YGAM seeks new CEO as founder Lee Willows departs

Lee Willows, founder of the British responsible gambling charity YGAM, will step down at the end of this month.

UK.- The Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM) has announced that its founder Lee Willows will step down as CEO at the end of the month. The charity’s finance director Helen Martin will step into the role on an interim basis until a new chief executive is found.

YGAM said its independent board of trustees would announce details of the recruitment process.

Willows founded YGAM with Anne and Keith Evans and has served as its CEO since 2014. All three founders had experienced gambling harm themselves, and they made the charity a prominent force in its prevention. YGAM now offers educational schemes for young people and training for parents, healthcare professionals and trade unions.

Willows said: “This is a special charity and one that has exciting plans for the future. I will always passionately support the exceptional staff team and I look forward to seeing what they can achieve next.

“With the endless support and dedication of my co-founders Anne and Keith Evans, I have been on an extraordinary personal journey, and I feel extremely proud of what we and the staff team have achieved together.

“In 2014, I was determined to use my experiences of gambling harm to create a positive force for good and focus our efforts on evidence-led education and prevention. We have since developed a portfolio of award-winning programmes that are now helping to safeguard young people in every region of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”

Mike Wójcik, YGAM’s chair, said: “Lee has achieved so much for this sector and has established an organisation that is making a real difference. He leaves YGAM in the strongest position to continue our progress and achieve our mission to educate and safeguard future generations.”

YGAM has called for the UK government’s review of gambling legislation to apportion more funds to gambling education.

Earlier this year, the Charities Commission opened a preliminary compliance case on YGAM following a complaint about its links to the industry body the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) but decided there was no conflict of interest.