Gambling industry's Ukraine appeal surpasses £250,000 goal
Industry-wide appeal sets its sights on hitting higher target in the continuing humanitarian crisis
The gambling industry’s charity appeal to raise funds for those displaced in the ongoing crisis in Ukraine has reached its target of £250,000.
Despite smashing this original target, organisers are calling for one last push towards the end of the month.
Organisers have decided to keep the GoFundMe page running until the start of April to give more people the chance to support the Gaming Industry for Ukraine initiative.
The campaign is providing funding to Choose Love, as the charity can target donations to a range of NGOs on-site in Ukraine supporting humanitarian efforts.
Some of the biggest donations to the campaign have come from well-known names in the industry, such as Betsson (£50,000), Spribe (£11,000), Oryx Gaming (£10,000), Microgaming (£10,000), Games Global (£10,000) and FunFair Games (£6,000).
The organisers also gave their thanks to the individuals who have also donated and the four- and five-figure donations given anonymously.
Co-organiser Shona O’Donnell, head of strategic events at Better Collective, commented: “I’ve always been proud to be a member of the gaming community and never more so after seeing how they have got behind this campaign to send aid to Ukraine. It’s been overwhelming to see the support from all sectors of the industry, both at a personal and company level.”
Founder and CEO at BeyondPlay, Karolina Pelc, commented: “You people rock. Target achieved in less than 2.5 [sic] weeks. What an amazing industry effort for Choose Love and Ukraine.”
Choose Love is in the process of granting aid to 23 organisations providing assistance in and around Ukraine. Since the beginning of this campaign, it has committed $1.4m (£1.06m) to humanitarian organisations, including the money raised by the gambling industry.
This campaign is in addition to several initiatives that the gambling industry has done as it mobilised to support Ukraine amid the violence and turmoil in the country from the Russian invasion.