Ygam’s 2025/26 Impact Report records 1.2 million children reached in a year

New data show that the majority of professionals who attended Ygam training went on to change curriculum content, policies, or safeguarding practices within 12 months.

Preventative education for gaming and gambling harms has gained fresh institutional backing in the UK since the statutory gambling levy replaced voluntary industry contributions in April 2025, directing public funding to independent VCSE organisations for the first time. Ygam published its 2025/26 Impact Report on 9 September 2026, reporting that its programmes reached an estimated 1.2 million children and young people over the past year.

Reach and programme outcomes

Over the 2025/26 reporting year, Ygam reached an estimated 1.2 million children and young people, including more than 100,000 university students, bringing its cumulative total to more than 7 million since 2020.

That figure was achieved by training over 11,000 professionals working in positions of care and influence, including nearly 3,700 teachers and youth workers.

The report documents measurable changes in professional practice following training.

• Among delegates, 92% reported feeling better equipped to identify and respond to gambling harms in young people
• 95% of teachers and youth workers said they could recognise signs of gaming and gambling harms
• Longer-term evaluation, conducted within a year of attendance, found that 67% of education professionals had incorporated gaming and gambling education into their curriculum or delivery plans
• While 69% of health and social care professionals had introduced new policies or safeguarding procedures.
• Among professionals supporting children in care, 75% had applied what they learned in their interactions with young people.

Outcomes among parents and carers followed a similar pattern. Following training, 93% said they could recognise signs of gaming and gambling harms in young people, and 88% reported applying what they had learned within a year of attending a workshop.

Evidence gap and public demand

The report situates these outcomes against a documented gap in school-based provision. Ygam’s own research found that 91% of parents support lessons on gaming harms in schools and 83% support lessons on gambling harms, with most believing this education should begin at primary level.

Yet only 40% said they were aware of their child having received such education.

Gaming and esports programme and alumni network

Since launching its Gaming and Esports Programme in April 2025, Ygam reports reaching more than 50,000 children and young people through the initiative.

The charity also operates an alumni network of more than 14,000 members, described as the largest community dedicated to preventing gaming and gambling harms among children and young people, spanning educators, youth workers, health professionals, safeguarding leads and community practitioners.

Research partnerships and funding

Ygam is collaborating with the University of Birmingham, University of Plymouth, Loughborough University and Bournemouth University, while engaging with more than 20 universities across the UK. The charity embeds lived and living experience through its Lived Experience Advisory Panel and Youth Advisory Panel.

The report’s publication coincides with a period of heightened institutional support for gambling harm prevention.

In March 2026, OHID awarded Ygam £3 million from the VCSE Gambling Harms Prevention and Resilience Fund, covering 2026 to 2028 and funded through the statutory gambling levy that replaced voluntary operator contributions from April 2025. The £25.4 million fund supported 33 VCSE organisations across England.

Emily Tofield, Chief Executive Officer of Ygam, said: ‘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 findings in this report strengthen the growing evidence base for preventative education and show how equipping trusted adults with the knowledge, skills and confidence to act can contribute to earlier intervention and better safeguarding.’

About Ygam

Ygam (Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust) is a UK charity founded in 2014 that delivers evidence-informed education programmes designed to prevent gaming and gambling harms among children and young people. Operating across the UK, it trains professionals including teachers, youth workers, health practitioners and parents, and works with more than 20 universities. In March 2026, OHID awarded Ygam £3 million from the VCSE Gambling Harms Prevention and Resilience Fund for the period 2026 to 2028.

The post Ygam’s 2025/26 Impact Report records 1.2 million children reached in a year appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.