About the funds used to support the Gambling-Related Suicide Programme

Regulatory settlement funds come from involuntary payments from gambling operators. They are “a payment in lieu of the financial penalty the Gambling Commission (GC) might otherwise impose for breach of a licence condition”. Further, “there is to be no publicity or benefit for the operator in connection with the regulatory settlement” and the operator has no control over, or is even permitted to communicate with, the organisation provided those funds (in this case Greo Evidence Insights), except to carry out the necessary financial transactions. Decisions regarding the awarding of regulatory settlement funds are made by the Social Responsibility Funds Group. Once awarded, there is no influence exerted on projects funded using regulatory settlement funds by the GC other than monitoring to ensure milestones described in successful proposals are being met.   

Research funds will be disseminated via a transparent, peer review process. As we have with other research projects funded via regulatory settlement funds,  the funds provided to Greo Evidence Insights for this research will be awarded to researchers via a transparent peer review process similar to that employed by research councils in the UK, Canada, and elsewhere. Before working in the UK, Greo Evidence Insights, formerly known as the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre (OPGRC) oversaw the tendering of research internationally. From 2000 to 2012, the OPGRC was the largest funder of gambling research in the world. These funds came from a levy; 2% of slot machine revenue generated by most casinos in Ontario, Canada to fund research, prevention, and treatment of problem gambling. In 2012 the government of Ontario revised their approach and redirected these funds back into general provincial revenue. Greo’s processes and governance for granting research funds during this time were based on the processes used by the Canadian Tri-Council (three national government bodies that fund research in Canada) and later updated to incorporate policies and procedures employed by the National Institute for Health Research.