jili tutorial

GamCare Reports £19.9m Income in Final Year of GambleAware Funding

By jili tutorial · August 31, 2026

GamCare Reports £19.9m Income in Final Year of GambleAware Funding

Transition to Statutory Levy Marks End of an Era

GamCare has reported £19.9 million in income and £16 million in reserves for the 2025/26 financial year, which was its last year of GambleAware funding before the shift to statutory levy commissioning. Great Britain’s gambling harm support system moved to statutory levy funding on 1 April 2026, bringing an end to three decades in which services were funded by industry contributions channelled through GambleAware.

The charity published its Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2026 on 27 August 2026, covering the final full year before this significant change took effect.

Income Holds Steady as Funding Mix Shifts

The accounts show total income of £19,887,911, down 2% from the £20,289,108 recorded the previous year. While the overall figure remained relatively stable, the composition of funding changed substantially.

Service contracts and grant agreements with GambleAware accounted for 70% of income, compared with 55% in the prior year. This included £1.9 million in one-off final disbursement grants paid before GambleAware closed at the end of March 2026.

An additional £1.7 million, representing 9% of income, came from Allwyn for GamCare’s Women’s Pathway programme covering 2025/26 and 2026/27, completing a three-year agreement worth £2.5 million.

Donations Decline Sharply

Donations fell by 44% to £4,201,617, down from £7,538,141. GamCare attributes this drop to exceptional one-off gifts received in the previous year. Separately, the move to public sector commissioning has closed off donations from gambling operators, which the charity says places significant restrictions on future fundraising.

Reserves Rise 46% Amid Funding Uncertainty

Expenditure fell by 8% to £14,822,426, generating a surplus of £5,065,485. Total reserves reached £15,988,445 at 31 March 2026, up from £10,922,960.

Of this amount, £2,414,486 is restricted, and £2 million has been designated by trustees for digital development. This leaves general unrestricted reserves of £11,573,959.

Trustees have set a new operating reserves policy of £9 million to £11 million, citing funding uncertainty, the shift to services being funded in arrears, and the cost of digital investment.

Financial Summary at a Glance

Metric2025/262024/25Change
Donations£4,201,617£7,538,141-44.3%
Income from charitable activities£15,402,481£12,508,820+23.1%
Investment income£273,555£215,560+26.9%
Other income£10,258£26,587-61.4%
Total income£19,887,911£20,289,108-2.0%
Total expenditure£14,822,426£16,052,118-7.7%
Net income£5,065,485£4,236,990+19.6%
Total funds carried forward£15,988,445£10,922,960+46.4%
Restricted funds£2,414,486£1,386,451+74.1%
Designated funds£2,000,000–n/a
General funds£11,573,959£9,536,509+21.4%
Average number of employees229253-9.5%
Average FTE employees198241-17.8%

Source: GamCare Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statements, year ended 31 March 2026. All figures as reported. Percentage changes calculated by European Gaming.

Service Volumes Maintained Through Transition

Helpline and Digital Services

The National Gambling Helpline and its digital channels handled more than 114,000 contacts, including over 48,800 live chat and WhatsApp interactions. The Helpline made more than 11,400 onward referrals, with over 6,100 going into GamCare’s own services and over 5,300 to other providers. It also signposted more than 17,700 people to wider support services.

Education, Outreach and Treatment

Education, prevention and outreach programmes reached over 17,100 people, including more than 2,100 professionals. Treatment services supported 2,811 clients across more than 10,300 sessions, with a full assessment delivered on average within 2.4 days, comfortably exceeding the commissioner expectation of nine days.

Clinical outcomes showed significant improvement. Average Problem Gambling Severity Index scores fell from 14.4 at first assessment to 3.3 at discharge. CORE-10 scores, a validated measure of psychological distress, dropped from 14.0 to 6.3.

Partnership Initiatives

The Money Guidance Service supported 969 people. The TalkBanStop programme, which combined the Helpline with GAMSTOP self-exclusion and Gamban blocking software, concluded on 31 March 2026 following the end of its funding.

An independent Kantar evaluation found that 68% of TalkBanStop users said using more than one element made reducing gambling ‘much easier’. GamCare says the learning from this programme has been embedded into its ongoing service design.

Quality Assurance

A Care Quality Commission assessment in January 2026 covered the Helpline, community outreach and treatment services across all five quality domains. It confirmed that the services operate free from gambling industry influence. The Helplines Partnership also awarded the Helpline a three-year certification to its Helplines Standard.

Margot Daly, chair of trustees, said: “The Board’s priority throughout was to keep the quality of services at the centre of every decision. Independent CQC assessments found GamCare’s National Gambling Helpline, treatment and outreach services to be safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led, with care focused on the needs and preferences of the people who use them.”

Wales Contract Not Renewed Under New Arrangements

GamCare’s commissioned Helpline services in Wales were not renewed under the new funding arrangements. The report describes this as a direct consequence of how commissioning decisions were made during the transition. The Helpline still accepts calls from Wales, but commissioned delivery now covers England and Scotland only.

In England, GamCare retained the National Gambling Helpline and secured outreach and treatment work across the East Midlands, London, the South East, and Yorkshire and the Humber. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities awarded over £4 million to extend outreach in those four regions. In Scotland, GamCare received funding for the Highlands and Islands.

Margot Daly said: “After nearly three decades in this sector, we know that periods of change are when quality and continuity matter most, and as we continue delivering in England and Scotland under the new arrangements, that is where our focus will stay.”

What Operators and Commissioners Should Watch

Single-Year Contracts and Funding Risks

The report states that GamCare’s current NHS England treatment contracts have been issued for a single year. Trustees list funding uncertainty as a principal risk, noting that while some funds were procured for two years, most new funding is guaranteed for a single year only.

Trustees also disclose that since the year-end, GamCare has supported hundreds of additional people whose access to services was disrupted by the transition, drawing on its own infrastructure and reserves to do so.

Future Changes on the Horizon

Victoria Corbishley, chief executive, said: “The first phase of levy-funded commissioning has generated important learning about how services can be commissioned and coordinated effectively across a complex system.”

The next decision point falls before April 2027. The report notes proposals to transfer funding for treatment services in England from NHS England to integrated care boards, a change that would follow the abolition of NHS England set out in the NHS Modernisation Bill announced in the King’s Speech on 13 May 2026.

GamCare said it has offered to share its frontline experience to support that next phase of commissioning and has made the case to the government for an early review of commissioning governance so that lessons from the first year are captured before further structural change.

Looking Ahead

For the year ahead, the charity plans to publish an evidence briefing on crypto-related gambling harms and to begin delivering a national programme for affected others.