Glasgow Gets £3.44m From the Gambling Levy as Its Cost of Harm Passes £15m a Year

Glasgow City Council has been awarded more than £3.44 million (about $4.6 million) over three years from the industry's statutory levy to extend its work on gambling-related harm, GlasgowLive reports. The money will support and expand "The Glasgow Project", building on work already led by the city's gambling harms groups.

The grant funds prevention work in schools and youth services, support for young people carrying gambling-related debt, and training for staff across health, community and public services. It also targets investment at three neighbourhoods identified as having the highest concentration of betting outlets. Priorities for 2026-27 include hiring additional prevention staff, reviving the multi-agency partnership and building a specialist financial inclusion service.

The scale of the problem is set out in a recent report from the council's Wellbeing, Equalities, Communities, Culture and Engagement City Policy Committee, which put the cost of gambling harm to Glasgow at more than £15 million a year, the highest in Scotland. The same report found that around 42% of betting shops in the city are in its most deprived areas.

The statutory levy took effect in April 2025 and is designed to raise roughly £100 million a year for research, prevention and treatment, replacing the previous voluntary funding model. The Gambling Commission collects it under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. DCMS has separately allocated £25.4 million from the levy to 33 voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations across England. The levy is one of several rising costs for UK operators, alongside the Remote Gaming Duty increase from 21% to 40% that is reshaping online casino economics.

Glasgow's award follows earlier pilots and a public health approach the council adopted after recognising gambling harms as a public health issue. Public Health Scotland published findings in January 2025 mapping the city's support network and the risk factors behind local harm. Public Health Wales announced a two-year funding initiative in July supporting community-led work aimed at de-normalising gambling harm, administered by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action.