Just a short while after marking its 10th anniversary, Gamban, the pioneering company behind the self-exclusion software that blocks access to gambling sites and apps across Android, Windows, Mac, and iOS, has reached another major milestone: its eponymous product has now been downloaded over 1m times.
Gamban is determined to continue helping gamblers by the thousands
This achievement underscores Gamban’s growing role in helping individuals regain control over gambling-related harm and comes at a special time for the firm. In a statement, Jack Symons, Founder and CEO of Gamban, had this to say, celebrating the seven-figure milestone:
"Back in 2015, when I first had the idea for Gamban, even 1,000 downloads felt like a huge milestone. Fast forward to today, and we’ve just reached 1 million downloads across the world. It’s hard to put into words how proud I am of what we’ve built - and even more so, of the people we’ve been able to help."
In a statement addressing the 10th anniversary of the company, Gamban Co-founder Matt Zarb-Cousin spoke about the future of the company, noting that it is still meant to be present everywhere, but also retain its independence from the gambling industry in a bid to reach more people.
The company’s team has expanded to 17 people, as Gamban continues to help thousands of people around the world. Commenting during an official reception celebrating the company’s 10th anniversary, Dr Matt Gaskell, clinical lead of the NHS Northern Gambling Service, who was attending, had this to say, emphasizing the impact the company has had on struggling gamblers:
"Only those who've been harmed by this know what it really feels like. WhatGambandoes is it gives people a little bit of hope when things are completely falling apart around them in every part of their life."
Besides achieving an eye-watering milestone of more than 1m downloads, Gamban has been equally involved in the current regulatory processes in places such as the United Kingdom, where it criticized a recent statement by the Betting and Gaming Council that "gambling isn’t a cause of social harm."
The true numbers behind gambling-related harm in the UK
Gamban described this as "factually wrong and stigmatizing." Gamban used its own experience and expertise to highlight that certain gambling verticals – such as online casinos – put people at significantly higher risk of developing addiction.
"Online casino gambling is much more addictive than betting on horse racing, as many studies — including one using data from Betting and Gaming Council member Kindred — have shown. People who download Gamban are overwhelmingly online slots users."
Gamban has also insisted on being factual about the people who suffer from gambling-related harm, refuting the BGC’s figures of 280,000 problem gamblers, when, in reality, there are more than 600,000 people registered on GAMSTOP alone.
