UK Gambling Commission Stands Firm on Directing Settlement Funds to Central Treasury

The UK Gambling Commission has confirmed that all future payments from regulatory settlements will be routed to the government's Consolidated Fund, giving HM Treasury discretion over whether the money is channelled back into tackling gambling-related harm or allocated to other public spending priorities.

In an update published on Wednesday, the regulator disclosed its final decision following a public consultation that drew 28 responses from operators, trade bodies, harm-reduction charities, and members of the public. Half of those respondents disagreed with the proposal, arguing that diverting settlement funds away from the gambling ecosystem would weaken deterrence and risk the money being used for non-gambling purposes.

The Commission acknowledged the move would be "unpopular" among stakeholders, many of whom had previously seen these funds go directly to GambleAware for research into problem gambling. However, GambleAware ceased operations in March after the new Statutory Levy came into force, which now channels mandatory industry contributions to the government's Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID).

The regulator stated that sending the funds to the Consolidated Fund is "our only viable option" in the absence of a dedicated central body capable of receiving and distributing settlement money in a coordinated manner. It added that the Statutory Levy alone should provide "a sustainable and equitable funding system" for research, prevention, and treatment of gambling harms.

Some consultation respondents had suggested that settlement payments should instead be added to the broader levy pot or made available more flexibly to smaller third-sector organisations not receiving direct levy funding. The Commission acknowledged these views but ultimately concluded that no practical alternative existed.

Under the Statutory Levy framework, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced in December that roughly 50% of levy funds would go toward treatment, 30% toward prevention, and 20% toward research. Critics, including researchers who testified before a parliamentary health committee in April 2025, have voiced concerns about the sector's influence on how levy money was historically spent and about OHID's perceived lack of planning for disbursing the new funds.

The Consolidated Fund is typically used to finance day-to-day public services, government departmental operations, and national debt servicing.