedures into all phases of programme delivery to ensure our work is both effective and responsive to the needs of healthcare practitioners and the young people they support.

“These findings have shaped our methods, guided our partnership development, and deepened our commitment to sustained growth. The evidence collected will serve as our foundation to expand our reach and create meaningful prevention outcomes for gaming and gambling harms.”

Rocket Science recommended that the programme be extended to reach more frontline professionals, integrated into safeguarding and mental health protocols, and supported by the development of specialised resources for different practitioner groups.

YGAM stands by legacy

Founded in 2014, Ygam’s vision is for “every child and young person to be resilient to and safeguarded against gaming and gambling harms.” The charity was established as a direct response to personal tragedy: after battling gambling addiction for over 25 years, Alan Lockhart died by suicide in 2010 at the age of 40.

In the aftermath, Alan’s mother Anne, a former teacher, joined forces with her husband Keith and co-founder Lee Willows to create Ygam. Together, they were determined to use education as a tool to prevent similar harm in future generations.

Gambling reforms continue to be proposed to the newly assembled coalition government of Romania.

On Friday, Cseke Attila, the Minister of Public Development and Administration, announced that he will propose for local authorities to have direct control to authorise-or-refuse gambling localities.

The Minister believes that his proposal should form part of President Ilie Bolojan‘s new strategy for the economic development of Romania’s rural towns and provinces

The new proposal would grant city halls the right to decide whether to approve gambling activities in their jurisdiction. If permitted, local authorities will also have the power to determine where such activities are located and to impose a special annual tax on licensed operators.

According to Attila, this tax would be unrestricted in scope: “We will not propose limits for the annual tax — it will be up to the city hall to decide.”

The reforms are a central feature of a broader programme by Romania’s Pro-EU Social Democrat coalition to fix the growing economic disparity between cities and rural towns. The coalition’s infrastructure-driven approach is focused on rewarding communities that can responsibly manage development and generate new forms of public revenue. Under the proposed legislation, towns that approve gambling activities can retain revenue through a localised gambling tax.

“Local communities should have the right to decide if they want gambling — and if so, to benefit from it directly,” Attila stated, describing the initiative as both a regulatory and economic development tool. The reform is intended to empower rural municipalities to determine whether gambling aligns with their social interests, while also offering a new financial lever to invest in public services.

Concerns over rising rates of problem gambling in disadvantaged rural communities previously led to national-level intervention. In one of his final acts in office, former Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu authorised the executive order known as Legea Păcănelelor (The “Pannel Law”), which banned slot machines and betting shops from operating in towns with fewer than 15,000 inhabitants.

The order reflected growing public pressure to protect vulnerable communities from the social harms linked to gambling expansion.

Meanwhile, sweeping reforms are also being prepared at the national level. Upon forming the government, Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare announced that Romania would undertake a comprehensive review of its gambling tax regime.

This includes the introduction of a new tax scale on both the income of gambling licence holders and customer winnings. Nazare believes that such reforms could raise more than €1bn annually in additional revenue.

The forthcoming legislation marks what will be Romania’s sixth revision of its gambling tax framework in 2018, underscoring the complexity and volatility of regulating the sector.

In parallel, scrutiny of the gambling sector’s governance continues to mount. The current regulator, ONJN (National Office for Gambling), faces pressure from coalition partner USR, which argues that oversight must be transferred to a newly created agency under the Ministry of Finance. USR has also proposed that, during a transition period, customer gambling spend should be capped at 10% of individual income.

Despite the array of reforms under discussion, the government has so far agreed to move forward with only one immediate legislative change: the introduction of uniform federal rules on gambling self-exclusion, which all licensed operators will be required to implement.

A transitional period of six months will be granted to gambling operators already active in localities, during which they must reapply for permission from local authorities. Without such approval, existing venues will be forced to cease operations.

The proposed decentralisation of gambling controls is expected to form part of the second fiscal reform package currently under development. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan has confirmed that a decision on adoption will be made by the end of July.

“In the next week and the week after… a decision will be made in the coalition on how these packages will be adopted from a legal point of view,” he said.