Funding opportunity

Pre-announcement: Gambling harms research grants

• Opportunity status: Open
• Funders: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Medical Research Council (MRC), UK Research and Innovation
• Funding type: Grant
• Total fund: £2,000,000
• Publication date: 18 May 2026
• Opening date: 18 May 2026 9:00am UK time
• Closing date: 17 July 2026 4:00pm UK time

Apply for funding that deepens understanding or supports solutions for the prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms.

To lead an application, you must be based at a research organisation eligible for UKRI funding.

This opportunity is open to research communities across all UKRI research councils. Interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary approaches are encouraged.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £2,000,000, for up to three years. UKRI will fund 80% of the FEC.

This is a pre-announcement and the information may change.

The funding opportunity will open on 21 September 2026 when more information will be available on this page.

Please register your expression of interest in this opportunity by completing a short survey in the UKRI Engagement Hub by 17 July 2026.

Who can apply

This opportunity is open to organisations with standard and non-standard eligibility, and organisations who are based overseas. Project leads must be based at a UK research institution eligible for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding.

Check if your organisation is eligible

Teams may involve single or multiple institutions. The lead organisation will be responsible for submitting the grant application.

Researchers may submit one application to this funding opportunity as project lead but may be involved in other applications as a project co-lead.

Who is eligible to apply

This opportunity is open to research communities across all UKRI research councils. It is a UKRI funding opportunity, delivered by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

To lead the award, your organisation must have standard eligibility for UKRI funding, which include:

• UK higher education providers (HEPs)
• UKRI institutes
• independent research organisations (IROs) approved by UKRI
• public sector research establishments (PSREs) or NHS bodies approved by UKRI

This opportunity is also open to the following organisations with non-standard eligibility to apply as a project co-lead, provided they can demonstrate the capacity to co-lead and manage a significant research and innovation project:

• international research organisations
• other educational establishments (OEEs)
• charities and third sector organisations
• government departments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
• social enterprises and UK registered businesses

Further guidance for including UK project co-leads from organisations with non-standard eligibility is provided in the ESRC Project co-leads from UK business, third sector or government organisations policy. These organisations will need to go through due diligence checks before being awarded funding. Further details can be found on how to apply to be an eligible organisation.

It is the responsibility of the lead research organisation to check eligibility of all collaborating organisations (UK and international) and the eligibility of individuals for their proposed roles. Applications submitted with ineligible applicants will be rejected by the UKRI office.

See AHRC’s funding guide for further information on institutional and individual contractual eligibility requirements for investigators.

These organisations can also contribute as project partners if they are not a project co-lead. For more information see the Collaborators section.

Further eligibility requirements

Applications must be team based and must bring together diverse people, expertise, experiences, places, and wider stakeholders. This includes people with lived and learned experience from gambling and gambling related harms.

By lived experience, we mean people with direct experience of gambling related harms.

Partnerships with non-academic higher education institutions and people across the third sector, community groups, industry, the public sector, people with lived experience and the public are important. These can contribute to diverse, innovative and cutting-edge research.

By ‘industry’ we mean any enterprise that places goods or services on a market and whose commercial activities constitute more than 20% of its annual operations. This definition applies across all sectors and is not limited to organisations within the gambling industry. However, we absolutely recognise the sensitivities in respect of partnerships with businesses, the gambling industry or otherwise.

That is why we are clear that any engagement with industry partners, especially those from the gambling sector, must be demonstrably independent, evidence-based and research-led. Engagement must align with the programme’s public interest objectives to further understanding of gambling and gambling-related harm.

Furthermore, all applications will be subject to robust scrutiny through our peer review and governance processes. Particular attention will be paid to the independence and integrity of the research, the source and independence of the findings, and the potential for real-world impact in understanding gambling behaviour and reducing gambling harms.

