GambleAware, a prominent responsible gambling charity in the UK recently published information regarding contributions it received over a 12-month period concluding on 31 March 2023. A remarkable £46.5 million was donated during this timeframe.The lion’s share of these donations, totalling approximately £42.9 million or 92% of all contributions, came from the top four gambling operators in the UK. This figure marks a notable increase from the previous year’s donations from these operators. This surge is attributed to their ongoing commitment to incrementally raising the percentage of their Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) allocated to donations, aiming to reach 1% by the 2023/2024 financial year.
Statutory Levy: A Welcome Change
In the recently released Government’s Gambling White Paper, contained proposals for a statutory levy. If the proposals were agreed upon, gambling operators would have to contribute by law, as opposed to making voluntary donations to the likes of GambleAware for the purpose of research, prevention, and treatment (RET) funding. GambleAware is a long-time advocate for such a statutory levy and expressed its approval of these proposed changes.Zoë Osmond, the Chief Executive of GambleAware, expressed her views, stating: “As the principal independent charity and strategic commissioner of gambling harm prevention and treatment initiatives across Great Britain, securing stable funding is crucial for ensuring the effective implementation of the National Gambling Support Network, as well as our numerous other programs aimed at tackling and preventing gambling harm.“We are heartened by the government’s plans to introduce a statutory levy as outlined in its Gambling White Paper. This move promises to provide us with stable funding. We are eager for these changes to be implemented promptly, as any significant delay in transitioning to the statutory levy may impede the momentum with which we are transforming prevention and treatment services, in line with our five-year organisational strategy.”