UK Gambling Firms Boost Funding of Responsible Gaming Programs

Gambling operators in the UK have announced plans this week to increase their funding of responsible gaming programs to 1% of revenues from the current level of 0.1%.

GVC Holdings, bet365, Flutter Entertainment, Sky Bet, and William Hill have all pledged to boost their funding of the programs, likely trying to try and keep the government from laying heavy restrictions in the future. The groups announced the change in a letter to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), saying that the total will rise over the next five years. Once the revenues hit 1%, they'll be donating between £60 million and £100 million annually.

Politicians have invoked some restrictions on the betting industry in recent months, recently implementing a reduction of the max bet for fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) from £100 to £2 per game. That coincided with an increase in Remote Gaming Duty to 21%, up from 15%.

The funding for the programs will go toward the likes of GamCare, which provides counseling services for gambling addicts.

It's not known if the pledges will be enough to crack down on the betting industry further, but DCMS secretary Jeremy Wright has called for betting operators to up their responsible gaming commitments.

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