GambleAware<\/strong> was the UK’s leading independent gambling-harm charity and strategic commissioner of treatment, prevention, and research services from 2002 until its formal closure on 31 March 2026. Within our licensing methodology<\/a>, GambleAware sits in the historical-context layer of player protection \u2014 a 24-year strategic commissioner whose functions transitioned to NHS England, OHID, and UKRI under the new statutory levy.<\/p>\n The charity began life in 2002 as the Gambling Industry Charitable Trust, renamed Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT) in 2012, and rebranded GambleAware around 2017-2018 as it took on the role of central commissioning body for gambling-harm services across Great Britain. A further brand simplification in 2023 dropped the “Be” prefix from BeGambleAware to its final form.<\/p>\n Throughout its existence, GambleAware championed gambling harm as a public-health issue rather than a question of individual responsibility \u2014 a framing that ultimately reshaped UK regulatory thinking and led to the statutory levy that replaced the charity itself. Andy Boucher served as final Chair of Trustees stewarding the managed wind-down announced on 25 July 2025.<\/p>\n GambleAware did not deliver treatment or run a helpline itself. Instead, it operated as a strategic commissioner<\/strong>: collecting voluntary industry contributions, distributing grants, and coordinating the partner organisations that handle direct service delivery.<\/p>\n At the centre of its commissioning portfolio sat the National Gambling Support Network<\/strong> (NGSN, rebranded in 2023 from the National Gambling Treatment Service). The NGSN brought together free, confidential treatment and prevention services delivered by partners across Great Britain, including:<\/p>\n Funding flowed through a voluntary percentage levy historically agreed with the gambling industry. Independence critics questioned the source for two decades, while GambleAware maintained audited accounts and pushed publicly for the statutory model that would eventually replace its commissioning role. Over its lifetime, the NGSN it built supported tens of thousands of individuals.<\/p>\n The 2023 UK Government Gambling Act review White Paper announced what GambleAware had advocated for since 2017: a mandatory statutory levy<\/strong> on gambling operators, collected by the Gambling Commission<\/a> and distributed under DCMS direction.<\/p>\n In November 2024 the Government appointed three new statutory commissioners \u2014 NHS England for treatment (50% share), the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) for prevention (30%), and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for research (20%) \u2014 with equivalent national bodies in Scotland and Wales. GambleAware was not selected for any of these roles.<\/p>\n Trustees announced the managed closure on 25 July 2025, and the charity formally ceased operations on 31 March 2026 after fulfilling its remaining commissioning agreements. In effect, GambleAware was the charity that designed itself out of existence, having spent two decades arguing for a statutory framework to replace voluntary industry funding.<\/p>\n The gambleaware.org website remains live as a legacy public resource, maintained for its self-assessment screener, spend calculator, friends-and-family check-in, and service finder. These tools are usable but not actively developed after the 31 March 2026 closure.<\/p>\nCommissioning the National Gambling Support Network<\/h2>\n
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The 2026 Transition to Statutory Commissioning<\/h2>\n
Where to Find Current Gambling-Harm Support<\/h2>\n