Key Moments:
- DCMS revised the Gambling Levy Programme Board’s Terms of Reference to define roles, monitoring, and accountability
- The Programme Board, chaired by Ben Dean, is role-based and composed of ten institutional members
- GambleAware will be dissolved in March next year, concluding over twenty years of commissioning initiatives
Revised Oversight for Gambling Levy Implementation
The UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has issued a detailed update to the Terms of Reference for the Gambling Levy Programme Board, outlining specific mechanisms for how the new statutory levy on gambling is to be managed and assessed as resources are distributed to combat gambling-related harm.
The updated guidance establishes clear divisions of responsibility among government entities overseeing the levy, which supports research, prevention, and treatment strategies associated with harms related to gambling.
Programme Board Structure and Responsibilities
According to the DCMS, the Programme Board serves as a cross-government collaborative, including officials from pertinent UK departments as well as participants from the Scottish and Welsh governments.
The Board’s primary mandate is to ensure that delegated commissioning organizations are advancing government aims to reinforce and broaden work on research, prevention, and treatment.
Levy-funded initiatives span multiple departmental jurisdictions, necessitating a formal governance structure to track developments, evaluate outcomes, and flag systemic risks. Under the revised Terms of Reference, the Board carries collective responsibility for ongoing scrutiny of the levy system as a whole, including whether objectives and priorities are being met.
However, the DCMS has clarified that the Programme Board does not retain authority over specific funding choices. These determinations continue to reside with the commission-designated bodies identified by the department.
Leadership and Membership Updates
Recent changes include a shift from individual public figure leadership to a role-based governance framework. The Director for Sport and Gambling at DCMS, currently Ben Dean, chairs the Programme Board and is assisted by Deputy Director for Gambling and Lotteries, Julie Carney.
A DCMS-published annex confirms that Board membership stands at ten, all appointed based on their institutional offices within the levy infrastructure. This model foregrounds departmental accountability rather than personal representation.
| Position | Name | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Director for Sport and Gambling, DCMS | Ben Dean | Chair |
| Deputy Director for Gambling and Lotteries, DCMS | Julie Carney | Support |
| Plus eight institutional members based on organizational role | ||
Centralized Oversight and Future Transitions
Despite the establishment of the Programme Board, DCMS continues to hold primary responsibility for implementing the statutory levy. Under Section 123 of the Gambling Act 2005, the Secretary of State for DCMS, currently Lisa Nandy, or the minister responsible for gambling policy, Baroness Twycross, must approve final funding allocations.
HM Treasury is also a statutory joint approver, maintaining fiscal supervision. DCMS stated that the Treasury’s involvement is anticipated to be proportional, particularly after the first year of the levy’s operations.
Delegated Commissioning and Devolved Administration
Commissioning of levy-supported work falls to specialized entities. The Department of Health and Social Care leads on both treatment and public health, with NHS England as the treatment commission and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities overseeing prevention. Research allocations are managed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology through UK Research and Innovation. Prevention and treatment expenditure in Scotland and Wales is managed by the respective devolved administrations.
End of an Era for GambleAware
As part of these transitions, GambleAware is set to be dissolved in March next year, bringing to a close more than twenty years of work commissioning treatment and prevention efforts targeting gambling-related harm.
- Author
Daniel Williams
