GambleAware Receives £49.5M in Donations for 2023-24 Financial Year

GambleAware, the UK’s leading gambling addiction treatment and prevention charity, disclosed details regarding the donations it received for the 2023/24 financial year. Last week, the charity confirmed that for the aforementioned period, it received £49.5 million ($63 million) in voluntary donations from the gambling industry.

Operating as a charity, GambleAware uses donations to continue its noble work. Through such contributions, it organizes and maintains a range of initiatives, including education, training and promotion of responsible gambling tools that seek to prevent harm. Donations are vital for GambleAware as they help with its public health campaigns, research and treatment of gambling harm.

Zoë Osmond, GambleAware’s chief executive, shared her excitement about the donations secured by the charity recently. She spoke about the importance of such contributions as a way to sustain the development of the charity until a statutory levy is implemented.

“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.“

Zoë Osmond, chief executive at GambleAware

The Charity Awaits the Implementation of a Statutory Levy

Osmond reaffirmed GambleAware’s long-term position about the implementation of a statutory levy on the gambling sector. She acknowledged that the charity was delighted to see this effort as a part of the Gambling White Paper which marks the beginning of an industry-wide reform in the country.

Finally, Osmond explained: “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.”

According to GambleAware, uncertainty in funding for the 2024/25 financial year calls for a swift transition to a statutory levy. The charity highlighted the need for donations in order to ensure the future of its operations, providing support and treatment for people affected by gambling harm.

A breakdown provided by GambleAware reveals that 94% of the £49.5 million ($63 million) in donations for the 2023/24 financial year came from four of the UK’s largest gambling operators. The operators donated a whopping £46.6 million ($59.3 million) in total.

Last month, the Charity Commission in the UK confirmed it opened an investigation into GambleAware. The probe followed a complaint filed by the Good Law Project over allegations of links between the charity and the gambling sector.