Major UK gambling operators surpass pledge on gambling harm donations

The Betting and Gaming Council says its biggest members donated £122.5m between June 2020 and March 2024.

UK.- The Betting and Gaming Council, the British gambling industry lobby group, has announced that its biggest members surpassed their pledge to donate £100m by March 2024 to tackle gambling harms. The operators bet365, Entain (then GVC Holdings), Evoke (then 888 Holdings) and Flutter Entertainment (then Paddy Power Betfair and SkyBet) made the pledge in June 2020.

The BGC’s figures show that in the designated period, the five operators donated £122.5m to support gambling-related harm research, education and treatment, surpassing the amount pledged by £22.5m. Other BGC members and British gambling licensees donated £10m each year, taking the industry’s donations to £172.5m in total.

The larger operators also pledged funds to support the £10m Young People’s Gambling Harm Prevention Programme run by YGAM and GamCare, which the BGC says has reached over two million people aged 11 to 19. 

BGC executive director of standards and innovation Wes Himes said: “These figures demonstrate our actions are backed by significant financial contributions which are making a real difference.”

Himes stressed that BGC members have no control over how the funding is spent. He said: “For the BGC and our members, the priority is ensuring the money reaches these charities doing exceptional work in prevention and treatment and funds truly independent, evidence-led research. As we go forward, this huge investment will continue, underlining this sector’s unrivalled commitment to responsible betting and gaming.”

The BGC supports plans for voluntary donations to be replaced by a statutory RET levy to fund gambling harm prevention, but has called for the specifics of the move to be revised to avoid a disproportionate impact on smaller independent bookmakers.

“While the voluntary levy has delivered record funding, the BGC supports the replacement of the current levy scheme with a mandatory one, but the delivery of this new scheme must ensure future funding security for the third sector which is delivering such excellent work,” Himes said.

Part of last year’s white paper proposals, the levy would be paid to the Gambling Commission, with funding to be distributed by the NHS. The change in government has left the proposal in doubt, but it’s believed that the new Labour government is generally in agreement with the plan.