Glasgow City Council Awarded £3.44 Million Statutory Levy Grant to Combat Gambling Harms
TL;DR — Glasgow City Council receives over £3.44m from the statutory levy, effective April 2025, to expand The Glasgow Project. Annual local harm costs top £15m, with 42% of betting shops in deprived areas. Similar grant schemes operate in England and Wales.
SCCG Take — The levy’s mandatory structure channels industry funds into localised public health measures, raising the operational bar for compliance and community engagement in high-impact jurisdictions.
Glasgow City Council has secured more than £3.44 million over three years from the gambling industry’s statutory levy. The funds will extend “The Glasgow Project,” a set of initiatives addressing gambling-related harm, as covered by iGaming Business citing local reporting.
The grant supports expanded prevention programs in schools and youth services, alongside assistance for young people facing gambling-related debt. Workforce training across health, community, and public services forms another core element, as does targeted work in three neighbourhoods with the highest density of betting outlets.
Project Priorities and Local Impact
Key activities for 2026-27 include recruiting additional prevention team staff, revitalising multi-agency partnerships, and establishing a specialist financial inclusion service. A Glasgow City Council report states the annual cost of gambling harm in the city exceeds £15 million, the highest figure across Scotland. It further notes that around 42% of betting shops are situated in the most deprived areas.
Levy Implementation and UK-Wide Context
The statutory levy took effect in April 2025. It replaced the prior voluntary funding model, with the Gambling Commission managing collections under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The levy is designed to raise approximately £100 million annually for research, prevention, and treatment.
The DCMS has also allocated £25.4 million from the levy to 33 voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations across England. Public Health Scotland published a January 2025 mapping of Glasgow’s support networks after the council recognised gambling harms as a public health issue. Public Health Wales launched a two-year £1.4 million grants programme in July to support community efforts aimed at de-normalising gambling harms, administered by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action.
Reporting: iGaming Business (iGB)
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
The levy is live and local — operators now fund targeted harm reduction in high-impact communities, not voluntary PR.
We've watched voluntary harm funding morph into hard compliance. Glasgow's grant proves the levy is not abstract policy — it's real money flowing to real neighborhoods where operators cluster. For our partners, this means community engagement and local accountability are operational requirements, not optional extras. We help navigate that shift across every regulated market.
- £3.44m funds Glasgow's harm programs; city's annual gambling harm cost tops £15m, highest in Scotland
- 42% of Glasgow betting shops sit in most deprived areas; levy targets those hotspots
- Statutory levy replaces voluntary model, raising ~£100m/year UK-wide for research, prevention, treatment
SCCG angle: SCCG connects operators to the public health, community, and compliance networks shaping levy-funded programs. We broker the introductions and strategic counsel that turn a mandatory payment into genuine local partnerships — protecting license value and brand reputation where both are on the line.
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