Our funding strategy
We are an independent charity working to reduce gambling harms across Great Britain. We are evidence led and prioritise co-production and partnership building, forging a gambling harms system which ensures that people get access to the support where, and when, they need it most.
By understanding and assessing the needs of the population and engaging with stakeholders, as well as people with lived experience, we determine priorities, allocate resources and develop commissioning outcomes.
Focused on better outcomes we:
- commission a range of support, treatment and longer-term recovery (aftercare) services which meet the needs of people at risk of, or experiencing, gambling harms
- fund several high-quality education and awareness raising programmes which ensure people are aware of risks and how to access support
- generate independent insights and evidence through our research, evaluation and monitoring functions
- establish pilot services to prove what works best for people
- use robust governance processes to monitor, evaluate and maximise impact
Funding areas
We have four key funding areas:
- Support, treatment and aftercare
- Education and awareness
- Research and evaluation
- Regulatory settlement
Support, treatment and aftercare
We fund support, treatment and longer-term recovery (aftercare) services for people experiencing gambling harms. The core pillar of this work is our long-term commissioning of the National Gambling Support Network (NGSN), which provides a quality assured, free and confidential service for anyone affected by gambling harms in Great Britain. We are supporting the mobilisation of local systems around regional provision to make sure all relevant stakeholders are engaged and pathways are clear.
Alongside this system, we have also invested in several early intervention support, treatment and aftercare projects, mainly through open access funding programmes. These have included the ‘Community Resilience Fund’, the ‘Aftercare Funding Programme’ and ‘Improving Outcomes’ for women and people from minority ethnic and religious communities.
Our impact
9 in 10 of NGSN patients see an improvement in themselves after completing treatment
Half of NGSN service users are seen within 5 days or less from the point of referral
Every year, 7,000 people access support through the NGSN
Every year, 44,000 calls are answered by the National Gambling Helpline
Case study: Aftercare Funding programme
In total, £2m in funding was awarded to ten aftercare organisations across Great Britain. Fundedorganisations included both established long-term recovery providers and organisations that are new to the gambling harms support space.
After a year of delivery, positive outcomes have been observed by projects, including improved health and wellbeing of participants, improved money management skills and increased social networks.
“Joining EPIC Restart changed my life. Three years into recovery, I still felt stuck, but the Community Sessions inspired me. I found my confidence, my dignity and realised my addiction didn't have to define me. Sharing my story lifted a weight off my shoulders. It gave empowerment and hope and made me realise I can and will achieve anything if I put my mind to it.”
Community Member, EPIC Restart
Education and Awareness
We commission and fund a range of programmes designed to raise awareness about gambling harms and equip advice-giving professionals with the knowledge and confidence they need to provide advice and signpost people to appropriate support. We also commission and fund programmes which educate young people about gambling harms and routes to support.
Our education and awareness funding includes:
- online and face-to-face training, for professionals working across a range of sectors
- workshops and events delivered by community groups to raise awareness of gambling harms and help reduce stigma
- educational workshops, theatre in education and training for youth-facing professionals
- videos and resources are available for youth-focused settings, such as schools or youth groups
Research and evaluation
Our research funding ranges from partnerships with universities to research specialists. We also encourage smaller organisations and community-based groups with lived experience who want to partner with universities to apply for research funding.
Our research funding can include:
- qualitative and quantitative research on the harms of gambling and drivers of gambling
- evaluation on the effectiveness of preventative measures
- evaluation of treatment and support for gambling harms
- research into the inequalities associated with gambling harms
Regulatory settlement
We receive regulatory settlement funding from the Gambling Commission. This funding from regulatory settlements has been used for specific, agreed purposes, helping to accelerate gambling harms funding plans. This includes:
• the reduction of inequalities
• building capacity and understanding of gambling harms
• raising awareness of the issue of gambling harms
Following the Gambling Commission’s Statement of Principles, we’re uniquely placed to make sure the regulatory settlement funds are effectively distributed to reduce harm across England, Scotland and Wales. We’re required to provide the Gambling Commission with an annual report setting out the allocation of funds and outcomes achieved.
The restricted funding has also played a part in stabilising the wider system of gambling harm prevention, support and treatment during the transition period from a voluntary to statutory levy system.
One of the ways we’re distributing these funds is through the System Stabilisation Fund. Th fund was designed to help stabilise the system of gambling harm prevention, support, and treatment during the transition period from a voluntary to a statutory levy system.
Organisations who have been impacted by the release of the white paper on gambling reform were eligible to apply. This included organisations whose funding had been disrupted, as well as organisations who were looking to proactively move away from industry funding. This funding is not intended to replace the voluntary donations funding model.
We release funding on a rolling basis for several research opportunities. The first call for proposals was released in December 2023, and was allocated to research opportunities, including scoping studies, calls for proposals and primary research programmes.
