Gamesys Foundation to donate £2.25m to charity by end of 2020

Gamesys Group has pledged to donate £2.25m to mental health and social isolation charities by the end of 2020 via the newly-launched Gamesys Foundation.

The London-listed operator confirmed the pledge in its 2019 annual report and has donated £150,000 a month to the foundation since October 2019.

The Gamesys Foundation board of trustees is made up of Gamesys Group executive chairman Neil Goulden, together with non-executive director Katie Vanneck-Smith.

Other independent trustees of the foundation include Kevin Hopgood, Holly Spiers and independent non-executive director Andria Vidler.

The Gamesys Foundation has been granted charity status by the Charities Commission in February and will focus on causes throughout England and Wales.

A website for the Gamesys Foundation will be developed, with the wider Gamesys Group linking to the foundation in its commercial operations.

Independent of the Gamesys Foundation, Gamesys Group donated £550,000 to charitable causes during 2019, including $250,000 to Hurricane Dorian relief efforts. In its Q1 2020 report, the operator also made a corporate donation of £200,000 to UK charity Women’s Aid.

Due to its charitable efforts, Gamesys Group has been added to the list of companies included within the FTSE4Good investment fund, which includes ethically sourced companies that meet a wide range of corporate social responsibility criteria.

Gamesys Foundation chairman Goulden told EGR: “The formation of the Gamesys Charitable Foundation is an important part of the Group’s ESG – Environmental, Societal and Governance – strategy.

In a modern world it is important that companies do more than just make profits and pay employees. They must demonstrate that they are good corporate citizens and benefit wider society.

“The Gamesys Foundation is just one of a series of initiatives in this area by the Gamesys Group and it has been welcomed by staff and customers,” he added.