UK Charities Commission probes YGAM links with BGC

The UK Charities Commission has opened a regulatory compliance case on responsible gambling charity YGAM due to links with the industry body.

UK.- The Charities Commission, the body that regulates charities in the UK, has opened a compliance case on The Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM) over its links with industry trade body the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC).

It has not revealed details of the links it’s investigating, but the BGC launched a £10m responsible gambling education programme delivered by YGAM in May last year as part of its wider safer gambling commitments.

It stressed that the case was not an investigation. It said compliance cases aimed to establish facts around certain issues. The opening of a case does not mean that any wrongdoing necessarily occurred.

The commission said: “We have opened a regulatory compliance case to assess the matter and are currently engaging with the trustees.”

YGAM said: “Our board of trustees have answered a query from the Charity Commission with full confidence and transparency. It has provided an opportunity to evidence our independence, governance controls and approach to evaluation.

“We are incredibly proud of our dedicated team and the work they do to deliver our award-winning resources through the Young People’s Gambling Harm Prevention Programme.”

A BGC spokesperson said: “The BGC is proud to support the superb work being done by YGAM and GamCare through the Young People’s Gambling Harm Prevention Programme, which in its first year exceeded its targets for providing education for young people and training for those who work with them.”

In its response to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) consultation phase of its review of the 2005 Gambling Act, YGAM called for the introduction of a statutory levy for gaming licensees in order to increase long-term funding for research, education and treatment.

YGAM’s submission followed those of fellow charities GambleAware and GamCare.

Last week, the BGC called for the establishment of a British gambling ombudsman to improve the process of responding to customer concerns and complaints.