GamCare Builds £16m Reserve Buffer as Statutory Levy Transition Tests UK Support System

Total income reached £19.89 million, compared with £20.29 million in 2024/25. Service contracts and grant agreements with GambleAware accounted for 70% of income, up from 55% a year earlier. This included £1.9 million in final one-off disbursement grants before GambleAware closed in March 2026.

Donations fell 44% to £4.2 million, partly because the previous year included exceptional gifts. GamCare also said the public commissioning model now limits its ability to accept gambling-operator donations.

The transition has moved beyond policy design, with the government announcing the first recipients of statutory levy funding for prevention projects covering 2026 to 2028. For providers, however, the key question is whether central allocation can offer the timing, visibility and flexibility previously available through established funding relationships.

GamCare reduced expenditure by 8% to £14.82 million and recorded net income of £5.07 million. Total reserves consequently rose from £10.92 million to £15.99 million. Of that amount, £2.41 million was restricted and £2 million was designated for digital development, leaving £11.57 million in general unrestricted reserves.

Trustees introduced an operating-reserves target of £9 million to £11 million, citing uncertain funding, contracts paid in arrears and planned digital investment. The balance sheet can therefore absorb short-term disruption, but it should not be interpreted as surplus capacity without limits.

The government’s Gambling Levy Transition Fund was created to reduce funding cliffs while the statutory framework took shape. GamCare’s experience shows why such bridging arrangements matter. The charity reported using its own infrastructure and reserves to support hundreds of additional people whose services were disrupted during the changeover.

GamCare’s National Gambling Helpline and digital channels handled more than 114,000 contacts during the year. They made over 11,400 treatment referrals and connected more than 17,700 people with wider support. Prevention, education and outreach programmes reached 17,100 people, including more than 2,100 professionals.

Treatment services supported 2,811 clients through more than 10,300 sessions. Full assessments were completed in an average of 2.4 days, while nearly 97% of people completing treatment reported a positive change. These results strengthen GamCare’s position with public commissioners, but performance alone does not remove structural risk.

GamCare retained the National Gambling Helpline and secured work across several English regions, alongside funding in Scotland. Its commissioned Helpline role in Wales was not renewed, although Welsh callers can still access the national service. The launch of a £1.4 million gambling harm prevention fund in Wales illustrates how levy revenue is increasingly being divided between local prevention and specialist treatment structures.

For operators, regulators and service providers, GamCare’s accounts highlight a central tension. The statutory levy is intended to create predictable funding, yet its first commissioning phase has produced short notice, multiple decision-making bodies and limited contract duration.

Most new funding is guaranteed for only one year, with another decision point due before April 2027. GamCare enters that period with strong reserves, proven outcomes and established national infrastructure. Its resilience is clear, but the wider system will be judged on whether future commissioning converts levy revenue into uninterrupted, measurable and locally responsive support across Great Britain.