GambleAware has confirmed that voluntary donations from UK licensed gambling operators have increased by £9m in the last fiscal year, with donations reaching £19m in 2020.
Donations to charity increased by 90% compared to last year, bringing total donations in 2019 to £10.05 million.
The commitment of Entain, William Hill, Flutter and bet365 to donate £100m to GambleAware over the next five years was a key driver of the increase.
Donations made by the so-called big four up to 31 March amounted to £15.4 million - more than 80% of the total.
Flutter donated the largest amount of £9.3 million, though this included voluntary contributions from each of its sub-brands, including Paddy Power Betfair, Sky Bet and The Stars Group.
Entain donated £4.3m to GambleAware during this period, while William Hill and bet365 donated £1.4m and £763,000 respectively.
In addition to funding raised through voluntary donations, GambleAware has received £8.8m in regulatory fees from the UK Gambling Commission in cases involving William Hill and Betway.
GambleAware also released a list of companies that supported its safe gambling campaign, Bet Regret, during its second year in 2020.
The amount donated was £3.9 million and was supplemented by media donations from broadcasters.
In addition, GambleAware received £126,655 in dormant account cash and unclaimed winnings from several UK licensed operators including LeoVegas and BetVictor.
Speaking about the increase in funding, GambleAware CEO Zoe Osmond said: “This increase in donations is the largest we have seen on a year-over-year basis, thanks in large part to the commitment of the Big Four.
“This will allow us to continue and expand our work so that evidence-based services evolve as needed in a robust and accountable system.
“We will soon publish our commissioning strategy, which will detail how we plan to use this increased funding to protect people from the harm caused by the game.
“With these donations, we will continue to fund and improve the National Gambling Treatment Service to provide support to those who need it, working in partnership with many other organizations to raise awareness of the support available,” added Osmond.