GC reveals recipients of regulatory settlement funds

The Gambling Commission of Great Britain has published a list of projects and organisations it has been able support during the past 12 months using funds collected from regulatory settlements.

When the Commission takes regulatory action against an operator, this may include a payment in lieu of a financial penalty. This settlement could include payment to an organisation for socially responsible purposes.

The Commission reviews various proposals for how funds collected from these settlements are distributed and has published the projects that were approved for funding in 2019-20.

Gambling Research Exchange was the recipient of the largest single donation in 2019-20, securing £1.9m (€2.2m/$2.5m) in funds to create a programme of work including a new research, dissemination evidence hub committed to preventing and reducing gambling harms in Great Britain.

The Commission also approved £1.8m in funds for Howard League for Penal Reform, a charity focused on working for less crime, safer communities and fewer people in prison. Funds will be used to support its problem gambling efforts.

Elsewhere, the Hurley Group was approved for £1.6m in funding for pilot project to explore the design and delivery of an NHS-based integrated community-based service for people experiencing harm from gambling.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority secured £750,000 for a pathfinder project on local authority public health approaches, while The Samaritans was issued £523,998 to help fund training and resources for gambling businesses to identify and support customers experiencing risks of suicide.

Other major beneficiaries included the Health and Social Care Alliance, which was approved for £496,647 in funding to support the operation of a forum for participants with lived experience of gambling harm in Scotland.

GamCare secured £298,590 to deliver a website to support the administration of the GamCare Safer Gambling Standard, as well as a further £250,000 to build capacity to analyse data captured by its treatment provision and the National Gambling helpline.

Gordon Moody was issued two separate donations of £200,000, one of which was to enhance the analysis of the data captured by its treatment provision, and the other as capital funds to increase treatment capacity.

The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute secured £228,500 to support a two-year programme of work to engage the financial services sector in efforts to reduce gambling harms, while the Scottish Public Health Network was approved for £142,483 to embed a whole population approach to gambling in Scotland.

Smaller beneficiaries of the funding included BetKnowMore, GambleAware, Healthy Stadia and the Centre for Public Scrutiny.

In relation to this initiative, the Commission has praised the launch of the new pathfinder project by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority as a direct result of the settlement funding.

This will see 10 local authorities work together to increase support for those experiencing harm, improve prevention programmes across the region, collect evidence of the impact of interventions and share best practices.

“The adoption of a well-planned public health approach to tackling gambling harms across Greater Manchester is exactly what the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms was designed to stimulate,” Commission chairman Bill Moyes said.

“Not only will the approach focus collaborative effort to reduce gambling harms across a wide geographic footprint, it will also deliver evaluation and shared learnings so that other organisations can build on the developments in the North West.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham added: “This funding will be used to strengthen the treatment and education around gambling available throughout Greater Manchester, and support a broad range of initiatives to better understand gambling harm.

“We need to have a frank and constructive conversation about the harm that can be caused by gambling, and work together with local authorities and partners in all areas of our city-region to reduce its impact and support those who need our help.”