Statutory gambling levy
Information about the statutory levy on gambling operators.
Documents
Details
Latest updates
This year the levy has raised just under £120 million, which will be ringfenced solely for research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm.
Overview
The statutory gambling levy represents a generational change to funding arrangements and a significant transformation in the government’s commitment to strengthening efforts to understand, tackle and treat gambling-related harm. The statutory levy commenced in April 2025, and commissioners have started to communicate how funding will flow across the system.
Operators are required to pay into the levy by October each year. The levy is collected and administered by the Gambling Commission under the strategic direction of the UK government, and has replaced the previous system of voluntary industry contributions. Levy funding will be directed in specific proportions for the purposes of research, prevention and treatment. Each stream of the levy system has a lead commissioning body.
The priority for the government is to increase the level of investment and strengthen the provision of projects and services to understand, tackle and treat gambling-related harm in order to improve outcomes for the public.
Background
Under the previous voluntary levy system, operators were required by the Gambling Commission to make annual financial contributions to one or more organisations which delivered or supported research, education or treatment of gambling-related harms.
Following a consultation period between 17 October to 14 December 2023 under the previous government, and a subsequent analysis of the responses to the consultation, the UK government introduced a statutory levy charged to all licenced gambling activity in Great Britain.
The levy aims to deliver a sustainable and equitable funding system for research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm. For the first time, the statutory levy guarantees increased, ringfenced, and trusted funding to be used across Great Britain for treatment, but also to tackle the sources of gambling harm through vital investment in research and prevention.
Levy funding is collected by the Gambling Commission under the direction of DCMS ministers. Find more information about payment of the levy.
Collection of the levy
As required by the Gambling Act 2005, the basis and rate vary depending on the licensed activity:
Levy rates (% charged on previous year Gross Gambling Yield):
• 1.1% from all online operators (excluding remote betting intermediary trading rooms, society lotteries with remote licences and External Lottery Managers)
• 1.1% from all software licences
• 0.5% from land-based casinos
• 0.5% from land-based betting
• 0.2% from on-course bookmakers
• 0.2% from Adult Gaming Centres
• 0.2% from land-based bingo
• 0.1% from Family Entertainment Centres
• 0.1% from pool betting licences
• 0.1% from all machine technical licences
Levy rate (% charged on proceeds retained after good causes and prizes paid out)
• 0.1% from society lotteries and local authority lotteries licensed by the Gambling Commission
Levy rate (% charged on fees charged to society lotteries minus any prizes paid out)
• 0.1% from External Lottery Managers
Each year, all operators are required to pay the levy by 1 October. Those with levy payments below £10 will not be expected to pay the levy.
As the National Lottery operates under its own legal framework and already contributes extensively to research, prevention and treatment causes alongside raising significant amounts for good causes annually, it is exempt from levy charging.
Levy commissioners
Levy funding will be directed in specific proportions for the purposes of research, prevention and treatment of gambling related harm. Each strand of the levy system has a lead commissioning body, as set out below.
Research
20% of levy funding will go to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for the establishment of a bespoke Research Programme on Gambling (RPG). A small proportion will go to the Gambling Commission to direct further research in line with the licensing objectives.
Initial funding opportunities launched by UKRI include:
-
UKRI Gambling Harms Research Coordination Centre (GHRCC)
-
Gambling Harms Research and Innovation Partnerships (GHRIPs)
-
Rapid evidence reviews for the UKRI Research Programme on Gambling
The Gambling Commission have published their evidence roadmaps which are designed to:
-
Guide the direction of future research to provide the evidence needed to inform regulation
-
Enhance visibility and awareness of the Gambling Commission’s priorities and progress
-
Identify crucial areas where the wider evidence ecosystem can contribute and add value
This high-quality, independently-commissioned research will help to fill gaps in the evidence base for gambling-related harm to inform policy and practice. UKRI will be launching further opportunities as the levy progresses.
Prevention
30% of funding will go to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), and Scottish and Welsh Governments, to develop a comprehensive approach to prevention and early intervention across all three nations of Great Britain.
Prevention will include a wide spectrum of measures, with the ultimate goal of delivering on the government’s objective to reduce gambling-related harm in Great Britain.
In England, the statutory levy will enable OHID to take forward a public health approach to the commissioning of prevention activity, fully independent of the influence of the gambling industry, to maximise impact for those at risk of or experiencing gambling-related harm.
Treatment
50% of funding will go to NHS England, and Scottish and Welsh Governments, to commission treatment and support services. This will involve working collaboratively with all providers, including the third sector, to ensure that services are joined up and consistent.
Governance and reporting
The government recognises that a clearly defined governance structure is needed to ensure the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of the statutory levy system. The following groups have been established to continually monitor the implementation and delivery of the statutory levy:
-
Gambling Levy Delivery Group
The Delivery Group has been devised to act as the main forum to bring together the research, prevention and treatment (RPT) strands of the levy system together across the three nations of Great Britain at a working level. The Terms of Reference are attached to this page.
-
Gambling Levy Programme Board
The Levy Board is the central oversight mechanism for the levy system. The Board will have collective responsibility for monitoring the overall functioning and health of the levy system and the delivery of objectives and commissioning priorities in the distribution of the levy. The Terms of Reference are attached to this page.
It will also be ensured that lived experience voices are informing levy programmes, with further details to be confirmed in due course.
Each year, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will publish an annual report outlining levy finances and yearly progress against levy objectives, drawing on the work of the commissioners.