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New research shows a quarter of all students who gamble may be experiencing harm

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One in four students who gamble may be experiencing harm and one in two say that gambling has affected their university experience, new research has found.

The survey of 2,000 students across the UK revealed that 71% had gambled in the last 12 months. Amongst those students who had gambled in the previous year, 28% were found to be at ‘moderate risk’ and 24% had behaviour categorised as ‘problem gambling’.

The independent research carried out by Censuswide is a follow up to last year’s survey commissioned by education charity Ygam and GAMSTOP, the national online self-exclusion service.

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This year the survey included the Short-form PGSI – a widely used measure of ‘problem gambling’ in the UK population – which enabled the researchers to understand the level of risk experienced by students in the sample.

Half of all respondents reported that gambling had impacted their university experience, with 13% having trouble paying for food, 10% missing lectures and tutorials, 10% saying gambling affected their assignments and grades, and 9% struggling to pay bills or for accommodation. Despite this, 45% of those who gamble were unaware of the support available to them from their universities.

Almost one in two students who gamble (48%) say they gamble to make money, but only 11% report winning money in an average week. One in three say they spend £11-£20 per week on gambling; nearly one in four (23%) spend £21-£50; and 13% spend £51-£100. 4.5%, say they gamble because they are unable to stop.

Along with savings and their own earnings, some students are borrowing money to fund their gambling, with 8% borrowing from family and friends and 6% using payday loans.

More than 40% of students have bought cryptocurrency in the last year, which is much higher than the figure for the overall population. This is perhaps not surprising given the age profile of the student population, but in a year when cryptocurrency prices plunged this may have impacted the overall financial wellbeing of this group.

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The full report has been published today and includes the results of questions asked both to respondents who had gambled in the last 12 months as well as those who had not. The questions to the latter group were rephrased to further understand their view on gambling behaviour and attitudes amongst their friends.

The report makes three key recommendations:

  • Invest in universal prevention education in schools to help prepare young people to be resilient to the risks related to gambling before their transition to university.
  • Gambling harms to be considered as part of every university’s health and wellbeing strategy.
  • Further research to be conducted to better understand the experiences of students who gamble and how harms can be better prevented.

Dr Jane Rigbye, Chief Executive Officer at Ygam said:

“These findings give us insight into the attitudes and behaviours of students towards gambling. Building on the data published last year, we can now see that not only are a large percentage of the student population gambling on a regular basis, many of them are doing so in a way that may cause them to experience harm.  

“The data further emphasises the importance of educating our young people on the risks associated with gambling. We’re working with our partners to tour university campuses across the UK to speak to students, deliver specialist training to university staff and to raise awareness. It is crucial that universities engage and take this issue seriously. We aim to work closely with many more universities to ensure they can help prevent the harms and support their students when they need it.” 

Bray Ash, 29, who spent many years battling a gambling addiction as a student and is now studying to become a Mental Health nurse, said:

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“For many, the research commissioned by GAMSTOP & Ygam will come as a surprise. However, for me it’s a reminder of the seriousness and proximity to gambling addiction that students face on a daily basis. During my time at university, I dealt with a severe gambling addiction that saw me confined to my room for days at a time. I spent my time in my room, alone and isolated, gambling day and night. I only left my room to buy food and on the odd occasion, I would see a friend.  

“Propped up by the money from my student loan, I was able to fall into a gambling addiction that spiralled out of control until one day I managed to work up the courage to talk to my friends and family about it and get myself into rehab. At the time when I was first going through university, resources like GAMSTOP weren’t around. Now that they are and they are helping thousands of students, it’s always one of my first recommendations to anyone who feels that they might be experiencing gambling harms.” 

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PopOK Gaming Won Two Prestigious Nominations at BFTH Arena Awards Ceremony

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PopOK Gaming has achieved remarkable success at the recent BFTH Arena Awards Ceremony, securing two prestigious awards that highlight the company’s commitment to innovation and excellence in the gaming industry.

The company was honored in the following categories:
1. Best FTN Casino Game for its Fast Fruits slot game which is known for its Classic design, bright colors, and seamless gameplay.
2. Best Game Achievement for Fast Master exciting crypto themed game with Avalanche reels, featuring multipliers in Free Spins

Both games have the innovative “FTN Mania” feature which awards Fasttokens for every spin.

