Welcome to the GambleAware March Newsletter. In this month’s edition, we are focusing on our 8th Annual Conference that took place on 28 January 2021 and other news relating to harm prevention campaigns, treatment services and how GambleAware is supporting those with lived experience. We also would like to take the opportunity to remind operators that the deadline for donating to GambleAware for the 2020-21 financial year is 31 March 2021. You can find information on how to donate here.
The subject of the conference was ‘Treatment of gambling harms: collaborating on a long-term plan’. It was our first virtual conference and we were delighted to have over 450 delegates including a cross section of academics, those from the industry, treatment providers, and policy makers.
It was announced in August that our Chief Executive, Marc Etches, is stepping down from his position at GambleAware. We are pleased that Zoë Osmond will be replacing Marc as the charity’s new Chief Executive as of end of March 2021. Zoë Osmond has been Communications and Engagement Director at GambleAware for the past two years and brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously held CEO, Managing Partner and Global Business Director positions. For more information please see the press release announcing the news here.
We would like to announce a new burst of activity from the Bet Regret campaign has gone live this past weekend. This activity will continue to promote a new behaviour change technique which encourages people to "tap out, take a moment, avoid Bet Regret". We will be publishing a Synthesis Report on the 'Bet Regret' Safer Gambling campaign on our website this week. This will outline how research was used to inform the development of the various stages of the campaign and ensure an evidence-based approach was applied throughout.
At the conference, it was announced that GambleAware will be publishing its new Commissioning Strategy in April. The strategy will set out how the charity intends to use the £100 million pledged by the gambling industry to develop treatment services, while supporting NHS England’s plans for new specialist clinics across the country.
2021 Annual Conference
On 28 January 2021, GambleAware hosted its 8th Annual Conference on the topic of treatment of gambling harms. The event focused on three key areas for discussion: developing care pathways, innovations in treatment and assuring delivery.
GambleAware Chair, Kate Lampard CBE, opened the conference, in which she reiterated the need for a coherent and co-ordinated ‘whole systems approach’ for the effective prevention of gambling harms. Kate Lampard CBE also emphasised the need to work and engage with those with lived experience of gambling harms, making the point that it is important to engage with community institutions, including faith groups, to ensure no one with lived experience of gambling harms feels excluded or unable to access the services that are on offer. You can read Kate's speech in full on our website.
During the conference, attendees heard from from the Shadow Minister for Public Health, Alex Norris MP, as well as several treatment providers and experts in the field of gambling harms. Other speakers included David Hollingsworth from the Gordon Moody Association and Steven Nyandu from Betknowmore, both of which brought an important perspective to the discussion having experienced gambling harms first-hand. The full conference programme is available here.
If you were unable to attend the conference live, all of the conference sessions streams are available to watch on our website. We have included the first session stream of the conference "Developing Care Pathways" below:
"Developing care pathways" our first session of the conference
Fundraising
A reminder to operators that the deadline to donate to GambleAware for the 2020-21 financial year is 31 March 2021. We have published all donations and pledges received up until the end of December on our website. To see a full list please see our Q3 fundraising report.
We are deeply grateful to all those who have donated and pledged. These donations allow us to continue our essential work which helps us reach those who need help, so thank you.
We have launched a National Gambling Treatment Service campaign targeting women aged 18-54. This is the first campaign that is targeted at women to promote treatment and support for gambling harms. This new campaign started on 15th February and will run on radio, magazines and in digital media, until the end of March .The full announcement can be read here. The visuals for the campaign are below:
GambleAware has published a detailed narrative report on behalf of the Safer Gambling Campaign Board, that provides an overview of the key steps in the development and implementation of the Bet Regret campaign. Read the announcement here and the full report here.
GambleAware has appointed an external organisation to co-design and deliver an inclusive and representative GB-wide network of people with lived experience of gambling harms. It has also facilitated the formation of a specialist interest group, which will operate under the name of ‘Affected Lived Experience Research, Treatment and Support Group’, or ‘ALERTS’. This group will be for people who have lived experienced of harms associated with gambling and who have experience of treatment within the National Gambling Treatment Service. The full announcement is available to read here.
GambleAware has released two new reports, using data collated by ViewItUK, on Welsh and Scottish resident access to the National Gambling Treatment Service (NGTS). Commissioned by GambleAware, the NGTS is a network of organisations working together to provide confidential treatment and support for anyone experiencing gambling harms. This is the first time GambleAware has published detailed reports outlining statistics on Welsh and Scottish resident use of the NGTS. The press release summarising the findings of the Scottish report can be viewed here and the full report for Scotland is available to view here. The press release summarising the findings of the Welsh report can be viewed here and the full report for Wales is available to view here.
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