GambleAware has begun an application process to establish a system stabilisation fund to make sure gambling harm prevention, support and treatment services receive financial aid as the industry transitions to a statutory levy.
The independent charity has introduced the fund to make sure organisations across England, Scotland and Wales who rely on funding streams to operate still receive the support they need.
The ‘system stabilisation fund’ will be in place as gambling harm prevention funding enters a transition period from a voluntary to a statutory levy as part of the UK government’s gambling review white paper, which was published earlier this year in April.
Last week, the UK Gambling Commission allocated almost £33m to GambleAware to form a system stabilisation fund for the transition period from voluntary funding to a statutory levy.
The charity and the UKGC have agreed “to ringfence a proportion of the funding to help stabilise the system of gambling harm prevention, support and treatment”, and that funding applications will be allocated per the charity’s strategic framework.
Applications must show one or more of the following:
- Increase gambling harm awareness and understanding.
- Prevent gambling harm amongst greater risk individuals and communities.
- Prevent gambling harm escalation.
- Broad range of appropriate services .
- Reduce the legacy of gambling harm.
Every application must also show evidence of needing funding, a delivery model and approach, potential outcomes and impact, value for money and long-term sustainability.
Access to the funding will be for the 2023/24 financial year up until March 31, 2024. The first application round will take place between August 7-21 with applicants finding out if they have received funding by mid-September. A second application round is expected to take place between November 6-20.
Only frontline services based in Great Britain that help individuals affected by or at risk of gambling harm will receive funding, ensuring the continuation and protect current projects from experiencing funding shortfalls during the statutory levy transitional period, rather than start “new areas of delivery”.
Zoë Osmond, Chief Executive of GambleAware, commented: “We welcome plans for a statutory levy as outlined in the government’s gambling white paper and look forward to its swift implementation.
“However, this has led to a period of change as industry and the gambling harms research, prevention and treatment sector prepare to transition to the proposed levy. Our role as strategic commissioner across the sector means we are able to apply a single overview of the system.
“With this oversight, we and the Gambling Commission, recognise the uncertainty across the sector, and the need to ensure current projects can continue without any risk of experiencing a funding shortfall.”