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“We are delighted to receive the BFTH Arena Awards” said Tsovinar Elchyan, Head of Partnerships at PopOK Gaming. “It was certainly an evening to remember. These achievements are a testament to our team’s hard work, and dedication to delivering outstanding games.”

The post PopOK Gaming Won Two Prestigious Nominations at BFTH Arena Awards Ceremony appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Mandelli celebrates 10 years with ITL

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Stefano Mandelli, Business Development Manager for Innovative Technology Ltd (ITL), is celebrating a decade with the leading provider of cash handling equipment and age & identity validation technology this month. Stefano is responsible for ITL’s presence in Italy and several countries within South East Europe.

Commenting on his long-standing achievement, Stefano said, “When I first joined Innovative back in 2014, my role focussed solely on growing our presence in Italy with an emphasis on the gaming and vending industries, alongside developing new markets. After a short period I expanded my territories, and as well as looking after customer in Italy, I am now responsible for a large part of South East Europe including Slovenia, Greece and Turkey. I am particularly proud of the strong partnerships I have established in all my regions, both with the main OEMs and with our approved Trading Partners and Service Centres. These collaborations have assisted with the growth of my markets, and even during difficult periods of supply, we have optimised lead times to ensure prompt product delivery.”

Enrique Jütten, VP of Sales & Business Development for ITL’s Gaming, Amusement and Vending sectors said, “ Stefano is an asset to our company and highly valued by the team, and his customers. Stefano’s main responsibilities are customer sales, forecasting and researching potential new business segments. He is an excellent account manager who understands his customers and their business models to ensure they choose the right ITL products to meet their needs.”

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Continuing Stefano said, “ The growth of ITL and the development of new products has given me the tools to create opportunities in new sectors such as retail, banking, parking and transportation over the past few years. The best thing about my job is meeting people from different countries and getting to know their culture and advising them on how our products can elevate their business. My focus for the future is to continue to expand my area with the target to introduce and extend our new technologies and solutions in emerging sectors.”

Concluding Enrique said, “This is an impressive achievement and I would like to thank Stefano for his commitment to ITL. I look forward to seeing Stefano continue to grow our presence in his regions, and reach new markets over the coming years.”.

The post Mandelli celebrates 10 years with ITL appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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BGaming evokes cartel chaos in Grand Patron

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Popular iGaming content provider BGaming is taking fearless players to the depths of the Grand Patron criminal empire. This feature-packed release includes two additional reels, a trio of modifiers, multipliers, three types of Free Spins modes, and a Wild symbol.

The cinematic video slot sees players step into the shoes of a cartel boss as two extra horizontal reels dictate their fate. They both reveal one random symbol during each spin in the main game, with the power to unlock one by one during the Free Spins mode.

Unpredictable gameplay is the main appeal of Grand Patron, with Spawner, Prison and Bombastic modifiers shaping its direction. Spawner sees a Wild or any regular symbol appear on both additional reels, leading to three of these symbols being added to the main game field. Prison features a question mark symbol landing on one of the additional reels, while the other sees a paytable symbol drop. The paytable character on the main reels will then be locked for a respin. If the Prison symbol lands on both extra reels, all symbols are locked and the screen is filled with one random paytable symbol, resulting in a win across all 20 paylines.

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The Bombastic modifier occurs when a bomb symbol appears on one additional reel and any regular symbol on the other. The corresponding regular symbol on the main reels then explodes at the end of the spin. Random symbols fill the spaces, with the potential for future wins. Two bombs on additional reels clear the reels and trigger respins.

Free Spins mode is granted when two Scatters appear on the extra reels during the main game, with an initial 12 spins triggered. If a Prison symbol lands at the start of the round, three extra free spins are awarded. Additionally, players can purchase one of three Free Spins modes for between x100, x250 or x1,000 of their bet amount.

The Wild has the power to substitute all paying symbols in Grand Patron, while the Multiplier can greatly increase wins.

Aliaksej Baliukonis, Game Designers Team Lead at BGaming, said: “Just like a life of crime depicted in cartel movies, Grand Patron has twists and turns at every spin. Players who like unpredictable, high-volatility games will enjoy this release, which is one of our most feature-rich titles to date.”

The post BGaming evokes cartel chaos in Grand Patron appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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