UK Gambling Levy Impact On Charities Questioned
Gambling charities have questioned whether a new levy on the industry is the right move to combat gambling-related harm in the UK.
Could the new UK gambling levy do more harm than good for charities? © Brett_Hondow, Pixabay
Key Facts:
- New Labour government has introduced a statutory levy for the gambling sector
- Government says the move will raise £100 million a year to combat gambling-related harms
- Charities are unsure whether or not the move will be effective
- Deal Me Out and BetBlocker among the charities to speak out against the new gambling levy
The government recently announced it was bringing in a new gambling levy for the UK’s gambling industry, a move which it says will raise in the region of £100 million a year.
Labour said some gambling operators had previously only been donating a minimal sum towards gambling charities, claiming some companies voluntarily only gave £1. However, not everyone involved with tackling gambling addiction supports the new levy.
Deal Me Out And BetBlocker Speak Out
Duncan Garvie, the founder and trustee of BetBlocker, said third-sector organisations such as his own are being directly impacted as a result of funding insecurity.
He told iGamingFuture in an interview: “That should never have happened and evidences a poorly coordinated migration from one system to the other.”
“The charities that are currently being funded by the RET system have large numbers of people depending on them. When these services are diminished, people that need help are let down.”
BetBlocker is a free-to-use tool that can be used to block online gambling websites.
GambleAware Links Cause Problems
The NHS ended its collaboration with GambleAware, one of the UK’s best-known gambling charities, a couple of years ago over an alleged conflict of interest due to the fact some of its funding came from gambling operators.
While an investigation into the matter found that GambleAware had not done anything wrong, the Deal Me Out founder Jordan Lea said the case has had a lasting impact on the third sector.
Lea says the threat of changes to the way third sector organisations are funded risks “going back to the Dark Ages”, while fears over conflicts of interest have been “internalised into policy”.
The Deal Me Out founder also told iGF that some third sector charities have been “ostracised” due to links to gambling brands and forced to stop work with them.
The gambling addiction charity Gordon Moody said: “The new levy framework puts a question mark on the future funding environment for charities like ourselves.”
Only time will tell what impact the new UK gambling levy has on charities within the sector.
