GambleAware to cease operations as statutory levy transition continues
25 July 2025 | By Robert Fletcher
Summary
GambleAware will halt its activities and transfer responsibility for gambling-harms research, prevention and treatment to the UK government and newly appointed commissioners by 31 March 2026. The move follows the introduction of a statutory levy in 2025 designed to raise around £100 million a year through a percentage of industry profits.
The charity, which has supported players and industry commissioning since 2017, has backed the statutory levy and says it will fulfil existing commissioning agreements until the new public-health-led system is fully operational. The government has praised GambleAware’s work and said ensuring a smooth and stable transition is a priority.
Source
Key Points
- • GambleAware will stop activity and hand over its functions by 31 March 2026.
- • The statutory levy, announced in November 2024 and implemented in 2025, aims to raise c.£100m a year from industry stakeholders.
- • Levy rates will vary by sector and product, ranging from 0.1% to 1.1% of gross gambling yield.
- • Three new commissioners for gambling harms research, prevention and treatment will take on responsibilities across England, Scotland and Wales.
- • GambleAware supports the move to a statutory, public-health-led system and will maintain existing services during the transition.
- • The government has committed to maintaining service provision and expanding efforts to tackle gambling harm.
Why should I read this?
Quick and simple: if you work in gambling, public health or compliance in the UK, this changes who pays for and runs harm-prevention work. GambleAware stepping back means the levy and new commissioners will rewrite funding and commissioning – so it’s worth knowing how that affects services and industry obligations.
Author style
Punchy and to the point — this is a material shift in the UK’s gambling-harms landscape. The article summarises the timeline, the financial mechanism (the statutory levy) and the practical impact: who will deliver services next and how the transition will be managed. If you need the detail, read the original; if you want the headline, this tells you the essentials.
