OHID provisionally allocates £39.7m from statutory gambling levy to 40 prevention groups in England

The UK Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has moved £39.7m into the gambling-harm prevention pot for 2026-27 and 2027-28, with the money now flowing through a public-sector framework rather than the old voluntary model. For operators and PSPs, the point is not the charity roster; it is that levy-funded prevention spend is now being allocated centrally, with the usual grant paperwork and compliance checks attached.

1. OHID has provisionally allocated £39.7m to 40 voluntary and community sector organisations for gambling-harm prevention work in England over the 2026-27 and 2027-28 financial years. The grants were announced on November 7, 2026 and are funded through the prevention element of the statutory UK gambling levy.
2. The new allocation is larger than the £25.4m initially earmarked for 33 organisations earlier in 2026. That gap matters because it shows the programme has already expanded before the agreements are even finalised.
3. GamCare received the largest provisional award, at just over £4m. Other major recipients include Chapter One (£3.06m), YGAM (£3m), Betknowmore (£2.99m), Waythrough (£2.77m) and Gamban (£2.71m). Final amounts remain subject to completed grant agreements and may still change.
4. Gamban’s inclusion reverses its omission from the original funding round and has restored free access to its gambling-blocking software in England and Wales. That is a practical detail, not a footnote: blocking tools sit close to the line between prevention policy and day-to-day customer friction.
5. Other recipients include Citizens Advice branches, community groups, youth-focused charities, organisations supporting women and age-related services, and groups specialising in addiction-related issues. OHID said the fund is meant to strengthen the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, support sustainable prevention projects, and encourage independent, evidence-based public health work.

Applications were accepted between January 14, 2026 and February 6, 2026, then assessed against published eligibility criteria and due diligence checks. Applicants were required to disclose potential conflicts of interest, which is the sort of sentence that tells you this is no longer a loose grant scheme dressed up as policy.