UK Statutory Levy Raises £120 Million in First Year of Operation

The UK’s statutory levy has raised just under £120 million since being introduced in April, with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) outlining how the funds will be distributed across treatment, prevention and research.

Background

On April 6, the new levy came into effect, as one of the terms from the 2023 Gambling White Paper, requiring all licensed operators to pay a percentage of their gross gambling yield to contribute towards efforts to treat and prevent gambling harm. The rate ranges from 0.1% to 1.1%, dependent on the specific gambling-related activity.

This marked a shift from the previous system of a voluntary levy, where operators would make an annual financial contribution to regulator the Gambling Commission, which would be distributed to one or more organisations which delivered or supported research.

Ahead of expectations

The total raised from the statutory levy is slightly higher than the expected £90 million to £100 million that was forecast when the terms of the statutory levy were published. This was up from the c. £40 million that was last raised under the voluntary levy, where a majority of the funding was generated by the UK’s big four operators; Flutter Entertainment, Entain, Evoke and Betfred.

In 2023/24, gambling charity GambleAware received £49.5 million in funding, with 94% of that funding being provided by the big four. The DCMS said: “The priority for the government is to increase the level of investment and strengthen the provision of projects and services to understand, tackle and treat gambling-related harm in order to improve outcomes for the public.”

How the funding will be spread

A total of 50% of the funds raised from the statutory levy will go towards treatment and support services, with the funding being received by NHS England, and the Scottish and Welsh Governments. All providers will be worked with collaboratively to ensure services are joined up and consistent.

Another 30% of funding will go to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), and Scottish and Welsh Governments, with a view to developing a comprehensive approach to prevention and early intervention across England, Scotland and Wales. OHID will take forward a public health approach to the commissioning of prevention activity in England, independent of the influence of the gambling industry.

The remaining 20% of funds will go to UK Research and Innovation, which is planned to lead to the establishment of a bespoke Research Programme on Gambling. A small portion of the funding will go to the Gambling Commission, so that further research can be directed in line with the licensing objectives.

How the levy works

The calculation of the first statutory levy period for all licenses, with the exception of society lottery licensees, was calculated based on returns data covering the period from July 2024 to March 2025. For society lottery licensees, the data was based on the period April 1 2024 to March 31 2025. Operators are then required to pay the levy by October of each year. The National Lottery is exempt from paying the levy, due to the fact it already contributes to the prevention of gambling harm.

Plans going forward

As part of an effort to ensure long-term stability of the statutory levy system, the government has set up the Gambling Levy Delivery Group. The group will act as the main forum to bring together the research, prevention and treatment RPT strands of the levy system across the three nations of Great Britain at a working level.

Separately, the Gambling Levy Programme Board will act as the central oversight mechanism for the levy system. The board will have collective responsibility for monitoring the overall functioning and health of the system.