Researching and developing a new framework of gambling related harm call for proposals
We announced a primary research funding opportunity to build on the findings of our scoping review. This research built on existing literature to establish an ongoing framework and measurement tool of gambling harms. It addressed existing issues of conflating harms = and behaviours, and avoided the use of stigmatising labels and the discrimination this causes, particularly for marginalised or minoritised communities.
Open call for proposals
We announced an open call for proposals for research to build the understanding of gambling harm across Great Britain, with a particular focus on building knowledge and understanding focusing on communities who bear disproportionate burden of gambling harm. A total maximum of eight research grants were awarded to grantees, and the budget for each research grant was £247,900 over 18 months.
LGBTQ+ call for proposals
We announced a primary research funding opportunity to build the understanding of gambling harms in the LGBTQ+ community. This programme built the evidence base on the structural drivers of harm or barriers to accessing support faced by the LGBTQ+ community. The budget for this research grant was £297,900 over 18 months.
Self-directed tools and strategies call for proposals
We announced a primary research funding opportunity to build on the findings of our scoping review. This research investigated and tested the motivations, efficacy and use of self-directed tools and strategies amongst those who experience gambling-related harms, particularly for marginalised communities or other communities who face additional barriers to accessing treatment in Great Britain. The budget for this research grant was £297,900 over 18 months.
The overall ambition of the fund was to reduce the inequalities which exist relating to gambling harm for women and people minority communities, including ethnic minority groups, religious minority groups and people who do not speak English as their first language.
This fund was developed in response to research which demonstrated increased levels of harm, burden and barriers in access to services which meet the needs of women and people from minority communities.
25 grants were awarded through the Improving Outcomes Fund. The outcome table of the Improving Outcomes Fund includes the name of the successful applicant, the names of delivery partners (if applicable) and the grant awarded.
One of our strategic priorities is to transform capacity and capability by collaborating with public and voluntary sector organisations across England, Scotland, and Wales to support growth of an integrated system to prevent and reduce gambling harms.
The ‘Mobilising Local Systems’ (MLS) funding programme aims to support the continued development of an integrated system. This is to make sure people can live in communities that support their ongoing recovery and that organisations, at a local and regional level, can:
- deliver preventative interventions
- support early identification of gambling harms
- deliver holistic support and treatment
Phase 1 of the funding programme was aimed at supporting opportunities within the National Gambling Support Network (NGSN) to build collaborative ways of working with stakeholders across each region to help create a more integrated approach to gambling harms. These awards of up to £30K were agreed in March 2024.
Phase 2 of the funding programme will provide a funding opportunity for NGSN Regional Boards to develop new approaches which lead to improved integration within local systems. The overall aim is to allow more people experiencing gambling harms to access support and treatment in a way that best meets their needs.
Each of the 10 Regional Boards across Great Britain can apply for up to £100,000 through one of the NGSN regional providers. This should be used to support the delivery of a collaborative project to reduce gambling harm.
Case study: Improving outcomes fund
In response to research that we commissioned on the impacts of gambling harms on minority communities and women, we launched the Improving Outcomes Fund.
Research found that minority communities are less likely to seek help compared to the white majority, and that women as affected others often are not aware of the support available or are as well-served in terms of some of their experiences of trauma.
The overall aim of this funding programme, agreed in collaboration with people who have lived experience of gambling harm, was to reduce the inequalities which exist relating to gambling harm for women and people from minority communities. Minorities communities include religious minority communities, ethnic minority communities and communities that speak English as a second language.
As a result of the Improving Outcomes Fund, 25 organisations received funding to deliver projects across Great Britain for up to two years.
“This project has the potential to reach individuals who otherwise would not seek help, as gambling problems in our community are often a secret in plain sight. People are already beginning to talk about it, bringing the issue out into the open so we can address it directly.”
Sirak Hagos, Co-founder, Investing in People and Culture
Case study: Community Resilience fund
The Community Resilience Fund was set up with three key aims:
- to increase the capacity and understanding of gambling harm among community organisations
- to increase the number and types of organisations working towards reducing gambling harm within communities
- to build referral pathways from community organisations to treatment and support
In just 12 months, by funding with 21 projects across Great Britain, the Community Resilience Fund has allowed organisations to reach 100,000 people through awareness raising activities. 5,200 of those people received light-touch interventions, and 720 people received more intensive interventions, such as one-to-one or weekly group interventions.
“With this funding, we have been able to make our service users aware that we are here for the community. We are here to help people who have been suffering from harms due to other members of their families who've been gambling or having impact on their financial issues and other abuse in the families happening due to gambling.”
Khudeja Amer-Sharif, CEO of Shama Women’s Centre
