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Evaluation of Gambling Harm Advice Service in Scotland Evidences Stigma as a Barrier to Identifying and Asking for Support for Gambling Harm

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The Gambling Support Service (GSS) is delivered by Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) in partnership with GambleAware.

The project delivers training to frontline workers, to help them recognise when people are at risk of, or experiencing, gambling harms. Training has been delivered to Citizens Advice Bureaux across Scotland, as well as local authority staff; services such as the police and paramedics; and debt advice, housing, and mental health charities.

GambleAware commissioned Kantar Public to conduct an independent evaluation to explore the experiences of those involved in the first two years of the project, and capture learnings from it.

The evaluation identified the progress made in building capacity among workforces across Scotland to identify and advise clients about harms related to gambling, with over 2000 professionals trained and a 97% satisfaction rate among trainees.

The evaluation found that stigma was both a personal and social barrier to seeking support. It identified some concerns and resistance among frontline workers concerning asking questions intended to identify gambling harm amongst their clients.

Advisors felt that the public understanding of the severity of gambling harm is limited, and stigma exists towards those experiencing gambling harm, which in turn reduces the numbers seeking advice.

To reduce hesitancy and increase confidence among frontline workers to ask questions designed to enable identification of harms resulting from gambling, the evaluation recommended:

  • Producing clearer guidance for frontline workers explaining why gambling could be a problem for clients seeking assistance on a wide range of issues, and how to weave questions designed to identify harm into conversations.
  • Exploring flexibility in the use of questions designed to identify harm, to encourage more natural conversations with clients about gambling harms and reduce stigma.
  • Development of more thorough training designed to address the issue of perceived uncomfortable conversations about harms related to gambling.

Trainees reported feeling that GSS played a valuable role in improving client advice on and aiding the reduction of gambling harm across Scotland. Frontline workers were able to offer advice (such as helping clients download gambling website blocking apps), and signpost to relevant support organisations that were felt to be most suited to clients’ needs.

In 2022 GambleAware recommissioned the Gambling Support Service for a further three years, and Citizens Advice Scotland has actively engaged in embedding the learning from the evaluation, and exploring ways to reduce the barrier of stigma.

Anna Hargrave, Chief Commissioning Officer of GambleAware said: “This evaluation provides valuable insight into what can be improved in an already successful and impactful service.

“We know that discussions about gambling can be challenging and that training and the tools provided were key to preparing frontline workers to have conversations with clients about gambling.

“The production of clearer guidance and an increased flexibility around questions should help front-line workers in identifying harms, having sensitive client conversations and helping reduce stigma going forward.”

Derek Mitchell, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Scotland, said: “The Scottish Citizens Advice network is proud to deliver this very important service, which has delivered real results by training over 2000 professionals on how to identify gambling related harms.

“It is very clear from the feedback we get that stigma is a major problem, and that is why it is so important for the CAB network that we do not judge anyone’s circumstances or background when seeking help, and believe it is vital people seek support as soon as possible.

“The earlier someone gets the support they need the faster they can deal with the problem, it really is as simple as that. The alternative is burying your head in the sand as problems grow and grow until they are overwhelming. People shouldn’t be embarrassed or worried about seeking help, it is the first step to solving their issues.”

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Flexion Reports Revenue Increase of 9% for 2024

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Flexion, the games marketing company, has announced that its revenue grew 9% to year-end December 2024. The growth is attributed to the Company’s success in the alternative app store market.

Since its IPO in 2018, the company has built a well-positioned games marketing business around the alternative stores and grown annual revenue 50-fold to almost US$100 million. Its game portfolio represents several billion US$ in gaming IP for alternative market partners like Samsung, Amazon, Huawei, OneStore and Xiaomi.

“With the Digital Markets Act (DMA) coming into force in Europe and recent legal actions in the US, mobile game developers have felt a new-found freedom to explore their market options. We’ve already moved beyond the era when Google and Apple controlled everything. Developers are looking for alternatives that offer better margins, and additional audiences and revenue. Partnering with Flexion opens up a range of market channels with very little up-front investment,” said Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion.

Flexion currently distributes more than 30 high-profile titles on the alternative stores. Top-tier games in the Flexion portfolio make on average US$ 10 million a year based on Q4 2024 run rate. That’s income in addition to their Google and Apple revenue with a business model that adds little to their costs.

In Q4 2024, Flexion-serviced games were, on average, generating 9.3% through the alternative stores of the revenue they made on Google Play. This is a significant boost for Flexion’s partners without major costs or effort.

“If you scale for the size of the stores, the alternatives massively out-performed Google in Q4 for our games. This is exciting both for Flexion’s business and for the future of the games industry as a whole. We’re seeing the beginning of a sea change in games marketing,” Jens said.

“We’re seeing just the beginnings of a major shift in how top-tier developers address their markets. Using Flexion to access alternative stores is an easy first step into the post- Google and Apple world. Many developers are already looking at their options beyond that and Flexion will be right there with them providing the technology and expertise they need to maximise the potential of their games,” Jens added.

The post Flexion Reports Revenue Increase of 9% for 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Players Reclaim Close to $7M Through AskGamblers Complaint Service in 2024

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The latest AskGamblers Complaint Service report for 2024 has officially been released. The comprehensive report highlights the most important accomplishments and records of the AskGamblers Complaint Service team for the previous year.

In 2024, The AGCS team (formerly known as AGCCS) managed to return $6,890,547.11 to players. Over 7259 players turn to AskGamblers, submitting complaints against 1114 casino brands. Out of all the accepted and processed complaints, the team had a 68% resolution success rate. One of the notable milestones that reached was returning a total of $70 million to the members.

Dijana Radunović, General Manager at AskGamblers, said: “It’s amazing to see the trust players put in us year after year, and we’re able to repay them by helping them recover their funds from operators or solve other related issues. We’ve had another successful year, with a few records broken and amazing milestones achieved and we can’t wait to see what lies in store in the years ahead.”

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SlotsCalendar Announces its Second Awards Edition at iGC Malaga 2025

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SlotsCalendar, a leading name and tastemaker in iGaming, has announced the second edition of the SlotsCalendar Awards. Winners will be announced during the iGC Malaga event in May 2025.

These awards are rapidly gaining significance in the iGaming world as SlotsCalendar’s steady growth, success, and player-centric mentality represent the community’s interest.

Players have approximately a month to vote between the 10th of April and the 12th of May.

For its 2025 edition, the SlotsCalendar Awards Gala returns to the iGaming Club Conference in Malaga, happening on May 28th. The Awards categories for this year are as follows:

• Game Studio of the Year

• The Slot Everyone’s Talking About

• Star Slot in the Making

• Casino of the Year

• Excellence in Bonus Variety

• Industry Standard in Responsible Gambling

• Live Casino of the Year

• Best Sports Betting Platform

• Best New Casino

• Best Crypto Casino

While the idea of iGaming Awards is not new to the industry, the SlotsCalendar Awards are unique for a simple reason: winners are voted by players from the entire iGaming community.

The uniqueness of these awards makes them particularly important in iGaming. Placing the decision-making strictly in the hands of the player is a fundamental shift in the iGaming community.

SlotsCalendar CEO Viorel Stan said: “It’s truly an honor and a privilege to see how our SlotsCalendar Awards have evolved. Last year’s inaugural edition was a crowning achievement for us. It proved how vast and involved our community is, creating a level of engagement that made us incredibly proud. Being able to return to the iGC and reward some of iGaming’s luminaries in the name of the SlotsCalendar Community is beyond gratifying.”

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