The UK has launched Gambling Harms Research UK, the country’s largest independent research centre dedicated to gambling related harm, funded through the new statutory gambling levy.
The centre, announced by UK Research & Innovation, will be led by a university consortium including the University of Glasgow, the University of Sheffield, Swansea University and King’s College London.
Heather Wardle, Professor of Gambling Research & Policy at the University of Glasgow, will serve as Principal Investigator.
The launch marks one of the first major research investments under the UK’s statutory gambling levy, which replaced the previous voluntary industry funding model from April 2025. UKRI and the Gambling Commission are responsible for allocating 20% of levy funding to gambling research, amounting to £22.1m for 2025/26.
Gambling Harms Research UK will coordinate a national evidence programme focused on the causes, scale and prevention of gambling harm. Its remit includes research into sports betting, video games, online gambling and the structural drivers of harm. The programme also includes 19 Innovation Partnerships across UK universities; 32 rapid evidence reviews and four UKRI policy fellowships.
A central feature of the new model is its formal separation from industry influence. UKRI said levy paying gambling licence holders will not be permitted to host awards or co-fund research under the programme, while researchers receiving grants cannot simultaneously hold funding from levy paying operators. This independence framework responds to long-standing concerns that gambling harms research in the UK has been under-resourced and exposed to commercial influence under the voluntary funding system. The statutory levy is intended to create a more stable public funding route for research, prevention and treatment.
The centre will also place lived experience at the centre of its work. Martin Jones has been appointed as Lived Experience Lead, with a role focused on ensuring research priorities reflect the real-world impact of gambling harm on individuals, families and communities.
UKRI says harmful gambling carries an estimated annual cost of around £1.4bn to the UK economy, including pressure on health services, the criminal justice system and wider social support. The wider levy structure allocates funding across treatment, prevention and research. Half of levy proceeds are directed to NHS England and equivalent bodies in Scotland and Wales for treatment and support, 30% to prevention activity and 20% percent to research through UKRI and the Gambling Commission.
The launch comes during a period of significant UK policy change. The statutory levy now sits alongside online slots stake limits, increased scrutiny of advertising and a stronger government focus on illegal online gambling. The Department for Culture, Media & Sport has also established an Illegal Gambling Taskforce, bringing together regulators, law enforcement, payment providers and technology platforms to improve coordination against unlicensed operators.
For the regulated industry, the new research centre is significant because it changes the evidence base around gambling harm. Policy debates that were previously shaped by contested research, voluntary funding and political pressure will now be supported by a publicly-funded structure designed to operate at arm’s length from the sector. For operators, this may bring both clarity and pressure. Independent research could help strengthen policy making and identify more effective harm prevention measures. But it may also accelerate tougher interventions if evidence points to gaps in advertising controls, product design, affordability checks or online player protection.
The creation of Gambling Harms Research UK therefore marks more than an academic investment; it signals a new phase in UK gambling regulation, where levy-funded research, treatment, prevention and enforcement are being built into a more formal public health framework.
