GambleAware has disclosed that it received voluntary donations totalling £49.5 million in the 2023/24 financial year, supporting its ongoing commissioning work. This funding facilitates public health campaigns, education and training programs, harm prevention tools, treatment services, and research initiatives.
The largest four gambling operators contributed £46.6 million, marking the final year of their commitment to gradually increase their donations to 1% of Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) over four years. Despite this significant support, GambleAware warns of potential funding uncertainties for the 2024/25 financial year and emphasizes the need to minimize disruption during the transition to a statutory levy.
Voluntary donations are crucial for GambleAware’s commissioning activities. The charity asserts that the gambling industry should financially contribute to essential services that mitigate gambling harms. Consequently, it has consistently advocated for a statutory levy. Until this levy is implemented, funding from gambling operators remains the primary source for research, prevention, and treatment efforts. GambleAware maintains strict governance processes to ensure independence, with no industry influence over its activities.
GambleAware’s initiatives include commissioning the National Gambling Support Network (NGSN), which offers free, confidential treatment across Great Britain, and operating the National Gambling Helpline, which handles approximately 52,000 calls and online chats annually. The funding also supports research and evaluation to enhance the understanding of gambling harm prevention, public health campaigns to reduce stigma, and tools to help individuals make informed decisions about gambling.
The donations received in 2023/24 represent the final year of a four-year commitment by the largest operators to increase their GGY contributions from 0.25% in 2019/20 to 1% in 2023/24. As the sector awaits clarity on the implementation of the statutory levy, GambleAware continues to collaborate with the Gambling Commission and the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport to ensure a smooth transition.
Zoë Osmond, GambleAware Chief Executive, said: “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 programmes we commission.
“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.”