Industry-funded does not mean industry-controlled. Here’s exactly how.
Twelve commitments, in writing. Independence is not a value statement here. It is the only reason a program for under-18 athletes, funded by licensed operators, can be trusted by a parent, a coach or a regulator.
Six commitments to athletes, parents and coaches
Our sessions are for high-school and youth club teams, under 18. These rules apply to every one of them, and they do not vary by school, club or funder.
No funder branding near minors
No funder’s name, logo or mark appears in any session, material or communication for under-18 athletes, schools or clubs. No operator names, apps, promo codes or merchandise, ever. This mirrors AGLC’s own standard keeping betting ads out of media and venues directed primarily to minors (SRIG s. 4.1).
Parents hear first
The host school or club sends parents and guardians notice at least 7 days before any session with under-18 athletes. Any parent can withdraw their child without giving a reason. Where a school or club requires opt-in consent, we follow the stricter rule.
Never alone with a minor
We follow the Rule of Two. A coach, teacher or team staff member is always in the room, and no ambassador or staff member is ever alone with a minor, in person or online. Sessions happen only at the invitation of the school or club.
Ambassadors screened and trained
Before any contact with minors, every university athlete ambassador completes a police information check with vulnerable sector check, safe sport training, and training in handling disclosures and the duty to report. While serving, ambassadors do not gamble in any form, have no private-message or social-media contact with minors, and need written sign-off from their institution’s compliance office before they start.
No athlete is ever a spokesperson
Ambassadors deliver under the Foundation’s name. They have no contact with funders, never appear in any operator’s advertising or marketing, and are never credited to or connected with a funder. This clause will be in every funding agreement, and breaching it ends the agreement.
Young people’s data stays with them
Attendance, survey answers and anything a young person tells an ambassador are never shared with a funder in any form, including as a case study. Evaluation surveys are anonymous and used only with consent. Funders see the same results we publish to everyone. They never receive people.
Six commitments on funding and governance
Licensed operators may fund this work. They may not steer it, take credit for any part of it, or reach young people through it.
Independent board
Three founding directors, with a co-founder as interim chair; an independent majority is being recruited before any funding agreement is signed. Independent directors will be arm’s-length from the gaming industry, set strategy, approve every dollar of spend, and answer to Albertans, not to funders.
Pooled funding, no program credit
All partner money goes into one pool. No partner is credited on, or connected to, any program, session, ambassador, school or club. We recognize partners only in adult settings: our audited annual report and this website.
Zero content control
Funders have no editorial influence over curriculum, sessions, ambassadors or research questions. This will be written into every agreement, not just this page.
Independence before money
No operator funding agreement is signed until a majority of our directors are independent, and no funder sees or shapes what is taught. If any public body tells us we have described its work wrongly, we correct it promptly.
Audited, evaluated & published
An independent annual audit, published here in full: revenue by partner, spending by category, outcomes by program. A third-party evaluator reviews effectiveness from Year 1, and the evaluation is published in full, whatever it says. Marking your own homework is not evaluation.
Non-profit by structure
Incorporated in Alberta as a non-profit company under the Companies Act. No dividends and no private benefit; every surplus dollar returns to next year’s programs.
What we will measure, and publish
Targets for our first full year of sessions, 2027–28. Results will be published here quarterly once sessions begin, met or missed. No staff or leadership pay is tied to these numbers, and there are no volume bonuses. Ambassadors are paid a flat fee per session, not per athlete, so the numbers stay honest.
| Measure | Year 1 target (2027–28) |
|---|---|
| Team Sessions delivered | 150, reaching about 3,000 under-18 athletes |
| Ambassadors recruited, screened and trained before their first session | 20; 100% screened (police information check with vulnerable sector check) and safe-sport trained |
| Athletes who know that gambling under 18 is illegal, and the “no betting on your own sport” rule they will live under at 18 | At least 80% after the session (measured before and after, anonymously, with consent) |
| Athletes who can name at least one place to get help | At least 85% after the session |
| Coaches and athletic directors briefed | 100; Family Guide published and in 2,000 households |
| Funder branding in any youth setting | Zero incidents; independent evaluation published in full |
The company we keep
We did not invent betting education for athletes. We studied the organizations that lead it, and we are building Alberta’s youth version to their standard.
EPIC Global Solutions · UK / USA
Delivers gambling-harm sessions to NCAA student-athletes using lived-experience educators, including former elite athletes. Our University Athlete Ambassadors take the same idea closer to home, with near-peer athletes from the same sport.
epicglobalsolutions.com →Responsible Gambling Council · Canada
Its Beyond the Game module, launched December 2025, is a free, facilitator-led session of about 30 minutes for Grade 11–12 student-athletes and their coaches. It is currently available in Ontario, and RGC cites potential expansion to other markets in 2026. We intend to seek to become the Alberta delivery partner for Beyond the Game, subject to the Responsible Gambling Council’s agreement. We have not yet contacted RGC.
responsiblegambling.org →NCAA research · USA
A large body of evidence on college athletes’ betting and the harassment some receive from people who bet. It is US data on 18- to 22-year-olds, so we use it only to show where today’s teenagers are headed. We found no Alberta youth equivalent. A province-wide youth baseline study, with parental consent and ethics approval, is planned for 2027–28.
ncaa.org →McGill ICYGP · Canada
World-leading research on youth gambling and high-risk behaviour. Our youth evidence base starts here.
youthgambling.mcgill.ca →YGAM · UK
A UK youth-education charity we have studied, including the criticism of industry-funded models like it.
ygam.org →NCPG · USA
The US national advocate since 1972, deliberately neutral on legalized gambling. That posture keeps every door open, with a regulator, a school and a parent. AWARE borrows that neutrality.
ncpgambling.org →Organization names describe the models we have studied. They imply no endorsement, affiliation or contact in either direction. Sources: 2025 UK open letter on industry-funded youth education and UK statutory levy reporting; EPIC NCAA sessions; Responsible Gambling Council, Beyond the Game; NCPG. Page last reviewed October 2026.
If you think we’ve broken a commitment, tell us
Email info@awarecf.com with “Independence concern” in the subject. It might be a partner given influence, a finding softened, an ambassador used in marketing, or a funder named in a youth session. You can write anonymously.
The founder does not handle concerns about the founder. Until independent directors are seated, concerns go to the two non-founding directors and, where needed, an external reviewer. After that, an independent director leads.
If a young person is in danger now, call 911. To report a concern about a child’s safety, call the Alberta Child Abuse Hotline at 1‑800‑387‑5437. For maltreatment in sport, call the Abuse-Free Sport Helpline at 1‑888‑837‑7678.
- Acknowledged within 5 business days
- Findings within 60 days
- A count of concerns and outcomes published every year
- Any risk to a young person goes straight to police or Child Intervention