UK

GambleAware offers ‘self-help’ support pathway with new app launch

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GambleAware is providing additional support for 18 to 24-year-olds who are looking to quit or reduce their gambling with the launch of a new gambling harm prevention app called the GambleAware Support Tool.

Offering free and anonymous evidence-based advice and support, the app is designed to prevent gambling harm from escalating. It allows users to set personal goals to help them cut down or quit gambling altogether.

The GambleAware Support Tool app allows users to track their activity by inputting their gambling frequency and spend, helping them on their journey to reduce or quit gambling.

Alongside the evidence-based advice and support, the app includes access to podcasts and educational material resources, as well as signposting to other support options such as GambleAware’s service finder tool and the National Gambling Helpline.

Self-help support

Downloadable from the Google Play and the Apple App store, the app comes in response to data from the 2024 Treatment and Support Survey released by GambleAware that shows 18 to 24-year-olds are twice as likely to want to reduce or quit gambling compared to the average among those who gamble (29% compared to 15%).

Since the app’s launch, the charity has stated that it is having a positive impact on the demographic, as 48% of users aged 18-24 have indicated their motivation to change their gambling habits is to “save money”, while 27% say they want to “feel happier”.

Part of the app’s development also came from GambleAware’s 2023 Audience Segmentation Report, which stated that of the up to 4.5 million people in Great Britain that want to reduce or quit gambling, 93% (over 4.2 million) wish to do so without using a treatment service, so a ‘self-help’ support pathway was neeeded.

“Whether individuals want to reduce, manage or stay gamble-free, the GambleAware Support Tool is here every step of your journey,” stated Alexia Clifford, Chief Communications Officer for GambleAware.

“The digital age means we essentially have a casino in our pocket, and we know increased accessibility leads to increased participation and therefore increased risk of harm.

“These harms are a growing public health issue, but early intervention is key, and the GambleAware Support Tool app is designed to give people a timely insight into their gambling, with the aim of supporting their journey to reducing or quitting their activity.”

Lower Risk Gambling Guidelines

The GambleAware Support Tool app was developed in line with the Lower Risk Gambling Guidelines (LRGG), which were created by academic gambling experts globally over four years.

Over 260 risk curve analyses involving over 60,000 people from eight countries who gamble were conducted by LRGG researchers, as well as an online survey with more than 10,000 respondents, focus groups with 50-plus people, two comprehensive literature reviews and collaboration with a group of top global gambling researchers.

As such, three limits have been highlighted from the LRGG’s research for anyone who wishes to keep gambling but reduce the risks associated with it. These include gambling no more than 1% of your income, gambling on no more than four days per month, and avoiding more than two types of gambling per month.

The GambleAware Support Tool app is the only app in Great Britain using the LRGGs to suggest limits for users who are looking to reduce their gambling.

Catherine Adams, a member of the GambleAware Lived Experience Council, said: “I would be gambling on the computer from six in the evening until six in the morning and I just was not sleeping.

“It’s positive being able to monitor your progress yourself and to see how well you’re doing in reducing or quitting your gambling if you’re goal-oriented. To see ‘I’ve done this many days now ‘or ‘I’ve saved this much money, I think it really does give variety of choice in your recovery.”

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UKGC places transparent terms on penalty determinations

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Due to a long spate of enforcement actions in the first half of the year, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) will undergo changes to the way it determines financial penalties.

The regulator stated today (10 July) that it wants to make the process more transparent, particularly around the steps taken to determine the seriousness of a regulatory offence, a matter highlighted to the Commission in previous industry consultations.

Fines, financial penalties and other enforcement actions are now going to be subject to a seven step process, with regulatory breaches ranked along five levels of seriousness.

The extent of a financial penalty will be determined by the gravity of the breach, based on the five levels, and the percentage of an operator’s yearly gross gambling yield or other income at the time the breach occurred.

John Pierce, UKGC Director of Enforcement and Intelligence, said: “We are making changes to strengthen the transparency and consistency of how we impose financial penalties.

