OHID pledges £12m in funding for local councils to mitigate gambling harms

(AsiaGameHub) –   The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has announced the funding it will provide to local authorities throughout England to aid in the reduction of gambling-related harms.

Scheduled for the 2026–2027 financial year, OHID intends to allocate £12 million in specific funding to upper-tier local councils in England. Authorities have also been notified that an extra £12 million has been set aside by OHID for distribution in the 2027–2028 period.

This financial support for councils is entirely backed by the New Statutory Levy on gambling licences. OHID assumed its role as the overseeing body for the prevention and treatment of problem gambling across England in April 2025.

The direct financing of councils through the statutory levy marks a transition to a centralised NHS-led framework, replacing the prior voluntary system managed by GambleAware.

To qualify for the funds under the new system, local councils are required to fulfil two compulsory conditions.

OHID specified: “The conditions are to complete a maturity assessment survey (which provides a baseline assessment of their activity on gambling harms prevention, helping them monitor progress over time and identify and share innovative practice).

“Complete a declaration of interest, including formal confirmation from the Director of Public Health that governance, decision-making and the use of levy funds are fully independent of gambling industry influence.”

Allocation of funds

OHID will disburse the funding through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which mandates that councils use the money exclusively for prevention activities.

The distribution model, as explained by OHID, is based on a 50/50 split, with half determined by population size and the other half modified according to the area’s average Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) score.

This formula prioritises areas with higher deprivation levels, with the goal of directing more funding per person to less developed regions that face greater risks of harm. OHID will oversee and assess this initial model, which serves as a starting point to collect more community-based data on gambling disorders.

Based on this population and deprivation formula, the top funding amounts for 2026–2027 will go to: Birmingham (£332,000), Kent (£326,000), Essex (£289,000), Lancashire (£275,000) and Hampshire (£235,000).

In the North West, funding is focused on major metropolitan/urban councils, with Lancashire (£275,000), Manchester (£167,000) and Liverpool (£140,000) receiving the most—allocations that correspond to areas of high population density and varied deprivation scores.

In the North East, funding is distributed more uniformly among councils, with County Durham (£127,000) receiving the largest sum. Newcastle and Sunderland will each be allocated approximately £70,000.

Although the total funding is less than in the North West, the region’s high levels of deprivation increase the per-person funding weighting.

London boroughs generally fall within a funding band of £50,000 to £90,000, a result the methodology attributes to a combination of high population density and a diverse mix of deprivation levels.

Larger boroughs including Brent (£85,000), Ealing (£86,000) and Croydon (£85,000) are set to get larger sums, whereas wealthier areas such as Kensington & Chelsea (£28,000) and Richmond (£28,000) are at the bottom of the scale.

A new chapter for the statutory levy

This announcement also marks the completion of OHID’s initial responsibilities as the guardian of the Statutory Levy, with the publication this week of its first list of third-sector organisations set to receive £25 million for specialised gambling harm treatment.

The eagerly awaited list named the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM) and GamCare as the two biggest funding recipients. Other initial beneficiaries of the levy are the Addiction Recovery Agency (£1.026m), Betknowmore (£2.99m), Citizens Advice Wokingham (£1.27m), Council for Voluntary Service Medway (£1.3m) and Gambling Harm UK (£1.25m).

Political conflicts continue to impact UK gambling

Although only four months have passed in 2026, UK politics has already seen a coalition of over 40 local authorities pressuring the government to step in and give councils more authority over gambling premises, alongside calls for an overhaul of local licensing rules.

The “Take Back Control of Our High Streets” campaign is spearheaded by Muhammed Butt from Brent Council and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, a collective of gambling reformers seeking stronger council powers over licensing and stricter advertising regulations.

A central proposal is to create a single planning use class for gambling premises, designed to give councils more say over high-street developments.

The coalition is also advocating for cumulative impact assessments, which would let local authorities consider area density and socio-economic factors when evaluating new licence applications.

Nevertheless, despite increasing pressure, the government declared in late 2025 that it has “no plans to review” the ‘aim to permit’ principle of the Gambling Act 2005.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) affirms that its regulatory priority continues to be the implementation of the statutory levy and the creation of public health systems to assist vulnerable people and enhance service access.