United Kingdom-based gambling charity GambleAware said it received £49.5 million ($63.2 million) in voluntary donations during its most recent fiscal year, which ended on March 31.
Britain’s four largest gambling operators – bet365, Flutter Entertainment, William Hill, and Entain – contributed around 94 percent of the total. Flutter donated the highest amount (£18 million), followed by Entain (£16.8 million), William Hill (£6 million), and bet365 (£5.8 million).
This year also marks the end of a four-year commitment between these four operators to gradually increase their donations to 1 percent of their gross gambling yield. GambleAware is uncertain about funding for the 2024-25 financial year because of the transition to a statutory levy, as outlined in last year’s white paper.
“While we await the implementation of the new statutory levy, donations from the voluntary funding system are key to ensure GambleAware can continue to deliver the essential gambling harm prevention and treatment programs we commission,” said Zoë Osmond, GambleAware’s CEO. “For many years, we have been calling for the introduction of a statutory levy on the gambling industry and we are pleased the government has committed to delivering this as part of the gambling white paper. However, during the transition period it is vital that steps continue to be taken to ensure there is no disruption to existing services and provisions in the wider system as they adapt to the new levy funding model.”
Founded in 2002, GambleAware offers education, prevention, early intervention and treatment for gambling harm across Great Britain. The company offers free, confidential services through the National Gambling Support Network and handles around 52,000 calls and online chats per year via the National Gambling Helpline. Last month, GambleAware called for a new slogan after a study revealed that the ‘Take Time To Think’ campaign does not effectively raise awareness of gambling risks.
