TLDR
- Glasgow will get €4.02 million over three years from the UK’s new gambling levy
- The money will fund prevention work, financial support and staff training
- Betting shops are concentrated in Glasgow’s most deprived neighbourhoods
- Gambling harm reportedly costs Glasgow more than €17.55 million a year
- The new national levy is expected to raise around €117 million a year across the UK
Glasgow City Council will receive €4.02 million over the next three years to expand its response to gambling harm. The money comes from the UK’s new statutory gambling levy.
Some of the funding will go directly to neighbourhoods where betting shops are most common. Council leaders say this targeted approach reflects where the harm is actually happening.
The levy replaced a voluntary funding system that had been in place for years. It started in April 2025 and changed how gambling harm support is paid for across Britain.
Glasgow’s problem is bigger than many other Scottish cities. A recent report to the council’s Wellbeing, Equalities, Communities, Culture and Engagement Policy Committee put the yearly cost of gambling harm in Glasgow at more than €17.55 million.
That figure was the highest recorded anywhere in Scotland. It includes costs tied to health, debt and community support services.
There is also a clear pattern in where betting shops are located. Around 42% of Glasgow’s betting outlets sit in the city’s most deprived areas.
Because of this, the council plans to focus extra resources on three neighbourhoods with the highest concentration of betting shops. Officials say this is meant to reach people most exposed to harm rather than spreading support evenly across the city.
Where the Money Will Go
The funding will expand work already underway through The Glasgow Project, a local gambling harm prevention programme.
Plans include hiring more prevention staff and restarting the city’s multi-agency partnership. This group brings together different services to coordinate support.
Schools and youth services will also get more attention. Council officials say young people dealing with gambling-related debt are among those they want to reach earlier.
A new financial inclusion service is part of the plan too. It will focus on people whose gambling has led to money problems, linking debt support directly to harm reduction work.
Health workers, community staff and other public service employees will receive extra training as well. The goal is to help them spot gambling problems sooner.
A New National Funding Model
Glasgow’s funding is part of a larger shift in how gambling harm is paid for across the UK.
The statutory levy replaced the previous voluntary system that had been run by GambleAware. The new levy is expected to bring in around €117 million each year.
Payments are collected by the Gambling Commission on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Other parts of the UK are also receiving levy funding. In England, €29.72 million has been given to 33 voluntary and community organisations working on gambling harm.
Wales has set up its own programme through Public Health Wales. It offers up to €819,000 a year for two years, with individual grants capped at €87,750 annually.
For Glasgow, the €4.02 million gives the council room to grow its services over the next three years. The figures behind the funding show a clear link between deprivation, betting shop density and financial harm in the city.
That link is now central to how the money will be spent.
