GambleAware publishes latest breakdown of donations
Two donors accounted for 90 per cent of funding.
UK.- The gaming industry-backed responsible gambling charity GambleAware has published a list of the donations and pledges it received from Q1 to Q3 in its current financial year. The organisation received £13.2m in donations and no funds from regulatory settlements.
Donations from GambleAware’s two biggest donors in the period, bet365 and Entain, accounted for 90 per cent of all funding received at £4.9m and £7m respectively. Other British-licensed operators accounted for the remaining 10 per cent of funds, with several smaller operators donating the minimum £250.
GambleAware said its report aimed to provide transparency on its funding. It noted that donations from the UK’s four biggest gaming operators have risen since 2020 following an agreement reached with the Betting & Gaming Council that saw the operators commit 1 per cent of gross gambling yield to research, prevention and treatment by the upcoming 2023-2024 financial year, which begins on April 1.
All operators are expected to donate a minimum of 0.1 per cent of annual GGY or £250 if they earn less than £250,000. The funds go to research and to the National Gambling Treatment Service.
GambleAware had been vocal in calling for the UK to introduce a mandatory gambling levy to help fund gambling treatment and prevention.
Earlier this week, shadow education minister Jeff Smith MP urged the UK government to include reforms of problem gambling funding in the update of legislation. Speaking at a parliamentary reception held by Ygam, he said funding should be directed to broader services.
“It is absolutely vital that the white paper gives a clear steer on funding for those in the sector, and we must also recognise that funding should not be limited to treatment provision alone,” Smith said.
