Committee publication · Correspondence · 21 April 2026
Letter from Anna Hargrave, Chief Executive, GambleAware, regarding the closure of the charity, 30 March 2026
Summary
GambleAware, the leading UK charity for gambling harm prevention and treatment, announces its closure on 31 March 2026 following implementation of a statutory industry levy system. The letter outlines the charity's legacy work and raises urgent concerns about system fragmentation, delayed commissioning decisions, absent clinical coordination, lack of lived experience representation, and critical policy gaps in advertising regulation and online safety that remain unaddressed.
Key findings
- GambleAware distributed £2.5m to providers and £8.3m total in 2025/26 to stabilise the system amid commissioning delays; new commissioners did not fully engage with transition support offers.
- New statutory system lacks a system leader, national strategy, or coordination framework between three separate prevention and treatment commissioners, risking service fragmentation and loss of integrated pathway approach.
- NHS England rejected single clinical reporting system proposal despite GambleAware warnings of suicide risk and patient safety risks from system interoperability failures and data gaps.
- GambleAware Support Tool App closed despite 10,000+ users and success; prevention assets (brand, website, campaigns) transferred to OHID with uncertain long-term future; critical datasets risk being lost.
- Three policy reforms identified as critical: pre-watershed advertising ban and sports sponsorship restrictions; updated online gambling content regulation with dedicated departmental lead; National Lottery safer gambling messaging and GambleAware branding on products.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
GambleAware, Anna Hargrave, Caroline Dinenage MP, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, NHS England, Office of Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), Public Health Wales, National Gambling Support Network (NGSN)
Notable line
“The absence of an overall gambling harm reduction strategy, with agreed outcomes and commissioning strategy, means that on 1 April 2026, the support system that currently exists will be fragmented.”
Key Quotes
“GambleAware has been the leading independent charity and strategic commissioner of gambling harm prevention and treatment across Great Britain for many years.”
“Despite these continued efforts, the offer of collaboration and support has not been taken up by all commissioners and, in some cases, has been requested too late to fully enable a smooth transition.”
“When the new system commences on 1 April, no entity will be operating as system leader. Alongside this, no plans for a National Strategy or strategic framework for the new system have been published or shared to date …”
“Without a single system, there is a risk that people could fall between services. For example, if regional providers operate a different clinical system to national providers, high-risk service users could be missed for escalation. Given the high number of patients who are at risk of suicide, the absence of a single system is a serious concern to us.”
“The GambleAware brand remains the most salient brand associated with Chair : Andy Boucher Chief Executive: Anna Hargrave Trustees: Rachel Pearce, Paul Simpson, Marina Gibbs, Mel Nebhrajani, Sir Alan Moses, Dr.”
“Gambling harms are a serious public health issue which can affect anyone, and the prevention of harm cannot succeed without changes to the wider environment.”
“… those with the greatest advertising exposure being 2.3x more likely to experience 'problem gambling' in their lifetime.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