Having received formal accreditation from the Royal Society for Public Health the Programme equips health care professionals and those in training–with the knowledge and understanding required to identify, support and refer young people under the age of 25-years who are experiencing harms related to gaming and gambling.

A nurse who completed the training recently praised the impact of the programme saying, “It gave me practical knowledge about how I can offer effective guidance and helpful resources at a crucial time in a young person’s development. As a public health professional, I feel better equipped to take action and help break down damaging patterns of behaviour and minimise the risk of future harm.”

The aim is to ensure that risks surrounding gaming and gambling harm are identified and given increased priority by training health care professionals who are limited in time and who may not treat these issues directly, but who are able to engage and ‘hold the hand’ of the young person into getting the help they might need.

Sascha Blodau, General Manager, MERKUR UK said: “We are delighted to be able to play a small part in helping to fund an initiative that directs resource into helping to address such an important part of the safer gambling narrative. Our 360 Program, which we launched in September 2020 is dedicated to ensuring that all of our 2,500 UK staff understand what we mean by safer gambling and equipping our consumer-facing colleagues with the information and practical skills required to turn a philosophy into a deliverable.”

He added: “We have a strong working relationship with YGAM not least through the City and Guilds assured training of our 250 venue managers which they delivered. As a business we feel strongly that Safer Gambling goes beyond just the connection that we have with our customers. Our view is that it should be a commitment that gambling entertainment businesses have with society at large. This training connects with the hearts and minds of health professionals, who have a powerful role to play in protecting young people and the vulnerable. We are delighted to play a small part in helping deliver this pilot programme.”

Ian Shanahan, YGAM’s Director of Business Development and Fundraising said: “We’re delighted to receive this fantastic support and commitment from MERKUR for the Mindful Resilience Programme. It is a crucially important programme in our portfolio and one that is attracting interest from the health sector. This support will help us continue to grow the initiative to increase its reach, profile and impact.”