Following GambleAware’s lead and to be transparent of the context of the current voluntary funding arrangements, YGAM has also chosen to seek permission from the Gambling Commission and licensed operators who support YGAM
Following GambleAware’s lead and to be transparent of the context of the current voluntary funding arrangements, YGAM has also chosen to seek permission from the Gambling Commission and licensed operators who support YGAM and our social purpose to publish details of donations and pledges received from those that derive an income from gambling in Britain. Transparency of our supporters has always been a priority and we are taking it one level higher with greater explicitness. Our website has historically categorised supporters into three tiers, based on their level of donation or pro-bono support but now our aim is to provide granular detail on all line-by-line donations. We have also chosen to publish our intended social impact performance measures for the next three years as we work hard to build upon our momentum and contribute to the National Responsible Gambling Strategy with quality, well-evaluated and impactful education products.
To view all our donations, please click here
As YGAM are members of the Responsible Gambling Strategy Advisory Board, we were invited to their February meeting to discuss progress of the National Responsible Gambling strategy alongside industry colleagues, the regulator and other interested groups. YGAM’s attendance at the Advisory Board was followed up in April with a one-to-one meeting with Sir Christopher Kelly, Chair of RGSB.
The Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB) has recently published its annual assessment of how much progress has been made delivering year two of the three-year National Responsible Gambling Strategy. The assessment showing progress can be viewed by clicking here. In the latest assessment of the National Responsible Gambling Strategy we were pleased to read that YGAM’s work with various operators has been formally recognised. Our collaborative work with the industry was cited several times in the report particularly around Priority Action Six: Piloting Interventions where our work to developing, piloting and independently evaluating a Customised Qualification around Customer Service, Risk Management and the Identification of Problem Gamblers was mentioned. In addition, our collaborative work around Priority Action Eight: Education to Minimise Harm received several mentions. As a new charity, with big ambitions and focused solely on education, training and delivering social value, we were delighted that our collaborative approach over the last four years is being recognised. Readers of my regular blogs will have almost been on the journey with me over the past four years when YGAM was established. Fortunately, our charity continues to flourish, with the hard work and dedication of many people. We’d like to thank members of the RSGB and Gambling Commission for their continued support.
Our approach to working with the gambling industry is one of purposeful, positive and impactful engagement. Of course, like every charity, YGAM absolutely needs income, but by taking the approach we do, such as incorporating employee volunteering or looking at ways to off-set some of our core costs, we feel we can achieve an even greater buy-in from operators. It’s really encouraging that most operators from different sectors are willing to help and support us in the delivery of our social purpose.
Finally, our 2017/18 Annual Review is being completed which will showcase our progress over the last twelve months together with our independently examined year-end accounts to June 2018. This document will formally be published, in the autumn of 2018 with our new three-year strategy. Our commitment to work collaboratively with operators and principle stakeholders to contribute to the National Responsible Gambling Strategy with clear impact will also be celebrated at our upcoming Parliamentary Reception, details of which will be published in due course.
Lee Willows
Chief Executive
