Partnership to Upskill Youth Workers
The National Youth Agency (NYA) has announced a partnership with the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM) to deliver targeted training to youth workers across England and Wales, aiming to better equip the workforce with the skills, knowledge and confidence to identify and respond to gaming and gambling-related harms among young people.
The collaboration formally links NYA’s established digital youth work programmes with YGAM’s evidence-informed training resources, creating a structured route for youth professionals to enhance their capability to support the young people they work with.
As part of the initiative, youth workers will gain access to practical tools and learning modules that explain evolving risks in digital spaces, including the role of chance-based mechanics in video games, online gambling exposure and early behavioural signs that may indicate risk.
Growing Concern Around Gaming and Gambling
The partnership reflects growing concern within the sector about the blurring lines between gaming and gambling, particularly as features like loot boxes and microtransactions increasingly adopt mechanics similar to gambling and appeal to younger audiences. Recent research shows that nearly six in ten young people in the UK have some gambling experience, while about 30% have spent their own money on gambling in the past year, statistics that underline the urgency of improved education and engagement.
NYA, as England’s national professional body for youth work, provides standards, guidance and professional development resources for youth practitioners. Pairing this reach with YGAM’s specialist expertise aims to give frontline workers a clearer route to build confidence when having conversations about digital behaviours with young people, and to recognise when further support or referral may be appropriate.
Programme Launch and Sector Impact
Linda Scollins Smith, Director of Programmes and Insight & Innovation at YGAM, said the partnership would help equip youth professionals with “the right knowledge and skills to safeguard and support young people effectively”, noting that addressing gaming and gambling harm is increasingly essential as part of broader online safety.
The training programme is designed to be accessible and relevant to contemporary youth work, with delivery formats ranging from workshops to digital modules tailored to the evolving digital landscape young people navigate daily.
The initiative will be launched with an open event on 24 February 2026, where youth sector professionals can learn more about the programme and how to access the training.
The partnership signals a cross-sector effort to make gambling and gaming harm prevention a routine part of youth support services, embedding this awareness into mainstream practice rather than treating it as an add-on. By upskilling the sector now, NYA and YGAM aim to help protect the wellbeing of young people in increasingly complex digital environments.
