Five largest UK bookies commit to 1% problem gambling contribution
Bet365, William Hill, GVC, Sky Bet and Flutter to increase RG contributions from 0.1% to 1% of GGR over next five years
The UK’s five largest bookmakers have volunteered to increase their voluntary donations to problem gambling causes from 0.1% to 1% of revenues over the next five years.
Bet365, William Hill, GVC, Sky Bet and Flutter all said they would increase RET contributions and consider changing the tone of advertising to more responsible messaging.
The group of fives CEO’s will undertake a consultation process with the relevant stakeholders to develop a long-term plan to protect the young and vulnerable from gambling-related harm and to ensure a “rapid expansion” of treatment provision for problem gamblers.
The consultation will seek to agree a long-term costed plan by the end of the year.
A spokesperson on behalf of the five CEO’s said: “We have engaged constructively with the DCMS Secretary of State on safer gambling measures including an increase in voluntary funding for research, education and treatment.
“We will continue to engage on the issues and will consult with all relevant stakeholders on this to understand how best to achieve our shared aim of minimising the impact of gambling-related harm. In addition, we have been working with a broader number of operators on measures to minimise gambling related harm and will comment on them in due course.”
The increased payments would eventually see around £100m a year go to problem gambling charities, compared to the £9.2m donated to GambleAware last year.
The voluntary increase is seen as a way to avoid an enforced problem gambling levy, which members of both major political parties and the Gambling Commission have previously called for.
Gambling Commission chairman William Moyes recently called for the imposition of a mandatory levy, 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.
Many inside the industry have suggested a compulsory levy is not wise with significant uncertainty over exactly how much money is needed and how it should be spent.
The British Medical Journal has also called for more RG funds, claiming that Britain was “woefully under-resourced” in terms of research, education and treatment (RET) funding.
GVC had previously pledged to double its RET funding from 0.1% of revenue to 0.2%.