Is the UK gambling levy already becoming a battleground between industry and campaigners?
The latest list of funded organisations from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has opened a new fault line in UK gambling, with industry stakeholders questioning why some reform-minded groups are receiving levy money.
On today’s iGaming Daily, host Fernando Noodt is joined by Ted Menmuir, Editor at Large at SBC Media, and Ted Orme-Claye, Editor at SBC News, to unpack the fallout from OHID’s gambling harms funding decisions.
They discuss which allocations have drawn criticism and why, including the funding for Gambling with Lives and Chapter One. They also look at what the list reveals about OHID’s wider strategy, and whether the harms prevention sector is becoming fractured.
The conversation also covers the “slush fund” concerns around the statutory levy, where NHS England and UK Research and Innovation fit into the treatment and research picture, and the launch of the Gambling Policy Commission ahead of the government’s planned review in 2028.
With lobbying set to intensify, what should operators be preparing for next?
In this episode:
- The fallout from OHID’s latest gambling levy funding list
- Why some organisations’ funding has drawn industry criticism
- What OHID’s allocations reveal about its strategy
- Concerns over transparency and the “slush fund” allegation
- Rivalries between funded harm prevention organisations
- NHS England and UKRI’s roles in treatment and research funding
- Who is behind the Gambling Policy Commission
- Whether the UK is ready for a Gambling Act review
- How the industry should approach lobbying ahead of 2028
Featuring:
Fernando Noodt, SBC Media
Ted Menmuir, Editor at Large, SBC Media
Ted Orme-Claye, Editor, SBC News
Chapters: 00:00 UK Gambling’s New Fault Line
01:03 Ted and Ted Join Fernando
02:42 What Are OHID and the Statutory Levy?
04:27 Which Funding Choices Have Angered Industry?
07:00 Will the Funding List Change?
08:36 What Does OHID’s Strategy Reveal?
11:29 Is the Harms Prevention Sector Fracturing?
12:39 Funding Correction and Sector Rivalries
14:04 Optimove Sponsor Break
15:10 Is the Levy Becoming a Slush Fund?
16:21 NHS and UKRI: Treatment and Research Funding
19:19 Who Is the Gambling Policy Commission?
21:14 Is the UK Ready for a Gambling Act Review?
24:01 Closing Thoughts
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