The UK Government has created the Gambling Levy Transition Fund (GLTF) to assist charities that missed out on funding under the Statutory Levy.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said the decision has been made to ensure the continuity of gambling harm prevention and treatment services in England’, as the industry continues to navigate the ‘generational change’ brought about by the transition to a Statutory Levy on operators.
“Tight time frames for commissioning processes and decisions created the risk of a funding gap,” said DCMS.
“This may have put vulnerable service users or beneficiary groups of organisations previously funded under the voluntary system at risk. Recognising this, the GLTF has been rapidly established by DCMS to provide immediate, targeted, time-limited financial support to ensure no such gap exists.”
Although there has been no official confirmation from the government on which organisations have been successful, it is understood that some charities have already begun to receive a decision on whether they will receive a portion of the £120m generated in the first year of the levy.
Those who were unsuccessful now have until 30 April to apply for a maximum of three months of funding from the GLTF.
According to the criteria published by DCMS for the GLTF, applicants must show that they were using funding from the industry-funded voluntary system led by GambleAware between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2026 and bid for funding from the gambling levy.
All funding from the GLTF will cover the period between 1 April and 30 June, and must be used for staffing and costs related to delivering services.
Funding will be capped at the pro rata value of no more than three months’ previous funding under the voluntary system. For example, a charity that received £120,000 annually will be eligible for up to £30,000 from the fund.
DCMS has stated that funding will be available to all eligible organisations.
News of the fund will provide some relief to embattled charities. However, the limited timeframe it covers means that the decision acts as a stay of execution rather than a long-term solution and does little to quell concerns over the long-term future of problem gambling treatment in the UK.
As GambleAware prepares for closure on 31 March, a number of organisations have warned the government that the transition to a funding model led by the NHS risks harming the quality of care for users.
Most recently, the Care Quality Commission, following an assessment of 14 charities that are part of the National Gambling Support Network, said: “We would urge commissioners to review the findings of this report to make sure services continue to provide care in a similar way so that people experiencing gambling harms still receive the care and support they need, and that there is ongoing oversight and assessment of the quality of services.”
There will be some hope that the transitional funding diverts the safer gambling space from its current direction, with many warning that the abrupt shift to a new era of funding is to the detriment of player safety.
Off the back of the Illegal Gambling Prevention Summit in Manchester, gambling harms consultant, Mark Potter, emphasised ‘nobody in the industry wants to see gambling harm increase, but that is the reality of the current trajectory’.
For the charities involved in the sector, it’s now a case of awaiting final confirmation on their funding futures before picking a path through the uncertainty to find a long-term solution to carrying on their services.
