UK: GambleAware will receive maximum of £11m levy funding
Welsh Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing announces that GambleAware will be allocated a maximum of £11m ($14.8m) from the first year of RET levy to assist with transition.
Key points:
– GambleAware to receive maximum of £11m funding from new RET levy in first year
– Money will come out of the 50% that is distributed to the NHS and treatment
– Decision reached by NHS England and the devolved Scottish and Welsh Governments
Question remarks remain for many gambling harms-related charities and social enterprises over the funds raised by the new research, education and treatment (RET) levy and how much will be apportioned where.
GambleAware’s fate, for the first year at least, has been revealed by Sarah Murphy MS, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing in Wales.
Seeking to give reassurance to Welsh organisations such as Adferiad and Ara, which are both distributed funds through GambleAware, Murphy explained that up to £11m of the £100m expected to be raised yearly will be used to support GambleAware through the transitional period.
Murphy was keen to make clear that the measure is a temporary one: “It does not represent a continued funding commitment to GambleAware.”
The decision has come from the devolved Scottish and Welsh governments in tandem with NHS England, and the money will come from the 50% allocated to treatment.
The independence of the GambleAware from industry was placed under scrutiny last year after an investigation from the Gambling Commission.
The Commission found no wrongdoing and stated that it was: “Satisfied that the charity’s reliance on industry funding does not impact on decision-making about its activities.”
Good to know: GambleAware received over £24m in voluntary RET donations from operators in the 2024/25 financial year and in turn, it funds and commissions many third-party, smaller scale projects in treatment, education and research
GambleAware does not fund services, programmes or projects that are also funded by direct industry donations according to its website.
If the introduction of the levy causes a reduction in the amount of funding that GambleAware receives overall from industry, it could damage many smaller programmes like Adferiad and Alda.
They will have less access to GambleAware funding, and will not be able to subsidise that with direct industry donations without jeopardising their independence or relationship with GambleAware.
Murphy explained that the transition period should help to reduce disruption to the National Gambling Support Netweork while NHS Wales and related bodies put in place new arrangements.
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