Ladbrokes announced that it has donated a total of £180,000 to GamCare for funding its new Youth Programme. Up to date, GamCare is the leading national problem gambling support charity which provides access to information, support, advice and free counselling as part of its program for treatment and prevention of problem gambling.
The donation of the UK-based gaming operator comes after the company’s Chief Executive Officer Jim Mullen had recently visited the call centre of the charity organisation in Clapham.
Ladbrokes’ boss commented on the company’s donation, saying that he had personally made sure how effective the work of GamCare could be. He also shared that getting timely advice is of paramount importance for people who had gambling problems or addictions, so providing thorough information on the matter was crucial, especially when it came to young people at risk.
The British casino, gaming and sports betting company is to provide the organisation with financial support in 2016 and 2017 in order to help it fund three “youth hubs” located on the territory of the country. The regional hubs will be located in Bristol, Birmingham and the North West and are aimed at providing counselling, advice and information to young people who suffer from problem gambling behaviour. In addition, the charity organisation plans to expand its young education services in London.
GamCare first released its Youth Programme in Bristol in 2015, where positive results were reported. According to the reports made by the gaming addictions professionals, they got better understanding of young people’s gambling problems after the programme was launched in the region. In addition, the youngsters who participated in the programme showed an improvement in their gambling habits and behaviour.
Ladbrokes has already made indirect donations to the core activity funding of GamCare organisation by making payments to the Responsible Gambling Trust on a yearly basis. However, the new contribution of the company to the gambling prevention charity will be entirely new and is expected to highlight Ladbrokes’ devotion to problem gambling issues.
The donation is to help GamCare accumulate enough resources to provide problem gambling-related training and workshops across the country totally free of charge. Special materials and screening tools are planned to be distributed in local areas in order to help regional youth services and teachers identify youngsters at risk. In addition, each of the three youth hubs that are planned to be created will offer a referral structure that could be used to help young people experiencing problem gambling behaviour.
The Chief Executive Officer of GamCare Dirk Hansen expressed his gratitude to Ladbrokes for the contribution and explained that the organisation was aimed to make sure that young people across the country would be able to access relevant, accurate and honest information about gambling activities in order to help them make informed choices about their future behaviour.
- Author
Olivia Cole
