GamCare seeks to help educate young people on dangers of gambling

Prevention has become an essential way of addressing gambling harm not just in the United Kingdom, but anywhere in the world. The evidence supports any methodology that seeks to prevent the development of problem gambling before such has manifested.

This is why, GamCare has teamed up with YGAM and Fast Forward, and will seek to launch a new framework that is aiming to target young people and educate them about the dangers of gambling, and gambling harm.

The commitment is ambitious, but the Gambling Education Framework, as the organizations pitch its name, is designed to follow an evidence-based approach to preventing gambling harm among young people, aged 7 to 24. The United Kingdom is particularly sensitive to underage gambling as some figures put the number of problem gamblers aged 11-16 at 50,000. A total of 450,000 children in the same age group may be betting regularly.

Essentially, the idea that motivates YGAM, Fast Forward, and GamCare is to equip responsible adults with the tools they need to deliver adequate and targeted education to children and young people. The framework also envisages such education to be carried out through the organizations, but also with the help of other trained practitioners.

This framework, argue the participants, is based on scientific evidence and it will not depend on industry funding. It can also be applied to different educational settings, the partners argue. GamCare CEO Anna Hemmings welcomed the opportunity and the readiness with which the other organizations responded. She added:

"The framework builds on our existing work with young people and highlights the need for evidence-based solutions that are straightforward, accessible, and scalable."

YGAM CEO Dr. Jane Rigbye also insisted that an evidence-based approach should be guiding how to best prevent harm in the sector. Rigbye added that the framework is a good practical resource to help with tackling gamblingharm and educate young people on what they need to know. She also appealed to people already working to minimize gambling harm to participate as well: "We encourage all those working in the sector to apply this guidance."

Fats Forward CEO Allie Cherry-Byrnes also joined and said that the Gambling Education Framework will be an invaluable resource that will help to address the problem head-on and assist anyone who is already looking to help minimize the harm that originates in gambling.

Image credit: GamCare