Review: Glasgow's £3.44m levy award puts local government at the centre of gambling harm policy

Focus Gaming News reports that Glasgow City Council has been awarded £3.44m over three years from the British Gambling Levy to expand The Glasgow Project, its local response to gambling-related harm. The piece covers planned work in schools and youth services, training for health and community staff, and a focus on "targeted interventions in three neighbourhoods identified as having the highest density of betting shops." It also cites a council report putting gambling harm costs to Glasgow at more than £15m a year, the highest in Scotland.

What stands out is the route the money takes. The same levy cycle saw £25.4m distributed to 33 voluntary and community organisations across England, but Glasgow's award puts local government directly in charge of spending rather than channelling funds through a national charity like the old GambleAware model. That makes this a test case for place-based, public-health-led commissioning.

The timing adds to the significance. The article also notes new powers for local authorities to reject betting shop and gaming hall applications, which means councils are gaining influence on both sides: funding the repair of harm while controlling the supply of gambling premises. For land-based operators, that combination of levy costs and tighter planning decisions is the development to watch. If Glasgow's approach works, other councils with high densities of betting shops may follow.

The piece is worth reading in full for the funding priorities and the broader DCMS context, including parallel levy-funded work in Wales. What to watch next is how the multi-agency partnership and financial inclusion service perform, and whether this becomes the template for the rest of the UK.