William Hill Tops GambleAware Donor List

William Hill and Flutter Entertainment top the list of donors to British gambling charity, GambleAware, according to a letter sent to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Gambling-related Harms. 

In June 2020, William Hill and Flutter Entertainment, along with Bet365 and Entain pledged £100m over four years to improve treatment services for problem gamblers in Britain. GambleAware chief executive, Marc Etches, confirmed that £2.2m was donated between Q1 and Q3 of the 2020/21 financial year. 

GambleAware was selected as the main commissioning agent to ensure that the funds reach those who require the counselling and treatment and their chief executive predicted donations to reach £5m before the end of the current financial year. 

In the letter, Etches, stated:

“GambleAware is working with the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS to ensure the best use of this pledged funding, and to align and integrate the expansion of treatment services across the whole system so patients get the right treatment at the right time.” 

The agreement reached with operators would see them donate between 0.1% and 0.25% of gross gambling yield (GGY) in 2020, 0.5% in 2021 then 0.75% in 2022 and 1% in 2023. Whilst the amount donated falls short of the £25m target, the economic impact of Covid-19 has been blamed for this with the shortfall set to be spread over the next three financial years. 

Brigid Simmons, chair of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), explained:

“We intend on updating an amended figure each year, so this should be seen as a floor to funding with additional funding spread out over years two to four.” 

Simmonds added:

“The large operators have shown a strong commitment to increasing RET and we will look to encourage more operators across the industry to demonstrate their own commitment in a way that makes more funds available for funding the effort to make gambling safer and the provision of treatment that goes with it.” 

To-date, William Hill tops the list with a pledge of over £1m for the 2020/21 financial year (£500,000) donated so far. Flutter Entertainment has already paid £874,000 whilst Bet365 has donated £763,000.