GVC, bet365 and William Hill top GambleAware 2019 donations list

UK betting giants GVC, bet365 and William Hill accounted for the largest voluntary donations to gambling-related harm charity GambleAware during 2019, the organisation has confirmed.

GVC donated just under £1.1m during the period between 1 April 2019 and 31 December 2019, after pledging to donate £1.4m throughout 2019/20.

Bet365 handed over a total of £868,000 during 2019, while fellow sports betting firm William Hill donated £500,000 of its total £1m pledge in the same period.

Flutter Entertainment made no donation to GambleAware during 2019 according to the latest figures released by the charity. However, operators have until April 2020 to meet their donation pledges and Flutter this week promised to give GambleAware £1m.

Gamesys Group made a total donation of £426,000 to GambleAware during April-December 2019, with a further £690,000 being paid from the firm’s UKGC regulatory penalty levied in June 2019.

UK casino operator Rank Group donated £426,675 during the period, while sports betting operator Betway gave a total of £153,500.

Genesis Global donated £150,500 to GambleAware during April-December 2019, while fellow online casino operator Playtech made a donation of £100,000.

LeoVegas and Kindred Group donated £69,290 and £75,000 respectively, while a further £600,000 was received from LeoVegas in the form of a UKGC regulatory penalty, levied in May 2018.

Under current rules, operators are asked to donate annually a minimum of 0.1% of their annual gross gambling yield (GGY) directly to GambleAware.

Operators are however free to pledge donations in excess of this amount on a voluntary basis.