RIGT Demands More Donations: 1

The British online casino group, Responsibility in Gambling Trust, recently released a statement which reveals the organizations shortcomings in the donations department from last year. The group has entered a critical phase, according to reports, which state that even Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary is loosing patience with online casinos and the gambling industry because of the lackluster GBP 1.2 million in donations received in the 2008-2009 year. The British newspaper, The Independent, reported that 80 percent of the donations given to the responsible gambling group were from only 30 major donors. These donors are the online casinos that account for a turnover rate of 95 percent in the United Kingdom.

The program was set up as a way for online casinos to voluntarily donate to the government program and help control problem gambling. They are in the works of having a new compulsory donation system for the online casino Responsibility in Gambling Trust. They are currently releasing a minimum donation requirement for online casinos of different calibers. For a small, online casino with only one shop and one bookmaker, they will have to donate somewhere in between GBP 180 and GBP 300 per year. As for the bigger websites, they will be asked for a significantly larger amount. For example, a huge national chain of online casinos could be asked to give between GBP 250,000 and GBP 300,000 per year. The operators of these online casinos have 12 weeks to respond to the impending regulations and either step up their game on a voluntary level, or be given set amount to pay up.

The online casino group released a message regarding the new system that will soon take into effect: "This move will secure the future of problem gambling treatment and will ensure that all operators pay their way. Discussions continuing on the voluntary route have so far fallen short of the mark and now is the time to get this sorted one way or another." They added: "The prospect of a voluntary agreement is still on the cards if the industry can give satisfactory guarantees. But the clock is now ticking."