Ygam Reaches 1.2M Young People As UK Gambling Levy Funds Prevention Work
UK gambling-harm prevention charity Ygam says its education programmes reached an estimated 1.2 million children and young people over the past year, taking its total reach past 7 million individuals since 2020, according to its newly published 2025/26 Impact Report.
Levy Funding Widens Reach
Ygam's expansion has been helped by the UK's new statutory gambling levy, which requires all licensed gambling operators in Great Britain to contribute funds toward research, education and treatment.
The levy raised £120 million in its first year, with 30% of that funding directed to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and the Scottish and Welsh governments to support a joined-up prevention approach across all three nations.
Ygam was awarded government funding under the levy's prevention strand earlier in 2026, the first time public money under the scheme has gone directly to independent voluntary and community sector organisations rather than being channelled solely through the regulator.
11,000 Professionals Trained
Alongside its direct work with young people, Ygam says it trained more than 11,000 professionals over the reporting year, with 92% reporting increased confidence in spotting and responding to gambling-related harm.
The charity's programmes run across schools, colleges and youth settings in England, Scotland and Wales, aiming to build awareness of gaming and gambling harms before they take hold, rather than treating them only after problems emerge.
Ygam's reach has grown steadily since 2020, when the charity's cumulative total was far below the 7 million-plus individuals it now reports engaging with.
The charity has framed its current strategy around an ambitious multi-year target for expanding both the number of young people reached and the number of professionals equipped to spot early signs of gambling-related harm, work it says the new levy funding is now helping to accelerate rather than merely sustain.