“These proposals were subject to extensive consultation, and the views shared by all our stakeholders have been taken into account.

“The resulting changes will strengthen our decision-making and streamline the calculation of penalties – helping to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our enforcement work.”

Commission clears up communication on enforcement
The UKGC is one of the most active regulators in Europe when it comes to enforcing standards across its industry. Given the vast scale of the British gaming industry, the often strict monitoring it engages in is necessary.

Headlines have often been generated as a result of the hefty penalties imposed by the regulator. Most notably, records were broken in 2022 and 2023 when huge penalties of £17m and £19m were issued to Entain and William Hill respectively for anti-money laundering and social responsibility shortcomings.

At the time, both gambling Plcs responded that the record penalties had been imposed on their business for the period of 2019-to-2020, prior to undertaking mandatory compliance changes on AML, customer care and responsible gambling.

This year has been no different. The past six months alone have seen the regulator take aim at Merkur Slots, the Football Pools, Corbett Bookmakers, SpreadEx and most recently Fafabet, issuing penalties of varying size.

With a focus on transparency, the UKGC is hoping to reduce the number of enforcement actions though, according to Pierce. The regulator hopes that the new process will encourage greater compliance with UK regulations, and catch out acts of non-compliance before things have to escalate to penalties or fines.

Additionally, the Commission has also clarified that penalties against society lotteries will not be determined by GGY or income. This comes amid a wider review of society lottery regulations, with the government evaluating whether to raise the limit on how many ticket sales these lotteries can make each year.

“Crucially, the new approach also encourages compliance at the earliest opportunity, supporting the protection of consumers alongside fair and proportionate outcomes for operators,” Pierce concluded.

“Where fines are imposed on society lotteries, registered charities or personal licence holders these will not be based upon a percentage of the GGY accrued during the breach period, rather an appropriate alternative will be used.”

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Newsletter: Problem gambling is falling, isn’t it?

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The UK Statistics Authority has warned the Department for Health and Social Care and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) about the misuse of suicide statistics. Disparities at the Office for Disparities: The statistics regulator also noted problems with the OHID report, which assumes:  Lies, damned lies etc: The issue of the misuse…

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Paddy Power Betfair attack shows extent and boldness of UK cybercrime

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Flutter Entertainment confirmed yesterday (8 July) that its Paddy Power and Betfair UK brands had been subject to a heavy cyber attack.

The respective sportsbook and betting exchange brands were targeted by cyber criminals who were able to access information like emails and account names.

It is understood that a significant number of customer accounts were targeted. However, Flutter stated that serious information like passwords, ID documents and payment details, were not accessed by the cyber attackers.

“We can confirm that our Paddy Power and Betfair businesses have suffered a data incident involving personal information for some of our customers,” a Flutter statement provided to SBC News read.

“Immediately upon becoming aware of this incident, we informed relevant regulators and authorities and initiated a full investigation, supported by external IT security experts, to understand what happened and how we can better protect our networks and customers.

“The unauthorised access has been removed and the incident contained. Our investigation concluded that the affected information was isolated to limited betting account information. No passwords, ID documents or usable card or payment details were impacted. We are informing all affected customers.

“Safeguarding and securing our customers’ information is of the utmost importance to us.”

The incident highlights the extent of cybercrime threats to online-focused businesses, with a huge range of companies subject to attacks over the past year, not just those in the gambling sector.

The British government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey for 2025, for example, found that 43% of UK businesses reported a cyber security breach or attack in the past year – showing that Paddy Power and Betfair’s recent issue is hardly uncommon.

For companies like Flutter, which has access to one of the best tech stacks the industry has to offer as well as other important aspects like legal counsel, overcoming cyber security issues is a challenge – but not an enormous one.

For the many SMEs which make up both the B2C and B2B pillars of the betting industry, cyber issues may present more of a challenge.

According to a study conducted by Umazi, a digital ID platform, which was released the same day as the attack on Flutter, SMEs are the biggest victims of cyber criminality. The firm’s study found that 70% of SMEs are worried that business identity information and other data could be stolen.

