The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) has announced the launch of a new charity focused on minimising gambling harm and protecting at-risk consumers.
Funded by the GBGA, the new Gibraltar Gambling Care Foundation (GGCF) will work with consumers, gaming industry leaders and government regulators to reduce the impact of gambling disorders in the Gibraltar market.
The GGCF will be operated independently from the GBGA, with the support of councillors Stephen Reyes and Selvan Soobiah. Belvedere Trustees Limited will act as corporate councillor and initially fund research at the new Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming (CERG) at the University of Gibraltar.
The Gibraltar regulator has already raised more than £2.5m (€2.9m/$3.5) from Gibraltar gambling companies to fund the setting up of the CERG, while funds will also support the facility for at least the next three years.
GGCF will primarily focus its research on the impact of problem gambling on individuals, families and society, and the means of mitigating negative impacts.
The new charity will also look at the prevalence of gambling addiction or other problem behaviours, and mitigation factors to prevent this, as well as practical solutions operators can implement to minimise the harm.
Other research areas will include standardised identification, monitoring and measuring criteria for problem gambling, as well as the creation, co-ordination and management of a database of igaming industry information to assist with research into problem gambling and responsible gambling measures.
“This is a pivotal step change for all Gibraltar licensed operators and the jurisdiction as a whole,” GBGA chairman Nigel Birrell said.
“The GBGA, via the GGCF will be supporting the creation of an industry leading research programme aimed at exploring solutions to minimise gambling related harm and the creation of open-source databases for academic studies.”
Reyes, who will chair the GGCF added: “Gibraltar is known globally as a premier jurisdiction in the online gambling area, so it is great that as an industry the operators have come together and set up and formed this charitable foundation to invest in academic research to inform effective initiatives to encourage responsible gambling and prevent gambling harm.”
