UK Launches £22.1M Research Hub to Combat Gambling Harm

A new independent research centre dedicated to tackling gambling-related harm has launched in the UK. The Gambling Harms Research UK Evidence Centre will receive £22.1 million in funding for 2025-2026, supported by the statutory Gambling Levy. The centre will operate under the leadership of Professor Heather Wardle, a gambling research and policy expert at the University of Glasgow. Alongside her, Martin Jones—a campaigner with firsthand experience of gambling harm—will serve as the lived-experience lead.

Research will cover a wide range of areas, from public health and policy to online gambling and structural risk factors. The centre will also oversee 19 Innovation Partnerships as part of the GHR-UK framework. Four universities—Glasgow, Sheffield, Swansea, and King’s College London—will lead the work. Independence from the gambling industry is a core principle, ensuring research remains free from sector influence. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will fund the centre using 20% of the statutory Gambling Levy. The initiative comes as harmful gambling continues to cost the UK economy around £1.4 billion annually.

The new centre aims to provide evidence-based insights into gambling harm across multiple sectors. With £22.1 million in funding, it will coordinate research and partnerships to address the economic and social impact of problem gambling. The project’s independence is designed to maintain integrity in its findings.