“This isn’t a digital economy, it’s a digital illusion,” said Cindy van Niekerk, CEO and Founder of Umazi. “While regulators and corporates applaud innovation, SMEs are being left behind with legacy processes that actively undermine cybersecurity and economic growth.”

The British government, which is acutely aware of how big a contribution financial services make to its economy, has attempted to clamp down on cyber crime through legislation, such as the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act.

These measures will provide some support to betting and gaming firms as much as any other digital business. However, the attacks against Flutter, one of the biggest betting firms in the world, showcases the boldness of cyber criminals and the extent of the threat faced by businesses large and small.

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UKGC puts frictionless financial checks at the heart of safer gambling strategy

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The UKGC seems as confident as ever in how it has crafted one of the key measures of the UK Gambling Act review, emphasising that financial vulnerability checks are turning out to be as “straightforward as possible”.

Last week, Helen Rhodes, who is the Commission’s current Director of Major Policy Projects, gave a speech which set out a more refined, data-led vision for player safety, including an update on what has been learned from the pilot of financial checks.

In August last year, the UKGC began rolling out what it calls ‘light-touch’ vulnerability checks using publicly available data. These checks were a key measure of the Gambling Act review, seen as a means to protect customers against potentially unsustainable gambling spending.

Initially set at a threshold of £500 in net deposits over a 30-day rolling period, the limit was lowered to £150 from February 2025. These checks were designed to operate with what the UKGC described as “minimal friction”, something betting stakeholders have been adamant is an absolute necessity.

During stage one of the pilot, around 95% of financial vulnerability assessments were completed what the UKGC described as frictionlessly, which then rose to 97% in stage two. These figures exceed the 80% frictionless completion rate estimated in the 2023 Government White Paper.

Black market concerns
The news comes in the midst of industry demands to see greater consistency when it comes to financial risk checks. Concerns that these checks could turn more gamblers towards black market betting if not carried out in a frictionless and simple manner are long-running, dating back to the initial conversation around affordability during the 2020-2023 review of UK gambling regulation.

BGC CEO Grainne Hurst recently explained on SBC’s Safe Bet Show podcast that obstacles such as this wouldn’t see customers stop using the products they like, they’ll just decide to stop using the products they like in the regulated sphere, and they’ll go elsewhere to get those products.

She added: “In the black market, where there’s no regulation, they pay no tax, there’s no player protection whatsoever.”

Meanwhile, the UKGC has previously reiterated that finance risk checks’ should not be considered ‘affordability checks’.

In May, the Commission explained: “Financial risk assessments would be a much more targeted way of identifying potentially financially vulnerable customers. They would not affect a customer’s credit score if they were introduced in the future.”

A turning point?
What sets this new approach apart, Rhodes emphasised, is that it avoids blanket affordability checks. Rather than testing if every punter can afford their spending, the Commission’s model hones in on those who may already be financially at risk.

The goal is not to interfere with the vast majority of players who gamble safely, but to step in early where harm is most likely, the Director asserted.

In stage two of the recent pilot, around 3% of assessments could not be matched, improving on the 5% unmatched rate seen in stage one. Both percentages are significantly lower than the 20% rate without frictionless assessments predicted in the White Paper.

Having now moved into the analysis phase, the Financial Risk Assessments are designed to identify a specific group of customers: those who are not only spending large amounts, but also showing signs of worsening financial distress.

This can include red flags such as multiple arrears, defaults or evidence of bankruptcy.

Continuing her speech, Rhodes said: “The pilot findings represent a significant step forward, and our analysis phase will enable us to further explore how operators could embed assessments into their overall customer interaction approaches and how to reduce unnecessary inconsistency between credit reference agency reports.”

Looking ahead, the Commission is analysing how these financial checks can be embedded more smoothly into the customer journey.

Rhodes was keen to stress that the regulator remains open to industry feedback, mentioning that nearly 1,000 responses were submitted during the consultation.

