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Gambling: Help and Referral turns 30

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2 years ago

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Service records a 21% increase in requests for help

MONTRÉAL, Aug. 13, 2024 /CNW/ – Gambling: Help and Referral has just completed its 2023–2024 annual report and recorded a 21% increase in requests for help over the previous year; 6,848 people contacted the service to obtain a listening ear, support, information and referrals to address excessive gaming, whether for video games, internet addiction or gambling. Gambling: Help and Referral, which also provides support to those close to gamblers and gamers, is launching a fundraising campaign with a $100,000 target, its first in 30 years.

Of this 21% increase in requests for help, the majority came from the gamblers themselves (+35%). The proportion of women in these statistics is also up sharply (+17%). Among the most frequently mentioned addictions are online gambling—on the rise since the pandemic—slot machines, internet addiction (online video games, excessive use of video platforms such as YouTube or social media) and lotteries. People close to gamblers and gamers account for almost 20% of requests for help.

Gambling addiction is still little known and poorly understood, so it’s important to note that in over a third of cases (36%), counsellors respond to crisis or distress calls. Service users are mainly looking for resources such as counseling or telecounseling, support groups or addiction rehabilitation centres. Another noteworthy fact is that the average length of a call has doubled between 2020 and 2024, a striking and concrete consequence of a significant increase in crisis calls and the need for active listening. “I’m very proud of Gambling: Help and Referral’s evolution and of our team’s constant motivation to remain relevant, up-to-date and accessible to as many people as possible. I encourage anyone to feel free to contact us.” Nancy Rocha, Director of the Specialized Addiction Helplines and the TeleCounseling Programme for Excessive Gamblers.

At a time when cyberaddiction and healthy screen management are occupying an ever-increasing place in the media, Gambling: Help and Referral reminds us that it is a provincial resource that is remotely accessible 24/7, for anyone who is concerned about their gambling habits or screen time and who is experiencing their negative effects, such as major debts or even bankruptcy, mood disorders, mental health issues, domestic or family conflicts and isolation. It is also a useful service for friends, spouses or relatives who often feel powerless in the face of a loved one’s addiction. Accessible from anywhere in Quebec, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, counsellors can be reached by phone at 1-800-461-0140 or by chat at gamblinghelp.quebec. The service is confidential, free and bilingual.

The service would like to be able to expand the team, but also give counsellors the time and budget they need to pursue training, particularly in dealing with people in crisis, but also in the different game-industry tactics, which are evolving rapidly. There is increasing talk of video game hybridization: adding aspects of gambling to video games, including in-game purchases in games played by children, or games that have no practical ending to keep the player online as long as possible, sometimes for days on end.

To keep the service accessible and waiting times below a minute in order to avoid discouraging those seeking help, Gambling: Help and Referral is launching its first fundraising campaign, which will run until the end of March 2025, with a $100,000 target. Thanks to a benefit event held on May 29, 2024, and generous donors such as Jean Fortin, Unisson Formations, Dunton Rainville and many other supporters, nearly $40,000 has already been raised—more than a third of the target!

“The Gambling: Help and Referral team is working miracles with limited resources to deal with this increase in requests for help. Although we are fortunate to be able to count on recurrent funding from the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, for which we are very grateful, the fact that we need more resources can’t be ignored. Our team is motivated to help even more people affected by gambling addiction.” Heather Johnston, Executive Director, Information and Referral Centre of Greater Montréal.

To support Gambling: Help and Referral, go to gamblinghelp.quebec and click on Donate.

About Gambling: Help and Referral

Gambling: Help and Referral is a provincial service, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by phone and chat. It offers listening, support, information and referrals for people concerned about their gambling habits or addicted to gambling, video games and the Internet. Founded in 1993, the service has been managed by the Information and Referral Centre of Greater Montréal for 30 years and, to date, has been fully funded by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux. For further information: gamblinghelp.quebec

SOURCE Gambling: Help and Referral

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Graco® SnugRide® Turn & Slide™ Brings Unique Turn-and-Slide Innovation to Families

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5 minutes ago

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November 9, 2026

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Graco’s first-ever rotating infant car seat goes beyond turning alone, sliding baby closer to help make getting in and out of the car easier.

Turn & Slide goes beyond rotation alone, turning 180° toward the caregiver and gliding smoothly on and off the base to bring baby closer.Designed for growing families, the car seat helps reduce reaching, lifting and maneuvering while preserving neighboring seat-space.Available now for $349.99 at GracoBaby.com, Amazon and Babylist.

ATLANTA, Nov. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Graco® today announced the availability of its SnugRide® Turn & Slide Rotating Infant Car Seat, designed to make one of the most repeated parts of caring for a baby easier: getting baby in and out of the car. As Graco’s first-ever rotating infant car seat, Turn & Slide combines a 180° rotation with a unique sliding motion that brings baby closer to the caregiver.

