GVC, William Hill and bet365 top GambleAware donations list in 2018/19
2018/19 donations fall short of £9.5m voluntary funding target
UK operators GVC Holdings, William Hill and bet365 have donated a combined amount of over £3.3m to GambleAware in 2018/19, according to the latest donations list released by the charity.
GVC Holdings donated over £1.46m during the year, while fellow UK operators William Hill and bet365 made donations of £1m and £868,000 respectively.
Paddy Power Betfair made the next largest donation in 2018/19, making a £445,000 donation, closely followed by Gamesys, which donated £437,000. UK national lottery operator Camelot donated £390,000, while online operator 32Red donated £384,673 in the year.
Online operators Betway, The Stars Group and Playtech all made individual donations of more than £100,000 each during the year to the charity.
Total voluntary donations received during the year topped £9.3m, £0.2m short of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling’s target for voluntary donations of £9.5m.
In addition to this sum, GambleAware has received £7.3m in regulatory settlements during the year, resulting from Gambling Commission regulatory actions against licensed operators.
As part of its funding strategy, GambleAware asks UK licensed operators to voluntarily donate a minimum of 0.1% of their gross gambling yield annually to fund treatment services for problem gambling in the UK.
Speaking to EGR Intel, Marc Etches, CEO of GambleAware said the amount of fundraising received was “encouraging” but still below the minimum required, however Etches highlighted the additonal £7.3m in regulatory settlements as allowing GambleAware to be “well placed” to deliver on its strategic priorities.
The charity has said it requires a minimum donation total of £10m to meet its existing commitments and complete the successful delivery of its current two-year strategic delivery plan, with Etches adding that this will require a “significant step-up” from operators.
However, Gambling Commission chairman William Moyes, recently called for the imposition of a mandatory levy on operators, citing a funding target of £70m as being the minimum level to ensure “a sustainable and more long-term approach” to problem gambling in the UK.