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The UK has taken a significant step toward reshaping how gambling harm is prevented across the country.
After months of growing concern from charities about shrinking budgets and unclear timelines, the Department of Health and Social Care has opened expressions of interest for a new £30 million fund designed to support frontline organisations during the transition to the statutory levy.
For many small charities, this announcement arrived not as a headline, but as a lifeline.
A sector holding its breath
Throughout 2025, community groups and voluntary organisations have been waiting for clarity on how the government planned to support those working in gambling harm prevention. Some have scaled back services. Others have paused programmes altogether, unsure whether the statutory levy money would arrive in time.
That tension was on clear display during an information session held on 26 October. Officials laid out the roadmap and signalled they were listening. One civil servant directly acknowledged the uncertainty many organisations have been living with. “We are very aware of a lot of the anxiety in the sector on the future of funding,” they said. “So we are keen to give you as much reassurance as possible.”
With that, the transition fund officially opened its first phase.
How the £30m will be used
The programme will run for two years and is divided into three strands that reflect the very different needs of the charities it aims to support.
The first strand funds core prevention work, from education to early intervention. The second backs innovation, giving organisations room to test new ideas or adapt existing models. The third focuses on strengthening capacity, supporting training, infrastructure and long-term resilience.
Organisations can apply for grants between £5,000 and £2 million. The expression of interest window runs until 9 January, followed by the full application period opening on 12 January. Applications will be assessed through February and March, with funding expected to flow from April.
For many teams, this timeline provides the first real sense of stability in more than a year.
A difficult shift toward industry-free funding
One of the fund’s core requirements is a declaration of intent to become fully free from industry money by 2030. It is a major shift, and one that has generated intense debate within the sector.
Officials say they understand the challenge. They noted that organisations come from very different financial starting points, and the early transition years will be approached “as pragmatically as possible.” National Lottery funding will not count as industry funding during the two-year period, but this may be reviewed later.
From April 2026, groups receiving the grant will be barred from accepting any gambling industry contributions.
Tension builds around how the levy will be used
As the details of the fund were published, critics raised new concerns about how levy money will be allocated. Dan Waugh of Regulus Partners described the inclusion of social action and campaigning within the eligible activities as a significant shift.
He told NEXT.io:
“The OHID has stated explicitly that funds will be used for ‘social action’ and campaigning among other activities.”
“This means that the gambling industry will effectively be funding anti-gambling activism via the levy. In effect, the state will be paying prohibitionists to lobby the state for the prohibition of gambling.”
“In a sense, this is nothing new. The Gambling Commission has been funding anti-gambling activism for years, via the regulatory settlement regime – and continues to do so. The industry ought to be alarmed by this – but seems strangely indifferent.”
He argued this could see the levy indirectly funding anti-gambling activism, something he believes has been happening for years through regulatory settlement spending.
He also warned that recent tax changes may reduce the overall levy pool. More than 80 percent of levy funding is expected to come from online casino and online betting, meaning any decline in regulated market spend directly reduces the money available for treatment and prevention.
A system trying to build capacity
The fund is part of a wider effort to repair uneven prevention work across England. A stocktake carried out in summer 2025 found local authorities varied sharply in their ability to deliver programmes, with many lacking the staff or budget to support gambling harm prevention at all.
The Department of Health and Social Care aims to close that gap. It is developing a digital reporting tool to help organisations manage monitoring requirements after April 2026. All applications will go through the Government Grants Management Service via the Find a Grant portal.
For now, the £30m fund represents a bridge between two eras. One defined by inconsistent voluntary contributions. The next shaped by a statutory levy designed to bring stability, accountability and clearer lines of responsibility.
As the transition begins, charities across the country are preparing to step into a new chapter, hopeful that this time the funding will arrive before the pressure becomes too great to bear.
Source: NEXT.io
