GambleAware receives £9.4m as donations

GambleAware, a UK-based organisation that operates as a charity committed to minimising gambling-related harm, has received £9.4m (€10.9m/$13.5m) in donations during the past year from the members of the UK gambling industry.

Speaking in an open letter, GambleAware said that the figure could not reach its target amount of £10m for the 12 months up to March 31, 2018. However, this figure is certainly a new record for the organisation.

Marc Etches, chief executive of GambleAware, said in the letter: “In Great Britain, it is estimated that 430,000 people have a gambling problem and another two million are at risk of developing one.”

“This is a public health issue that requires all organisations that have an interest to step up to the plate in the next 12 months to work positively and collaboratively to help reduce gambling-related harms, so we are looking beyond licence-holders for further sources of income and support.”

“Less than 2% of ‘problem gamblers’ are receiving treatment, representing a significant gap in services.”

“With two million adults ‘at risk’ and nearly half a million 11 to 15-year-old children gambling every week in England and Wales (including 9000 defined as ‘problem gamblers’), there is a need for significant investment in education and harm-prevention activity.”