ShareThe Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (Ygam) has announced a new programme and an addition to its portfolio of harm prevention programs aimed particularly at young players and their families. The program is an initiative to educate players about the potential harm of online gaming and gambling.
According to Ygam, the program will work with young players, their parents, guardians, and industry professionals and experts to create a safer and more supportive online experience for young players.
Young People and The eSports Market
The global eSports market has been on the rise for a few years now, and it will reach an overall value of $10.91 billion by 2032. This is partly because of the popularity of crypto casinos and partly because of the changing public attitude towards online betting in general.
It’s also important to note that young players mostly drive this trend. Over 80% of eSports players are younger than 24. Statistics also show that 83% of young players mostly play their games online. Therefore, educating young players at an early age can have an impact on a whole new generation of eSports enthusiasts.
Sacha Kent, Programme Lead for Gaming & 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.”
What Does the Programme Do?
The programme includes sessions with young players, educating them on the topics related to eSports and online gaming in general. These include microtransactions, virtual currencies, game mechanics, and the role of advertising in eSports.
The education also covers the impact online games have on mental health. This includes online harassment, which is an important topic for a younger demographic of players, and addiction and irresponsible gaming practices. The programme started as a pilot program run for the Sheffield United Community Foundation, which the National Video Game Museum hosted.
Lia Thompson, President of the Gaming & Esports Society at Sheffield Hallam University and attendee of the pilot session, 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 behavior, but safeguarding needs to start before that. There needs to be more awareness of the behavior 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."
The Future of the Programme
At this point, about 100 people have gone through the education programme provided by Ygam. The organisation will continue to provide the programme in April and May of 2025. Potential attendees can apply via the Ygam site.
Charlotte Nichols MP, Chair of the APPG Video Gaming and Esports, said:
“Video games are an enormous part of huge numbers of children and young people’s everyday lives. They offer so much entertainment, socialisation, and education, but there are, of course, dangers in the online world. Ygam does 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.”
Ygam CEO Steps Down
This is one of the last initiatives Ygam will take under its current leadership. Ygam’s CEO, Jane Rigbye, will step down in June of 2025. The organisation has appointed an interim CEO – Helen Martin – and the board will come out with future plans once they are ready.
Rigbye, who’s a chartered psychologist and fellow at the Royal Society of Public Health, has been running Ygam for the past three and a half years. In that time, the organisation launched a new site, went through a rebrand, and worked with schools, charities, and youth organisations such as The Scouts, Mumsnet, Place2Be, and The Children’s Society.
To Sum Up
Ygam, a charity organisation made to provide education and support about online gambling and gaming, has started a new project specifically aimed at young people and their parents. Esports and online gaming have been on the rise for years now, and the majority of players are very young. Educational programmes such as this aim to teach young players about the potential harms of online gaming.
The pilot project went very well, and educational workshops will continue throughout 2025. This project came about as Ygam changed its CEO, but it will continue under new leadership as well.
