The Office of Health Improvement and Disparities has announced the list of recipients due to receive a share of the £25.4m it oversees, equivalent to 30 percent of the Statutory Levy, with the organisation pursuing a public health approach to preventing gambling harm.
The Office of Health Improvement and Disparities has announced the list of gambling harm prevention organisations due to receive a share of the £25.4m it administers through the Statutory Levy, with many established charities now facing a future without funding.
Though doubts have already been raised regarding allocation, the OHID described its assessment process as “robust, fair and transparent,” even as the list of recipients shows a distinct move towards the treatment of gambling as a public health issue.
“BetBlocker is one of the new levy millionaires, securing £1.12m,” reported SBC News. “The online gambling blocking app is joined in the millionaires club by education group YGAM (£3m) and National Gambling Helpline operator GamCare (£4m).”
“YGAM and GamCare are the two biggest recipients of OHID funding. The remaining levy millionaires are the Addiction Recovery Agency (£1.026m), Betknowmore (£2.99m), Citizens Advice Wokingham (£1.27m), Council for Voluntary Service Medway (£1.3m), Gambling Harm UK (£1.25m) and NECA (£1.27m).”
OHID is responsible for distributing 30 percent of funds raised by the levy, with the rest administered by NHS England and UK Research and Innovation, however any hopes the role of prevention could be administered by those organisations already embedded in the communities they speak for has been undermined by the unpredictable allocation of support.
“The nuance and understanding provided by industry collaboration have previously been seen as a key avenue to ensure the best protection, however, it is hard to deny that it’s at risk of dwindling in a new funding era,” wrote iGaming Expert.
“Speaking at the Illegal Gambling Prevention Summit, Jordan Lea, the Founder of DealMeOut, stated that ‘treatment providers need to be able to work with the industry, without fear or favour,’ warning that the race for funding has risked isolating those that need help most.”
‘The air feels electrified’: fall-out continues from OHID’s unfathomable distribution of levy funds
One week on from the publication of the list of organisations the OHID has selected to receive levy funding to provide gambling harm prevention services, disputes continue to rage over the application, selection and administration process.
Many established charities rooted in their communities have been forced to close their doors or reduce services after funding was cut, while public health-focused bodies have seen their budgets balloon, prompting speculation on the new system’s efficacy.
“LinkedIn was submerged in a wave of posts by specialised gambling harm organisations, expressing their disappointment in the selection process, with some confirming that they’ll undertake drastic measures to try and withstand the lack of finance,” reported SBC News.
“It’s not so mellow on the other side either, however, with charities who did actually manage to secure funding now attracting attention because of that, and pressed to justify themselves.”
Noting that “the air feels electrified right now,” journalist Viktor Kayed observed “plenty of critical views being slung from across every corner of the gambling sector.”
“The abundance of polarisation is bound to continue, at least until the dust settles down, but the most important question to answer would be whether the select few charities can withstand bearing the whole responsibility of caring for all of the UK’s problem gamblers on their shoulders.”
Originally published on Coinslot on April 19, 2026. Republished with permission.