By anchoring its reforms in financial vulnerability rather than broad affordability, the Commission is signalling a more balanced and targeted approach, making financial vulnerability checks no longer “an afterthought”.

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GamCare to end gambling harm prevention programme for Under-18s

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GamCare will no longer operate its gambling harm prevention and education programme for children and under-18s in Britain.

The treatment support charity has announced the “difficult decision” to end its specialist Young People’s Programme, which will be shut down by the end of September 2025. The decision was taken due to a lack of sustainable funding.

The charity informed the media that:
“From October 2025, GamCare will no longer provide education, prevention or outreach programmes aimed at reducing gambling harm experienced by children and young people, nor will it offer specific treatment and support services for under-18s.”

GamCare has operated its Young People’s Programme since 2020, helping to support and educate over 250,000 children, young people, and stakeholders within local communities.

The closure of the programme will not impact GamCare’s core treatment services, which continue to provide frontline support and resources for individuals experiencing gambling addiction or those harmed by someone else’s gambling.

The National Gambling Helpline (Freephone 0808 8020 133) will continue to offer dedicated support for children and under-18s, with trained advisors providing specialist assistance.

Regarding wider policy development on gambling protections for under-18s in the UK, GamCare confirmed it will maintain its Youth Advisory Board, “to ensure young people’s voices continue to inform our work.”

GamCare’s core focus will remain the provision of high-quality, accessible support to the thousands of people who use its services each year—both those struggling with gambling directly and those affected by someone else’s gambling.

While GamCare’s direct youth education and outreach services will cease, dedicated education and early-intervention support for children and young people will continue to be available through the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM).

YGAM delivers evidence-based programmes to help prevent gaming and gambling harms among those aged 7 to 24, alongside training for teachers, youth workers, and parents. Its work is central to the UK’s national Gambling Education Framework and continues to play a vital role in safeguarding younger audiences from gambling-related risks.

New Leadership and Strategic Direction

2025 also sees GamCare begin a new chapter under the leadership of Victoria Corbishley, former UK Director at the British Red Cross. Corbishley takes on the role of CEO at a pivotal moment for all organisations involved in the prevention and treatment of gambling harms.

Her appointment coincides with the implementation of a new statutory RET (Research, Education and Treatment) Levy, expected to be applied from 1 April 2025.

The new system will see the NHS, alongside the newly established Prevention Commissioner and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), serve as the primary stewards of the Levy’s guaranteed £100 million in annual funding for programmes across British communities.

Irrespective of these structural changes, GamCare will continue to uphold its mandate to expand the accessibility of treatment services for those seeking help. Furthermore, the charity remains committed to its collaborative efforts to raise awareness of gambling harms across communities and businesses, recognising them as both a social disorder and a mental health issue.

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GambleAware community fund hits £2.2m milestone in final phase

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GambleAware has distributed £2.2m through its Community Resilience Fund (CRF) since its launch in 2022, specifically targeting rising vulnerability linked to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

The fund marked the charity’s first open funding initiative available to organisations outside the traditional gambling harms sector, with a strong focus on underserved communities. It is now in its final phase of delivery.

Immense impact
The charity has released a new independent evaluation by Ipsos which highlights the fund’s reach, particularly in marginalised and ethnic minority communities disproportionately affected by gambling harm.

So far, almost 14,000 people have been supported through awareness campaigns and early intervention efforts, with the fund providing 12-month grants to 12 grassroots groups.

Many were first-time recipients, using funds to raise awareness and offer early intervention. After reporting strong results, GambleAware then extended support with £1.66m to 11 projects – showing high impact and long-term potential.

Anna Hargrave, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Commissioning and Strategy Officer for GambleAware, commented: “The effects of gambling harm can grip anyone, and having grassroots, community focused organisations that can reach individuals at risk, is vital.

“The Community Resilience Fund is here for that very reason, so that we can reach the people who need support most. We’re really pleased that funded projects have been able to reach thousands of people, especially those from underrepresented communities who might not otherwise seek support.”

