UK betting firms ‘must pay more’ to help high-risk gamblers

Industry increases donations to charities, but campaigners say more money is needed to protect gamblers

Britain's gambling industry has more than tripled its annual donations over two years to a charity that combats gambling harms, as it campaigns against calls for a statutory levy on betting firms.

More than 680 firms donated 34.7m to the industry-funded GambleAware charity in the year to 31 March 2022. This compares with voluntary donations from the sector of 19m the previous year and 10.05m in 2019-20, according to the charity's figures.