The UK government’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has confirmed that it is finalising the list of those who have received funds from the new statutory levy for gambling harms. OHID is responsible for the £30m portion of the levy that has been branded ‘Gambling Harms Prevention: Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE)…
More people than ever in the UK are seeking financial guidance following gambling losses, according to new data from GamCare and PayPlan.
Debt provider PayPlan reported record demand in January 2026, with 21,000 contacts across the month – a 22% year-on-year increase – as specialists flagged a growing link between debt and gambling harm.
Publication of the results comes amid political pressure mounting on the UK gaming sector once again, with MPs like Dawn Butler of the Labour Party focusing heavily on the industry’s societal impact and effect on vulnerable people.
Butler is leading a campaign for the government to scrap the ‘Aim to Permit’ rule around retail licensing, taking particular aim at Adult Gaming Centres. The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Gambling Reform is also calling for another review of betting legislation, despite the last one having only concluded in 2023.
Growing demand
Meanwhile, GamCare revealed that the number of people using its Money Guidance Serv..
Entain’s Stella David has issued a criticism of the damaging consequences of the rise of prediction markets, claiming they facilitate underage sports betting in the US.
Many states across the US require players to be 21 to gamble. However, platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi, which are federally regulated through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), have a minimum age requirement of 18.
Given that the platforms are currently offering markets on sports events, they are effectively bypassing state gambling laws, according to the Entain executive.
Updating investors yesterday, she stated: “Let me be clear, when people play the prediction markets in sports, it looks like a sports bet, it sounds like a sports bet, and it acts like a sports bet. I don’t think anybody should be in any doubt. It’s sports betting.
“In the US, you’ve got to be 21 to play, [but] 18 to 21-year-olds are playing prediction markets, and they’re playing prediction markets in non [online sports betting..
The latest data from NHS England estimates that 5% of adults in England display at-risk or problem gambling behaviours, whilst less than 1% of adults are currently classified as problem gamblers.
The figures are drawn from the Health Survey for England 2024 (HSE 2024), providing official public health data on health conditions and behavioural factors across the adult population. The survey covers England only and excludes Scotland and Wales.
The HSE tracks trends in health conditions and prevalence related to adult cigarette smoking, use of e-cigarettes (vaping), alcohol consumption, physical activity and gambling participation.
NHS England data places gambling harm within a wider public-health landscape that also includes obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes and mental health conditions among adults.
Audiences are reminded to distinguish between diagnosed health conditions and behavioural risk factors that contribute to or worsen illness.
Under the HSE methodology, gambling harm is..
Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross is confident that the newly-minted illegal gambling task force will garner results as early as later this year.
The taskforce aims to find synergy between companies like Google, Meta and Visa alongside law enforcement agencies to address payments and advertising in the illegal market.
Speaking at the UK Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) AGM, Twycross stated: “I’m determined that, however hard it is for us to achieve this, it will result in fast, effective action.”
Alongside the taskforce, the UK government also allocated a further £26m to fighting the black market as part of November’s budget and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has launched a consultation on banning British sports teams partnering with unlicensed operators.
Twycross revealed resources will be largely focused on increasing resources to prosecute illegal platforms, enhancing early prevention activities and undertaking further research on the market.
On the sponso..
‘Hit jobs’ against the regulated industry have ‘eroded’ regulatory credibility and emboldened the black market, according to Rank Group’s Director of Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations, David Williams.
Speaking on a panel at the Betting and Gaming Council’s (BGC) AGM focused on the balance between tax, regulation and the illegal market, Williams lamented the picture of the industry created by targeted takedowns of the regulated sector over the years.
He said: “For every hit job that there is on the licensed [sector], and I’m not saying we have been without blame down the years, that is not true, but some of it has been excessive. Each time it happens, it generates a round of applause from black market operators because, as the erosion in the credibility of licensed operators happens, the black market celebrates.”
Williams also described the growth of the black market in recent years as a ‘symptom of an imbalance’ between the three factors – a viewpoint shared by Entain’s Grou..
Government in Wales has unveiled a gambling helpline funded by the UK statutory levy, however, concerns remain that the funding transition will exacerbate fragmentation concerns.
The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has been awarded £1.3m in funding from the Welsh Government to run the helpline, which will provide information, advice and support to those affected by gambling-related harms in Wales and go live on 1 April.
Sarah Murphy, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, described the decision as a ‘landmark moment’ for gambling harm treatment in Wales.
She said: “[This marks] the first time specialist gambling treatment and support services will be available from the NHS in Wales. The helpline will be a form of open access support available to people who need it the most and fits into the ambitions of our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.”
According to Dr Faye Graver, the Clinical Lead for gambling treatment services at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, tens..
The Charities Commission is investigating the UK’s oldest and most established gambling treatment provider Gordon Moody, after claims of racism and discrimination follow former CEO’s employment tribunal claim. Former CEO Monica Shafaq resigned from Gordon Moody in October last year after raising concerns of a regulatory nature with the charity’s Board of Directors, which she…
Operators unlicensed in the UK will likely be barred from sponsoring British sports clubs, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has confirmed.
The government announced plans to launch a consultation this spring, which would explore various legal levers to drive unlicensed gambling companies away from visibility in British sports, particularly the Premier League.
A look back on TGP Europe…
Fans of British football will be familiar with the logos currently seen on the kits of Fulham (SBOTOP), Bournemouth (bj88), Wolves (DEBET), Burnley (96.com), and Stake.com (Everton), among others.
All five operators were previously under the umbrella of TGP Europe, a white-label company stationed in the Isle of Man, which held UK licenses on behalf of foreign operators like the listed Asia-facing ones.
In April last year, TGP Europe was forced to surrender its licence and withdrew from the UK after the Gambling Commission (UKGC) hammered it down with a £3.3m penalty. All UK domains managed by the firm sh..
In today’s episode of iGaming Daily SBC Media Manager Fernando Noodt is joined by SBC News Editor Ted Orme-Claye and iGaming Expert Business Journalist Christian Lee as the trio discuss Andrew Rhodes’ decision to step down as Chief Executive of the UK Gambling Commission, reflecting on his “tough sheriff” tenure, the regulatory transformation under his…