One of the largest gambling charity organisations in the UK – GambleAware – issued a report revealing that it received overall donations worth £46.5 million for 2022/2023, 92% of which was generated by four major gambling companies.
GambleAware is focused on providing British problem gamblers with professional help and consultation regarding gambling addiction and gambling-related harm. The organisation offers information on safer gambling, as it recognises the risks associated with gambling, especially when it comes to people who tend to be spending more than they can actually afford to, and provides British punters with additional information on getting the help and support they need in order to deal with their compulsive gambling behaviour.
Apart from that, GambleAware also provides funding for research and education associated with gambling prevention and for various public health campaigns aimed at tackling the negative consequences of problem gambling.
In its latest report, the charity revealed that it has received £46.5 million in donations in 2022/2023. As mentioned above, four of the biggest gambling operators in the country – Flutter Entertainment, bet365, William Hill, and Entain – contributed most of that amount, with their donations estimated to be approximately £42.7 million, or about 92% of the total amount.
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As revealed by GambleAware in its latest report, Flutter Entertainment was the largest donor of the charity in 2022/2023, with contributions amounting to £17.9 million, followed by Entain, which provided £15.2 million. Another one of the local gambling giants, bet365, was third, with a contribution worth a total of £4.9 million, and William Hill donated £4.6 million.
The overall contributions of the four operators and their brands amounted to £42.7 million.
The recent release of the much-awaited White Paper on gambling issued as a result of the UK Government’s efforts to find out more about the country’s gambling sector, the way it is regulated, and the existing issues and loopholes in the legislation included a number of proposals aimed at changing the way the industry is monitored and regulated in order to make the legislation more suitable for the digital age in which the companies operate.
As part of the Government’s White Paper on gambling, the implementation of a statutory levy was proposed. The potential implementation of such a tax would force local gambling operators to pay mandatory fees as a contribution to research, education, prevention and treatment of problem gambling and gambling-related harm, as opposed to voluntary donations that are currently provided by them. GambleAware has been previously urging local lawmakers to introduce such a statutory levy, so it welcomed the proposed changes.
The chief executive officer of the charity organisation, Zoë Osmond, shared that hopefully, the changes would be made quickly, because any more delay in the planned measures implementation would slow down the pace of the much-needed gambling industry overhaul.
- Author
Olivia Cole
