The GB Gambling Commission has committed £32,844,197 to harm prevention charity GambleAware to create a “system stabilisation fund”, which would support GambleAware’s services during the transition from voluntary funding to a statutory levy.
The introduction of a statutory levy was one of the key proposals put forward in the Gambling Act review white paper, which was published in April.
Consultations for four issues raised in the white paper opened yesterday (26 July).
Previously, GambleAware has publicly supported the proposed levy, with chief executive Zoë Osmond saying it would provide “certainty and stability” for funding.
Funding details
The £32.8m ($42.1m/€38.3m) would go towards stabilising GambleAware’s existing processes that address gambling harm. These are prevention, support and treatment.
The money would also fund GambleAware’s plans to reduce inequities in gambling harm treatment while equalising “outcomes, experience and access”. The charity would additionally work to develop an integrated system and improve access to services through research.
In allocating the funds, the Commission named three priority areas for research:
- Build the evidence base for gambling harms;
- System research to inform how funds or services are provided;
- Evidence translation or dissemination.
The Commission added that details of how the funding is spent will be outlined in a series of annual reports.
Statutory levy
Operators are currently asked to donate a minimum of 0.1% of their gross gambling yield (GGY) to GambleAware each year. But a statutory levy, as outlined in the white paper, would make this process mandatory.
Operators that have an yearly GGY of under £250,000 are encouraged to donate £250.
The statutory levy has also been endorsed by NHS England and the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC). The BGC said it would only endorse the mandatory system if it was independent and also factored in land-based operators.
