GambleAware Wants 1% of GGY for Mental Health

UK gambling charity GambleAware has issued a new call for there to be a 1% levy on operator gross gaming revenue to put toward combat gambling-related harm within the country.

The charity published a paper with six new principles that it believes could help fight gambling-related harm in the country. It called for the 1% levy to go toward research into gambling addiction and other betting harms. GambleAware had previously submitted a request for the tax to the Department of Digital Culture, Media and Sports, and it's expected that such a tax could generate around £140 million for gaming addiction treatment and research annually.

GambleAware is also looking to decrease inequality related to gambling, as previous research has shown that those less economically well-off are at the highest risk of becoming addicted to gambling. Other principles are culture change among gambling industry investors, innovation-driven support, and collaborative expertise from treatment professionals related to gambling.

Regarding the matter GambleAware CEO Zoe Osmond said, "The ongoing impact of the pandemic, a growing cost-of-living crisis and shift to online gambling means there is a potential increased risk of people experiencing gambling harms that remains unseen until an individual reaches a crisis point.

"That's why we are calling on the government to introduce a mandatory, 1% levy of GGR on the gambling industry as a condition of licence. This could be delivered in a matter of months and could almost treble the amount of funding going to preventing and treating gambling harms."