Ygam reports stronger impact as youth gambling harm prevention expands

Ygam has reported a significant expansion in the reach and measurable impact of its gambling harm prevention work among children and young people, with its latest Impact Report covering 2025/26 highlighting the role of education, professional training and early intervention in addressing gaming and gambling-related harms. The UK charity said it reached an estimated 1.2 million children and young people during the reporting year, taking its cumulative reach to more than 7 million since 2020.

The figures underline the growing importance of prevention strategies that seek to equip children, families and trusted adults with practical knowledge before concerns develop into more serious difficulties. Ygam's work is built around education, safeguarding, research and evidence with a particular focus on ensuring that professionals who regularly interact with young people can recognise potential warning signs and respond appropriately.

Expanding prevention and early intervention

The latest results represent another substantial step in Ygam's development as a prevention-focused organisation. During the reporting year, more than 11,000 professionals completed Ygam training. This included nearly 3,700 teachers and youth workers as well as professionals operating across health and social care and other positions of care and influence.

More than 100,000 university students were also included in the charity's reported reach for the year. This broader coverage reflects an approach that extends beyond traditional school-based education and recognises that gambling and gaming risks can emerge across different stages of young people's lives.

The organisation's latest report places particular emphasis on measurable outcomes rather than reach alone. Ygam said its evaluation work shows improvements in knowledge, skills and confidence among delegates, with those gains subsequently influencing professional practice and safeguarding processes.

Training linked to changes in professional practice

One of the report's key findings is that 92% of delegates said they felt better equipped to identify and respond to gambling harms affecting young people after completing Ygam training. Among teachers and youth workers, 95% said the training improved their ability to recognise signs of gaming and gambling harms.

The longer-term findings provide additional context. Within a year of attending a workshop, 67% of delegates working in education had incorporated gaming and gambling education into their curriculum or delivery plans. Meanwhile, 69% of health and social care professionals reported introducing new policies or safeguarding procedures within their organisations.

The proportion was even higher among professionals supporting children in care. Ygam reported that 75% had applied what they learned in their interactions with young people within a year of attending a workshop. These findings indicate that the charity's training is intended to support continuing changes in professional behaviour rather than ending with the completion of a single educational session.

Parents remain an important part of prevention

Ygam's findings also place parents and carers at the centre of its prevention strategy. The charity reported that 93% of parents who took part in its training said they were better able to recognise signs of gaming and gambling harms in young people. A further 88% said they had applied what they learned in their interactions with young people within a year of attending a workshop.

At the same time, the report identifies a continuing gap between parental support for prevention education and awareness of whether children are actually receiving it. Ygam research found that 91% of parents supported lessons on gaming harms in schools while 83% supported lessons on gambling harms. However, only 40% said they were aware that their child had received such education.

The figures suggest that demand for preventative education remains high, while access and visibility of such programmes may still vary. For policymakers, schools and youth organisations, the findings reinforce the potential value of making age-appropriate education more consistent and accessible.

Gaming and esports programme broadens the approach

Ygam is also expanding its work beyond gambling-specific education through its Gaming and Esports Programme. Launched in April 2025, the programme focuses on risks and opportunities associated with gaming and esports while supporting young gamers, parents, carers and professionals who work with young people.

According to the latest Impact Report, the programme has already reached more than 50,000 children and young people. Its development reflects the increasingly connected nature of digital entertainment, where gaming environments can involve in-game purchases, virtual currencies, advertising, social interaction and other features that may require stronger safeguarding awareness.

The programme's expansion also reflects Ygam's broader position that prevention should respond to emerging digital risks rather than treating gambling and gaming as entirely separate areas.

Greater emphasis on evidence and lived experience

Research and evaluation remain central to Ygam's approach. The charity said it is collaborating with academic institutions including the University of Birmingham, University of Plymouth, Loughborough University and Bournemouth University while engaging with more than 20 universities across the UK.

Ygam has also continued developing its use of lived and living experience through its Lived Experience Advisory Panel and Youth Advisory Panel. The organisation says these perspectives are combined with research and programme evaluation to help ensure that prevention activities reflect the experiences and needs of the communities they are designed to support.

