GambleAware set to close
GambleAware has announced it will undergo a managed closure by April 2026. This aligns with the introduction of the UK’s statutory levy for gambling harm reduction. The move marks a major shift in how gambling-related support is funded and coordinated.
Baroness Twycross, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Gambling, explained: “The new levy system will build on the successes of the current system to improve and expand efforts to further understand, tackle and treat harmful gambling.”
Why is GambleAware closing?
GambleAware launched in 2012, and its work over the last 13 years has been widely recognised. Since 2017, the charity has actively campaigned for the “development of a statutory, public health-led system to address gambling harm.”
In many ways, GambleAware is stepping aside because it’s succeeded in its mission: to have gambling harms acknowledged as public health issues – and to ensure they're funded accordingly. The levy came into effect in April 2025, with the first payments due in October 2025 but it will likely be early 2026 before what has been collected will be put to use. And at some point around then GambleAware will close completely, handing over its responsibilities to the newly appointed public bodies.
How the levy will be used
The government aims to raise approximately £100 million through the levy. This will be distributed with 50% going directly to the NHS to “to commission treatment and support services, including in the third sector”. 30% will go to prevention of gambling related harm and 20% will go towards research.
The levy will be collected from gambling operators in the UK, based on a tiered percentage of Gross Gambling Yield (GGY). Remote operators (like online casinos and sportsbooks) will pay 1.1%, most land-based operators will pay 0.5%, and lotteries just 0.1%.
BGC warning
GambleAware has built a strong legacy – and the new levy has an impressive operation to follow. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has voiced its support for a mandatory system, but with clear caveats.
“What matters is that funding remains independent, ringfenced and focused on delivering real outcomes for those at risk of harm.”
Transitions like this aren’t common, and when they do happen, they don’t always go smoothly. For example, when the Victim Support charity’s work was partly taken over via police funding, the move faced significant criticism.
In GambleAware’s case, the Government is inheriting a system that already works. The real challenge? Not breaking it by accident. It’s hard not to be just a little bit concerned about how much of what goes to the NHS will get caught-up in the unwieldy bureaucracy of that particular organisation before it gets anywhere near someone who needs it.
All £s on care, research etc?
One of the problems in the Victim Support charity to Police Commissioners shift was that more money was caught up in admin. Existing charities have their structures in place, where a shift to a totally new way of working is likely to come with ‘start up’ costs.
It’s a valid concern that some of the levy’s impact could be lost in infrastructure building, rather than going directly to the services and research it's meant to support.
GambleAware legacy
GambleAware has become the go-to for those struggling with gambling related harms. They worked closely with other third sector partners to deliver effective services, rooted in research. There are countless examples, one of which was the success of their self assessment tool that reached 100,000 people in just its first year.
Summary
The move from a voluntary system to a compulsory levy is a positive. It guarantees funds will be received from gambling operators and spent on the areas that need them. The government has to closely monitor how the levy gets spent in order to keep up with the work that GambleAware has done.
It would be fair to say that the industry will be watching very closely.
