Gambling Harms Prevention: Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Grant Fund

Organisations will need to demonstrate the following:

• That they fall into the defined category of a VCSE (voluntary, community and social enterprise) organisation.

• That their activities related to this grant will only be delivered in England (either locally, regionally, or nationally.)  Funding must be used only for activity delivered in England. 

• That they are intending to carry out a prevention activity under the following categories:

Prevention intervention categories    

• Social action

• Awareness

• Education

• Campaign

• Training

• Support for people who gamble / support for affected others

• Gambling blocking tools

• Other / non-clinical recovery

That the project proposed meets the following grant objectives;

Grant Objectives

In relation to gambling harms prevention in England:

• Sustain and strengthen the VCSE sector to deliver equitable and innovative prevention strategies.

• Build capacity and capability for effective and sustainable project delivery.

• Develop an independent, evidence-based approach to public health policy decision making.

And that you can provide evidence of this, supported by a theory of change model (as per the project proposal and theory of change document.

• That the design and application of your prevention activity, or activities, sets out to help prevent gambling-related harm to those at risk, through approaches or narratives not influenced by industry.  This should be outlined in the project proposal and theory of change document document.

• Their commitment to not receiving any industry funding (with the exception of the National Lottery/AllWyn) from 1 April 2026. Organisations will be required to sign a Declaration of Interest (available within the supporting documents section).  Organisations must also commit to redesigning any materials or approaches designed in collaboration with industry and demonstrate how they are moving away from this influence from 1 April 2026 as per theproject proposal and theory of change document. They should also commit to ensuring that no board members have any links to the gambling industry.

• That you can provide, or will put processes in place to provide, output and/or outcome data from this activity, or activities, to help us develop the evidence base over time to enable us to better understand ‘what works’ to prevent gambling related harm, independent of industry.

• That you are applying for a maximum award of £3 million per organisation per financial year, up to a maximum of £6 million over two years. Funding is released on an annual basis and will be agreed per organisation, so organisations can either apply for 1 year of funding, with the option of applying again next year or indicate that they require 2 years’ worth in the first round.  

• That they have prepared a budget plan (a template for completing this is available within the supporting documents and will be uploaded as part of the application).

• That they can provide, or will put processes in place to provide, output and/or outcome data from this activity, or activities, to help us build the evidence base and the case for scaling up quality, evidence–based prevention activities in future. Additionally, that they will commit to using any platforms or tools, supplied by the Department of Health and Social Care or its partners, to support with the collection and reporting of relevant data.

In addition to the above eligibility criteria, it should be noted that DHSC will expect applicants to;

• Provide further supporting information, as set out in the Guidance for applicants, if the bid is shortlisted.

• Demonstrate how they will meaningfully engage and/or involve lived experience in their project

• Share learning with the Department of Health and Social Care, plus other partners including NHS England and Cabinet Office (GGMS), where relevant, throughout the funded period and as part of any evaluation during, at the end of, or after the funding period, if your application is successful.

Out of Scope:

• Projects delivering treatment or recovery interventions 

• Projects delivered outside of England

The key objectives of the Gambling Harms Prevention: Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Grant Fund are to:

(1) Sustain and strengthen the VCSE sector to deliver equitable and innovative prevention strategies.

(2) Build capacity and capability for effective and sustainable project delivery.

(3) Develop an independent, evidence-based approach to public health policy decision making.

• Applications open - 14th January (midday)

• Applications closed - 6th February (midday)

• Clarification period for questions - January 14th to 30th      

• Application assessment window - throughout February

• Projects commence - from April

• Date by which funding must be spent - 31st March 2028, or March 2027 where one year of funding is applied for.

Complete the application via Find a Grant and Apply for a Grant by 12pm 06 February 2026 on GOV.UK.

Please note, the following documents need to be completed and uploaded to your application. You can find templates of them in the supporting documents:

• Project Proposal and Theory of Change Doc Template

• Budget Template

• Declaration of Interest Template

Register for an account at https://find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/apply/applicant.

For guidance and support, please refer to the DHSC/OHID webinar recording (attached in the supporting documents) or contact GGMS at ggms.ohidgamharmprev@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Examples of how to design a Theory of Change model can be found here: 

https://www.ncvo.org.uk/help-and-guidance/strategy-and-impact/strategy-and-business-planning/theory-of-change/

The Theory of Change Process – Guidance for Outcome Delivery Plans – Government Analysis Function 

Background on the statutory levy on gambling operators can be found here:

Government response to the consultation on the structure, distribution and governance of the statutory levy on gambling operators - GOV.UK