The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) body has taken a step towards forming its Gambling Research Programme, and is looking for a head of department to build out the programme, which will be funded by the gambling statutory levy.
The position will involve overseeing the formation of the UKRI’s Research Programme on Gambling, which seeks to address gambling harms through collaborative evidence-led research.
The role is open until 13 April, in line with the government’s previous reporting on the department launching early in 2026.
By the end of the first year, the head of the Gambling Research Programme is expected to have positioned the department as a “credible, trusted programme across the government and research community”, the job description reads.
The job role, published online last Sunday, is for a fixed term of 24 months and will sit within the UKRI’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
The chosen person will report into the ARHC’s associate director of the Research Programme on Gambling.
Wider aims of the statutory levy
The new head of the Research Programme on Gambling will provide “leadership, direction and momentum” for the initiative and consider where statutory levy funding should be spent.
The Research Programme on Gambling is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) via the sector’s statutory levy, which came into effect on 6 April last year.
Some 20% of the levy is directed to the UKRI’s Research Programme on Gambling. Of the remaining funding, 30% goes towards strengthening gambling harm prevention efforts, while the other 50% is reserved for treatment and support services.
The statutory levy generated a total of £120 million ($159.5 million) in the nine months since its implementation.
The levy applies to all UK-licensed operators, with rates varying according to the type of licence held. These range from 1.1% of GGY for online operators and software licensees to 0.1% for family entertainment centres, pool betting licensees and machine technical licensees.
The Gambling Commission cautioned operators their licences could be revoked if they failed to pay the levy on time.
Statutory levy funding must be fair and unbiased
In May last year, Better Change founder Victoria Reed warned the statutory levy required a robust governance framework to ensure its funding was well spent.
There has been some industry discourse around how and where the levy will be spent, with regards to research and funding the gambling harms sector.
Gambling RET funding (research, education and treatment) was brought under the government’s remit as part of the gambling white paper and the broader statutory levy formation.
Under the previous voluntary system, funds were distributed via GambleAware, which will cease operations by the end of this month due to the change.
Prominent researchers in the gambling harms sector had previously expressed concerns that the industry had too much influence over the research carried out under the previous funding model.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/sustainable-gambling/problem-gambling/dcms-ukri-body-research-funding-chief/