From the first ride home to daycare drop-offs, doctor appointments and family outings, parents are constantly on the move. SnugRide Turn & Slide was designed to make those moments easier, helping reduce the physical effort of the in and out transitions so caregivers can spend more time focused on their baby and the moments that matter.

“At Graco, we’re always looking for ways to make parenting easier,” said Kerry Strzelecki, Vice President of Brand Management at Graco. “Turn & Slide was designed with that goal in mind, going beyond rotation to bring baby closer to the caregiver. We’re proud to offer families an innovation that takes some of the effort out of getting on the go, giving parents more time to focus on the moments that matter.”

Going Beyond Rotation
Beyond its unique turn-and-slide design, SnugRide Turn & Slide is engineered to rotate without blocking the neighboring seat, helping preserve second-row space and support three-across seating in many vehicles. This gives growing families more flexibility, especially when traveling with multiple children.

Additional features include:

Lightweight Portability: The lightweight carrier is designed to make moving baby between the car, stroller and home easier.Simple, Secure Installation: SnugLock® Technology enables installation in less than one minute using the vehicle seat belt or LATCH, while the InRight™ LATCH system provides a one-second, click-secure attachment.Adjusts as Baby Grows: The No-Rethread Simply Safe Adjust™ Harness System allows the headrest and harness to adjust together as baby grows, while the 4-position adjustable base with bubble level helps support proper installation.

Backed by Graco’s Commitment to Safety
For more than 65 years, Graco has been committed to providing families with products built around safety and quality. SnugRide Turn & Slide is Graco® ProtectPlus Engineered™, undergoing rigorous frontal, side, rear and rollover crash testing. The seat also features an integrated Anti-Rebound Bar and PureProtect™ fabrics that are fire-resistant without added chemicals.

Following the voluntary recall of select SnugRide Turn & Slide infant car seats earlier this year, Graco implemented engineering updates and completed additional testing and validation to address the issue before bringing the product to market.

Available Today
The SnugRide Turn & Slide Rotating Infant Car Seat (MSRP $349.99) is available at GracoBaby.com, Amazon and Babylist in Noir, Mulberry and Sandstone colorways.

Turn & Slide will also be available as part of a travel system with the Modes™ Nest Stroller beginning in December 2026 for an MSRP of $674.99.

For more information about Graco and the SnugRide Turn & Slide Rotating Infant Car Seat, visit www.gracobaby.com and follow along on social at: @graco on Instagram and Facebook, and @gracochildrensproducts on TikTok.

About Graco
Graco is one of the most recognized children’s products brands that provides innovative and reliable solutions to help parents make smart choices while taking care of their little ones. For more than 65 years, Graco has built high-quality products that parents can trust, including car seats, strollers, travel systems, swings, highchairs, playards and nursery care essentials. Graco is part of Newell Brands Inc., a leading global consumer products company, with its products available globally through a variety of retail partners.

About Newell Brands
Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL) is a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands, including Rubbermaid, Sharpie®, Graco®, Coleman®, Rubbermaid Commercial Products®, Yankee Candle®, Paper Mate®, FoodSaver®, Dymo®, EXPO®, Elmer’s®, Oster®, NUK®, Spontex® and Campingaz®. Newell Brands is focused on delighting consumers by lighting up everyday moments.

This press release and additional information about Newell Brands are available on the company’s website, www.newellbrands.com.

*Based on 2024 Baby Gear Brand Health Tracker Data

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SOURCE Newell Brands

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AI Search Is Killing the Click. Breaker Says B2B Growth Must Move Beyond Traffic

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5 minutes ago

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November 9, 2026

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As AI summaries reduce referral search clicks and automated traffic clouds website metrics, Breaker says B2B marketers need to turn increasingly valuable visits into identifiable, ongoing audience relationships.

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Artificial intelligence is weakening a metric B2B marketers have long treated as evidence that content is working: the website visit. Pew Research Center found users clicked traditional search results in 8% of visits containing a Google AI summary, compared with 15% of visits without one. Links inside the AI summaries received clicks in only 1% of visits.

A company can now appear in an AI-generated answer without receiving a visit. Even when someone does click through, the visit alone may reveal little about the visitor’s identity or potential fit as a buyer. “Clicks and traffic that aren’t identifiable to a human are a poor signal,” said Ben Billups, founder and CEO of Breaker.

AI Visibility Does Not Guarantee Demand

Large language models (LLM) are already changing how people discover online content. The Interactive Advertising Bureau found that 95% of publishers it surveyed reported moderate or significant effects from LLM-driven discovery. For marketers, that changes what visibility can tell them. Billups said businesses still need to make themselves discoverable to AI systems, but appearing in an answer does not mean the system is recommending them.

An AI response may mention several companies, compare pricing or social proof, or surface an advantage held by a competitor. That makes the value of an AI-driven referral difficult to interpret. “We don’t have visibility into the chat that led to the traffic, so there’s no way to know definitively what context AI is putting your company into,” Billups said.