Some of the aforementioned projects consisted of; Al Hurraya, Big Issue Foundation, Blackburn Foodbank, Coram’s Field, Epic Restart Foundation, Hull FC Rugby Community Sports and Education Foundation, Prison Radio Association, Reframe Coaching, Sharma Women’s Centre, Simon Community Scotland and Yellow Scarf.

Hargrave emphasised that it is “hugely important” that there is recognition of the sector’s growing shift from fragmented services to whole-system responses.

She added: “The protection against gambling harms requires joint ownership across public health, lived experience, communities, and systems.”

What has been done?
Looking at Blackburn Foodbank for example, GambleAware gave a grant of up to £100,000 as part of the initial £1.2m CRF allocation, which helped integrate gambling harm awareness into the organisation’s existing services.

Meanwhile, GambleAware also partnered with Yellow Scarf to expand blocking software to include Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian versions, making it accessible to vulnerable Eastern European migrants who often face language barriers.

Additionally, at the Prison Radio Association, the charity enabled the production and distribution of the podcast series Hold or Fold which delves into the impacts of problem gambling via personal stories.

Finally, at Al Hurraya, a Nottingham-based charity which focuses on assisting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities dealing with addiction and related issues, the funding enhanced services and provided support to individuals affected by gambling harms.

Manjit Bajwa, Al-Hurraya Operations Manager and CRF Project Manager, concluded: “We are deeply committed to raising awareness and reducing harm associated with gambling. We’ve been fortunate to work closely with our communities, offering both individual counselling and crucial family support.

“We greatly appreciate the chance to share best practices and learning with our esteemed partners, including EPIC Restart Foundation and Shama Women’s Centre in the East Midlands, as part of the CRF Project.”

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Lack of sustainable funding sees GamCare close Young People’s provision

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GamCare has announced that it will no longer provide its Young People’s provision services later this year due to a lack of sustainable funding.

At the end of September, GamCare will stop providing education, prevention or outreach programmes aimed at reducing gambling harm experienced by children and young people, or its specific treatment and support offer for under-18s.

The gambling harm support provider has been offering these services for children and young people for more than half a decade.

“For over five years, GamCare has delivered harm prevention programmes which have reached over 250,000 children and young people, parents, and professionals across the UK,” stated GamCare.

“Due to a lack of sustainable funding, GamCare has made the difficult decision to close its Young People’s provision at the end of September 2025.”

Statutory levy

Back in April, the UK Government implemented the new statutory levy on the gambling industry, which replaced the previous system of voluntary industry contributions.

Through the levy, up to £100m per year is expected to be raised, which will be collected and administered by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) under the strategic direction of the UK Government.

To generate funding for the levy, operators will be charged a percentage of their gross gambling yield from the previous year. These percentages are 1.1% for online operators, 0.5% for casinos and bookmakers and 0.2% for bingo operators.

Splitting up the levy funding, 20% will go to the Research Commissioner, UK Research and Innovation, to research to establish a bespoke Research Programme on Gambling, as well as the UKGC, to direct further research in line with licensing objectives.

The Prevention Commissioner, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), will receive 30% of the levy funding. OHID will develop a comprehensive approach to prevention and early intervention.

Meanwhile, 50% of the levy funding will go to the Treatment Commissioner, NHS England and relevant bodies in Scotland and Wales, who will commission treatment and support services in collaboration with the third sector.

Support still available for young people

GamCare added that while specialist services for young people will come to a halt later this year, its Youth Advisory Board will continue to operate to make sure that young people’s voices continue to inform its work, adding that it “remains committed to reducing gambling harm and none of our other services are affected by this change”.

“Children, young people and their families can still seek support by contacting the National Gambling Helpline on Freephone 0808 8020 133 or via live chat, available 24/7, and we will signpost them to the appropriate support for their circumstances,” noted GamCare.

“GamCare’s core focus will continue to be the provision of high-quality, accessible support to the thousands of people who come through our services each year, both those who are struggling with gambling directly as well as those who are affected by someone else’s gambling.”

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