UK government provides extra support for gambling harms services

The UK government has rolled out a last-minute program to provide funding to gambling harms support services that were not allocated monies from the statutory levy. Organisations that meet specific criteria have until the end of April to apply for funding from the Gambling Levy Transition Fund, which will be allocated by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on a pro-rata basis.

Funding will begin on April 1 for three months, and organisations whose applications are approved after this date can backdate claims for expenditure to the start of April.

Funding for successful applicants will normally be paid in arrears upon receipt of a relevant grant claim at the end of June, the government said.

'Targeted' support

The DCMS said it “rapidly established” the program to provide “immediate, targeted, time-limited financial support” to ensure no funding gap exists in the gambling harms support sector.

“Tight time frames for commissioning processes and decisions created the risk of a funding gap,” the government said. “This may have put vulnerable service users or beneficiary groups of organisations previously funded under the voluntary system at risk.”

Criteria for funding to be approved

Applicants must have been using funding from the industry-funded voluntary system between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2026, and must show evidence of that funding.

They must have been delivering “relevant activity” in March 2026 “in support of service users and/or beneficiary groups in England who may be affected by the period of transition.”

The third stipulation is that organisations must have bid for funding from the Gambling Levy via the Gambling Harms Prevention VCSE Grant Fund and/or the Gambling Harms Treatment VCSE Grant Fund – and had their application(s) “entirely rejected.”

Organisations can apply before notification of a final decision on Gambling Harms Treatment VCSE Grant Fund awards. However, the DCMS will only look into applications that have then been rejected.

If organisations are already receiving funding towards the cost of the relevant provision from another funding source, they will not be able to also claim those costs from the Gambling Levy Transition Fund.

Changes to the landscape

“The transition from the previous voluntary, industry-funded arrangements to the new statutory gambling levy is likely to result in changes to the existing delivery landscape,” the DCMS added.

“It is the intention of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to ensure that there is an effective transition between these arrangements, ensuring service users and beneficiary groups are not negatively affected by this period of change.”

Where organisations are unable to claim because of a lack of sufficient unrestricted reserves, the DCMS will “consider making a payment at point of need where there is relevant evidence to justify such a payment.”

https://www.intergameonline.com/igaming/news/uk-government-provides-extra-support-for-gambling-harms-services