Ygam launches gaming and esports programme
The responsible gambling charity aims the new programme at young gamblers
UK.- The Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (Ygam) has launched a Gaming and Esports Programme aimed at helping younger gamblers. A new addition to the charity’s portfolio of courses and harm prevention initiatives, the programme is designed to provide education and support for young gamers, parents and carers, as well as professionals working in the gaming and esports industries.
Sacha Kent, Ygam’s programme lead for gaming and esports, said: “It’s vital we recognise the central role gaming plays in the digital lives that children lead today. This new programme marks an important step in helping young people enjoy gaming safely, with the knowledge and tools to better understand potential risks and harms.
“Through our work with parents, young people, and professionals across sectors, we know there is a real demand for this kind of education. We’re incredibly proud and excited to begin delivering it to communities across the country.”
Ygam noted that the global esports market has grown considerably in the last five years and could be worth $10.91bn by 2032. Given that over 80 per cent of 16–24-year-olds played video games in 2024, and 83 per cent played online, Ygam’s new programme aims to respond to a need for more effective education. Topics of study will include microtransactions and virtual currencies, the role of advertising and gaming mechanics and impact of gaming on mental health.
Charlotte Nichols MP, chair of the British parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Video Gaming and Esports, has welcomed the new programme. She said: “Video games are an enormous part of huge numbers of children and young people’s everyday lives. They offer so much in entertainment, socialisation and education but there are of course dangers in the online world. Ygam do so much good work in this field to raise challenging issues and work to address them to make gaming a safer place, and I am glad to work with them to do this.”
A pilot involving people from the Sheffield United Community Foundation and esports students from Sheffield Hallam University was run in February, hosted by the National Video Game Museum. This is said to have been ‘well received’ by both staff and young people.
Lia Thompson, President of the Gaming and Esports Society at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “I think the new Ygam programme is really important – the Gaming and Esports industry is going in the right direction with the increasing ability to report inappropriate behaviour, but safeguarding needs to start before that.
“There needs to be more awareness of the behaviour that is actively happening, so that it stops being normalised. If we can get young people to think about this early on, we can stop it from happening in the first place, and Ygam’s new programme really helps to achieve this…. Ygam’s training is bringing attention to the impact of these behaviours, changing mindsets and helping others feel more comfortable calling it out to make their communities and peers safer.”
Last month, Ygam announced that Dr Jane Rigbye will step down from her position as its chief executive officer in June after three and a half years in the role. She will be appointed to the Ygam Board as a trustee, continuing to support the charity in this new capacity.
Ygam’s chief operating officer, Helen Martin, has been appointed as interim CEO pending the opening of a recruitment process.
