‘Are GambleAware contributions from betting companies really too little? Or is GambleAware guilty of bad money management!’ (Photo by Apolo Photographer on Unsplash)
Data released shows that contributions from gambling brands to charities and organisations is increasing, but not nearly enough to stem the tide of gambling addiction. GambleAware the largest problem gambling organisation in the UK revealed a list of donors from the casino and sports betting companies in April of this year.
It showed that some of the largest betting companies did keep their promise of bigger contributions from an agreement in 2019, but other companies like W88 from the Philippines contributed paltry amounts like £250. They sponsor the football shirts of Crystal Palace and paid millions for that sponsorship deal, but were only giving a couple of hundred pounds to this important cause. There is outrage at such firms and the white label firms that partner with them to give them access to the UK market.
White Label Operators Allow Easy Access to the UK for Foreign Gambling Companies
These “white-label” operators have obtained gambling licenses in the UK, usually, they are from tax haven territories like the Channel Isles or Malta and sell the rights to large gambling companies to use the license rights. They make a nice sum from the annual licensing and the overseas betting company gets to advertise in the UK where they may not have been allowed otherwise. The company giving W88 their bridge to the market is Midnight Gaming.
The List of Shame As GambleAware Contributions from UKGC Licensed Betting Companies Amounts to a Joke!
Other betting firms like SBOTOP who sponsor the shirts worn by Leeds United, Sportsbet.io who sponsor another Premiership side, Southampton and Fun88 who sponsor Newcastle United all get their access through the white-label company TGP Europe. The size of their contribution to GambleAware? A mere £5,000 when the shirt sponsorships are regularly in excess of £5 million pounds. A lowly £2,000 was given to the charity by BGE who are the license holders for Dafabet, and £10,000 was contributed by Vivaro who rent their betting license to ManBetX and LoveBet.
These sums are even less than the contributions made by the Red Cross and local hospices that hold the occasional charity raffles for GambleAware. Understandably campaigners are up in arms about these revelations and are demanding some penalties or at least reform to the current system.
The NHS, through Clair Murdoch, the mental health director, voiced their concern that the health bill from gambling addiction is being picked up by the National Health Service and the funds from gambling companies, who are the cause of the problem, are simply insufficient.
Should they Keep their Licenses?
There was a formal agreement between Whitehall and the betting industry to make a voluntary contribution of at least 0.1% of their annual revenue to the charity, GambleAware or risk having their license revoked. This was made some years ago and as you can see, that 0.1% should be a lot higher and be applicable to all gambling companies who have customers on these shores. Some have gone as far as to demand the end to shirt sponsorships by betting firms so that they have less awareness in the market and the white label operators lose this cynical money train.
It could just be that this is a case of bad money management by the GambleAware organisation. Yes, this is a great organisation but has anyone looked into how they spend their money. Usually, when an organisation such as this asks for more money, there is some lavish noncritical spending. Yet, it seems almost unbelievable that multi-millions in sponsorship deals are being dished out while just a few thousand to GambleAware is really an insult to the British people!
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