Some of the UK’s largest gambling companies announced their decision to redirect the funding they have pledged for tackling gambling addiction. The companies in question include William Hill, Sky Bet, Flutter Entertainment, GVC Holdings, and bet365. Last summer, the five major operators said they were willing to contribute £100 million in response to demands for a higher 1% levy on their revenue. The sum is intended for the funding of problem gambling treatment, research, and education.
The gambling operators initially intended to transfer the funds via Lord Chadlington’s charity organisation Action against Gambling Harms (AGH). The AGH charity was supposed to find gamblers who struggle with addiction and transfer the money to them. However, the UK gambling standards body, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), unexpectedly announced that the funds will be transferred to the GambleAware organisation.
The surprising announcement has led to concerns in the gambling sector, so much so that industry experts plan to address the need of introducing a statutory levy in an open letter to the Minister of Culture, Oliver Dowden, and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock.
The experts are concerned that the currently existing system enables betting operators to exercise a greater-than-normal influence over the distribution and availability of funding needed to tackle gambling-related harm. The unexpected BGC announcement only goes to show the betting industry is not only willing but also capable of changing the funding’s direction at a moment’s notice, the experts insist.
Addiction Experts Demand Statutory Levies
The open letter is to be formulated by a group that comprises over forty problem gambling experts and academics. The group has two demands, the first one being the enforcement of a mandatory levy on gambling operators’ revenue. The second demand is for the money to be properly distributed among suitable recipients that struggle with addiction. The distribution should be handled by trusted bodies like the National Institute for Health Research.
Last winter, the AGH charity revealed that the five betting operators mentioned above had contacted Lord Chadlington with the request to create a special committee that was to administer the £100 million. The companies had assured of their commitment to enacting the recommendations of said committee.
The BGC told local media that it had decided to redirect the money to the GambleAware organisation after discussing the matter at length with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport. According to the BGC, one of the reasons for the surprising change of heart was that the AGH is presently incapable to conduct RET (research, education, and treatment) of gambling addiction.
Also, AGH is yet to receive the approval of the British gambling regulator, the UKGC, to carry out RET. The intentions of the AGH were to distribute the funds rather than to conduct research, education, and treatment of addiction.
British politicians expressed their opinion on the matter and called the industry’s discernible control over who receives the funds “concerning”. The Bishop of St Albans, Alan Smith, also inquired into the matter and asked for further details on the unexpected redirection of the funds.
- Author
Olivia Cole