This evidence-led model is increasingly relevant as policymakers seek interventions that can demonstrate practical outcomes. In the wider UK regulatory environment, the statutory gambling levy that commenced in April 2025 established a new funding framework for research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm. The government states that 30% of levy funding is allocated to prevention.

Ygam strengthens its professional network

The charity's work also extends beyond individual workshops through its Alumni network, which now has more than 14,000 members. The network brings together educators, youth workers, health professionals, safeguarding leads and community practitioners with the aim of maintaining knowledge and strengthening prevention practices over time.

Emily Tofield, Chief Executive Officer of Ygam, said:

“This report is a source of huge pride for everyone associated with Ygam. It demonstrates the scale of Ygam’s impact over the past year, but it is about much more than numbers and statistics. Behind every figure are children and young people better equipped to navigate an increasingly complex digital world, trusted adults with greater confidence to support them and communities strengthened through education and prevention.”

The CEO also stressed that education forms an important part of a wider public health approach and that Ygam's continued use of research, evidence and evaluation is intended to assess not only how many people it reaches but also the difference its programmes make.

A continuing focus on measurable prevention

Ygam's 2025/26 findings present a picture of an organisation increasingly focused on demonstrating outcomes alongside broad reach. The reported changes in curriculum planning, organisational safeguarding procedures and interactions between professionals and young people provide indicators of how prevention training may influence practice after formal sessions have ended.

The findings also point to areas where further work may be required. Strong parental support for school education does not yet translate into universal awareness that children are receiving those lessons. The expansion of gaming and esports education similarly highlights the need for prevention programmes to keep pace with a rapidly changing digital environment.

Conclusion

Ygam's latest Impact Report places prevention, education and measurable outcomes at the centre of its continuing work with children and young people. Reaching an estimated 1.2 million young people in a single reporting year and more than 7 million since 2020 represents substantial scale, but the report's wider significance lies in the reported changes in professional confidence, educational delivery and safeguarding practice.

The organisation's growing focus on research, lived experience and long-term evaluation also suggests a broader shift towards prevention strategies that seek to demonstrate lasting value rather than relying solely on participation figures. With its Gaming and Esports Programme already reaching more than 50,000 young people and its Alumni network exceeding 14,000 members, Ygam is expanding the infrastructure around its prevention work at a time when digital behaviours continue to evolve.

For the UK prevention landscape, the central issue will be whether evidence-led education can continue to reach the people most likely to need it while adapting to new forms of digital engagement. Ygam's latest results indicate meaningful progress, while also making clear that continued cooperation between schools, families, professionals, researchers and public bodies will remain important to strengthening protections for children and young people.

FAQs

What is Ygam?
Ygam is a UK charity focused on preventing gaming and gambling-related harms among children and young people through education, training, research and prevention programmes.

How many young people did Ygam reach in 2025/26?
Ygam reported an estimated reach of 1.2 million children and young people during the 2025/26 reporting year.

How many people has Ygam reached since 2020?
Ygam said its cumulative reach has exceeded 7 million children and young people since 2020.

How many professionals completed Ygam training?
More than 11,000 professionals completed Ygam training during the latest reporting year, including nearly 3,700 teachers and youth workers.

Did Ygam training change professional practice?
Ygam reported that 67% of education delegates had incorporated gaming and gambling education into curriculum or delivery plans within a year while 69% of health and social care professionals had introduced new policies or safeguarding procedures.

What did teachers and youth workers report after training?
Ygam said 95% of teachers and youth workers reported being able to recognise signs of gaming and gambling harms following the training.

What role do parents play in Ygam's prevention work?
Parents and carers are included in Ygam's prevention approach. The organisation reported that 93% of participating parents said they could recognise signs of gaming and gambling harms in young people.

When did Ygam launch its Gaming and Esports Programme?
Ygam launched its Gaming and Esports Programme in April 2025. The initiative had reached more than 50,000 children and young people by the time of the 2025/26 Impact Report.

How large is Ygam's Alumni network?
Ygam said its Alumni network has more than 14,000 members, including educators, youth workers, health professionals, safeguarding leads and community practitioners.

Why is preventative education important?
Preventative education can help trusted adults recognise warning signs earlier and support safer decision-making before concerns develop further. Ygam's report presents education as one component of a wider public health approach to preventing and reducing harm.