As the transformation of safer gambling in the UK continues, the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has provided significant funding to local councils through its gambling harms prevention grant, with Birmingham being the most funded council with £332,769.
London councils were also heavily funded as the methodology for allocating the funds was revealed, with 50% based on population and a further 50% on the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).
In total, a pot of £12m was dished out to County councils, Unitary authorities, Metropolitan boroughs and London boroughs.
Some of the other big recipients were Manchester (£167,338), Lancashire (£275,649), Hampshire (£234,867), Essex (£289,842) and Bradford (£154,748).
Whilst campaigning and political conjecture have continued to flare into 2026, over high street gambling, the density of gambling venues in a location was seemingly not taken into account when the funds were allocated.
Middlesbrough is consistently ranked as one of the highest areas in terms of density of gambling venues, from bookmakers to Adult Gaming Centres; however, it only received £45,312 in funding through the grant.
Meanwhile, Luton and Blackpool are also both home to a high density of gambling venues, yet councils in these two areas received £57,611 and £44,159, respectively.
Blackpool raises eyebrows given its significantly high proliferation around casinos and gaming centres, with it seen by many as a gambling tourism spot.
Does this data expose a flaw in how the funding decisions were made? OHID itself acknowledged that ‘there is currently not enough evidence to create a formula that accurately captures the variations in gambling-related harm across different local areas’, and outlined an ambition to improve the allocation formula.
The decisions also accelerate the public health approach to safer gambling now being taken, with industry initiatives being further distanced from the established safer gambling strategy of the UK.
The top ten funded councils were:
- Birmingham — £332,769
- Kent — £326,912
- Essex — £289,842
- Lancashire — £275,649
- Hampshire — £234,867
- Hertfordshire — £201,954
- Norfolk — £189,672
- Surrey — £187,149
- Leeds — £182,116
- Manchester — £167,338
Whilst the highest funded council list was dominated by large counties, the absence of London councils is deceptive, with it spread across a myriad of councils.
The top ten councils in London were:
- Newham — £93,820
- Ealing — £86,487
- Brent — £85,877
- Croydon — £85,220
- Enfield — £79,420
- Barnet — £78,507
- Tower Hamlets — £81,537
- Greenwich — £63,731
- Hillingdon — £65,585
- Hounslow — £65,563
