Ygam has launched a new network bringing together organisations funded to deliver gambling harm prevention programmes under Great Britain’s statutory gambling levy.
The charity convened the inaugural meeting of its Prevention Delivery Network, inviting all 33 organisations commissioned through the Gambling Harms Prevention and Resilience Fund. The initiative is designed to improve coordination between providers as the new levy-funded prevention system becomes established in England.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), which oversees the prevention strand in England, provisionally allocated £25.44m to 33 voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations for 2026 to 2028. Ygam was allocated £3m to support its gambling harm prevention work.
The first Prevention Delivery Network meeting brought representatives together to examine their respective programmes, establish working relationships and identify areas where organisations can cooperate rather than duplicate activity.
Ygam will initially chair the network, which is scheduled to meet quarterly. The chairing role will later rotate among participating organisations, giving members shared responsibility for its direction. Future meetings will focus on lessons from programme delivery, common challenges and opportunities for joint work.
Statutory levy reshapes gambling harm funding
Great Britain introduced the statutory levy in April 2025, replacing the previous system under which licensed operators made voluntary annual contributions towards research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm.
The levy raised just under £120m in its first year. Funding is ringfenced, with 20% allocated to research, 30% to prevention and 50% to treatment. OHID and the Scottish and Welsh governments oversee prevention funding, while treatment funding is directed through NHS England and the devolved governments.
Operators must make annual levy payments by 1 October, with rates varying according to gambling activity. Remote operators and gambling software licensees generally pay 1.1% of gross gambling yield, while land-based casinos and betting businesses pay 0.5%. Rates for other activities range from 0.1% to 0.2%.
Alongside funding for voluntary-sector organisations, OHID is distributing £12m to upper-tier local councils in England during 2026-27, with another £12m anticipated for 2027-28. The funding is intended to build local capacity for preventing and reducing gambling-related harm.
Ygam CEO Emily Tofield said the new network should create a more connected prevention system by allowing established organisations and newer providers to share expertise and improve delivery.
Ygam’s £3m allocation covers the two-year period to 2028 and supports prevention and education activity across several English regions as well as national programmes where a regional approach is not required. The charity reported earlier in September that its programmes reached an estimated 1.2 million children and young people during 2025-26, including more than 100,000 university students.