(AsiaGameHub) –   The UK has announced the establishment of the largest independent research centre for research into gambling-related harm, which will be funded through the statutory gambling levy.

Announced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the new Gambling Harms Research UK (GHR-UK) Evidence Centre aims to address long-standing gaps in evidence that have limited policy, prevention and treatment efforts.

The centre will be funded through the gambling levy administered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). £22.1 million has been made available for this centre to be operational in 2025–26. The centre is led by a consortium from Glasgow, Sheffield, Swansea Universities, and King’s College London.

It is estimated that harmful gambling results in approximately £1.4 billion in annual costs for the UK, with additional social costs such as implications for mental health, and criminal justice systems.

In addition, the centre will ensure that individuals with lived experience are a priority in all research, with campaigner Martin Jones being appointed to ensure that the research conducted reflects the harms of gambling in real life in areas such as suicide, financial distress and algorithmic risk.

It was also made clear that the GHR-UK Evidence Centre will also be free from industry influence through governance arrangements established to safeguard the integrity of the research.

The launch of the centre coincides with a broader shift in gambling policy across the UK including new scrutiny of gambling advertising and the creation of a new cross-agency gambling task force to enhance the enforcement of illegal gambling with a focus on payment, advertising and cross-agency collaboration.