AI discovery can also be less predictable than traditional search. “As AI becomes more dominant, it’s more important to be discoverable and to have positive sentiment online, but reach is less deterministic,” Billups said. “What AI thinks is relevant to one user, it may not think is relevant for another.”

Anonymous Traffic Is a Weaker Signal

Traffic volume presents a separate measurement problem because a growing share of web activity is automated. Statista reported that bots generated 53% of global web traffic in 2025. For marketers, that makes a visit less useful as a signal unless they can determine who or what produced it.

For B2B companies, actions that help establish visitor identity can provide more information about actual buyer interest. Newsletter subscriptions, resource downloads, forms, and demo requests can help marketers distinguish potential buyers from bots and determine whether a contact matches the company’s ideal customer profile (ICP).

Billups uses a hypothetical example to illustrate the difference. “Let’s say that 50% of your traffic is bots, 50% is human, and 20% of the human traffic is actually in your ICP,” he said. “Versus with a newsletter, you can know in advance that 100% of the traffic is in your ICP and human.”

Post-Search Growth Starts With What Happens Next

Clicks still matter, but Billups says marketers should pay closer attention to what visitors encounter after arriving. What matters next is if that visit gives the business a way to identify a potential buyer and continue the conversation. “We still need clicks, but particularly in B2B, it’s the messaging that tells someone if they’re a good fit for your product,” Billups said.

Once someone subscribes to a newsletter, however, the interaction is longer than the visit. Once someone subscribes, the company can identify them, continue communicating over time, and nurture if they fit its ICP. That continuity is key in B2B, where a purchase decision may be months away. “Relationships are built on time, trust, and communication,” Billups said. “Simply knowing about a business or product is not enough.”

About Breaker    
Breaker is the only email platform that sends your newsletter and grows your list with high-value B2B prospects—on autopilot. Powered by advanced targeting, AI enrichment, and proprietary deliverability systems, Breaker ensures every email reaches the inbox while generating verified, sales-ready subscribers for as little as $1.50 each. Seamless CRM integrations, white-glove migration, and built-in analytics make it easy for marketers to scale outreach and convert engagement into pipeline. Built by marketers, for marketers. For more information, visit joinbreaker.ai.

References 

Gaudiaut, T. (2026, May 26). Bad bots are taking over the web. Statista. statista.com/chart/35950/share-of-global-web-traffic-generated-by-humans-and-bots-since-2018/Interactive Advertising Bureau. (2026, July 16). The AI discovery shift: How publishers are navigating the new search and discovery landscape. iab.com/insights/ai-insights-engine-july-2026/Chapekis, A., & Lieb, A. (2025, July 22). Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results. Pew Research Center. pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/22/google-users-are-less-likely-to-click-on-links-when-an-ai-summary-appears-in-the-results/

Media Inquiries:
Karla Jo Helms
JOTO PR™ 
727-777-4629

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SOURCE Breaker

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Byzfunder to Participate Alongside Leading Fintech Executives and Investors at Exclusive 2026 KBW Fintech Ecosystem Conference

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5 minutes ago

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November 9, 2026

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The invitation-only gathering brings together influential voices shaping the future of financial services.

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Byzfunder, a leading technology-driven provider of small business financing, today announced its participation in the 2026 KBW Fintech Ecosystem Conference, taking place November 10–12 at Convene 30 Hudson Yards in New York City.

The conference will feature executives from Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal and Capital One, alongside participants from across the financial technology and investment communities.

Byzfunder’s participation underscores the company’s expanding presence within the financial technology industry and its continued investment in artificial intelligence, proprietary underwriting technology, risk analytics, and scalable financing infrastructure.

Led by CEO Ilya Fridman, Byzfunder has developed an integrated technology platform designed to transform small business financing through intelligent automation, advanced credit decisioning, and data-driven risk management.

“The financial services industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation, driven by artificial intelligence, automation, and increasingly sophisticated data analytics,” said Ilya Fridman, Chief Executive Officer of Byzfunder. “The KBW Fintech Ecosystem Conference brings together an exceptional group of industry leaders and institutional investors who are helping shape that transformation. We look forward to exchanging ideas and exploring opportunities as we continue building the next generation of technology-driven small business financing.”

Byzfunder’s ongoing investment in financial technology and institutional-grade risk management reflects its long-term strategy of combining innovation with disciplined, scalable growth.

About Byzfunder

Byzfunder is a leading financial technology company providing innovative working capital solutions to small and medium-sized businesses nationwide. Combining approximately two decades of industry experience with proprietary technology, artificial intelligence, advanced risk analytics, and automated underwriting capabilities, Byzfunder has developed a scalable financing platform designed to deliver efficient access to capital.

For more information, visit byzfunder.com.

Media Contact

Xin Hamilton, CMO

press@byzfunder.com

byzfunder.com

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SOURCE Byzfunder

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