UKRI wishes to clarify that, as well as not being permitted to host awards, under the Research Programme on Gambling, UKRI does not permit funding to be provided to Gambling Commission licence holders who are subject to the levy.
We have also placed restrictions on co-funding from such organisations. Furthermore, UKRI would not expect individual researchers to concurrently hold funding from licence holders subject to the levy while receiving funding from the Research Programme on Gambling.

UKRI does not permit engagement with industries whose core business can be associated with harm to public health or societal wellbeing, in line with our ethical standards and harms-based exclusion principles.

Exceptions may be made for time-limited, purpose-specific interactions deemed essential to achieving legitimate and high-quality research objectives (for example, access to proprietary datasets or materials), provided that:

• there is no direct funding or co-authorship from the excluded entity
• the interaction is subject to robust ethical review and declared transparently
• appropriate safeguards are in place to prevent undue influence, reputational risk, or conflicts of interest
• the public benefit of the research demonstrably outweighs the risks of engagement

Such exceptions must be approved in advance through UKRI’s due diligence and governance mechanisms. You should consider UKRI’s policies and guidance on Preventing harm in research when preparing applications to this funding opportunity.

An indication of required dataset(s) or sources, or both, must be included in the application. Where access to data has been established or agreed in principle, this must be confirmed via letters of support from relevant data controller(s) or data service(s). Any relevant data gaps or needs should be highlighted, and plans for addressing them outlined.

You should declare in your application that you are compliant with these requirements for the duration of the programme.

Collaborations can take different forms including project partners or collaborating organisations. You must demonstrate how the collaborations within your team are equitable, have contributed to the development of your application including its conceptualisation, are not compromised by non-compliance with our conflict of interest policy, and will help the centre achieve its aims.

Collaborators

You may have collaborators on your project in addition to those listed in the core team.

Project partners

A project partner is defined as a third-party person or organisation (including international or non-academic collaborations) who provides specific contributions to the team and project.

Project partners are expected to provide contributions to the delivery of the project, either in cash or in kind, and should not therefore be seeking to claim funds from UKRI.

Organisations that are applicants on the project, including any named applicants’ organisations, cannot also be a project partner. UKRI head office staff acting in their capacity as a UKRI employee are not eligible to be project partners.

Project subcontractor

A project subcontractor is defined as a third-party individual who is not employed as staff on the grant, who is subcontracted by a participating organisation to deliver a specific piece of work. Subcontractors will be allowed in line with UKRI terms and conditions for research grants.

Management of intellectual property

In your application you will be expected to outline how outputs and intellectual property assets will be managed across the organisations within your core team and collaborators. This is to ensure that it is appropriate for this funding and ensures outputs can be used to support the wider aims of the levy.

International researchers

UKRI’s international project co-lead policy applies to this funding opportunity. If you are a researcher based outside of the UK, you can be named as ‘project co-lead (international)’ if you meet the eligibility criteria for international project co-leads.

The UK research organisation which hosts the project lead will be responsible for the due diligence and confirming that any international organisation and project co-lead meets the eligibility criteria. Further information on the eligibility criteria for international research organisations is provided in the UKRI project co-lead (international) policy and guidance.

Current co-funding arrangements via international lead agency agreements with individual research councils do not apply to this funding opportunity.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.

We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:

• career breaks
• support for people with caring responsibilities
• flexible working
• alternative working patterns

UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

What we're looking for

Demand management

Demand management is not currently being applied to this funding opportunity. However, should the level of interest exceed what can be managed within the assessment process, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) may introduce limits on the number of applications that can be submitted.

Further details will be clearly communicated where this is the case. UKRI encourages organisations to support applicants in preparing well-planned, high-quality applications that are competitive for funding relative to the funding opportunity.

See Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)’s funding guide for further information on submission rules.

Scope

Context

In April 2023, the Department for Culture, Media, and Sports (DCMS) published a white paper setting out the government’s plans for modernising regulation of the gambling sector. One of the key proposals in the white paper is the introduction of a statutory levy on gambling operators.

Following a public consultation, which ran from 17 October 2023 to 14 December 2023, and an analysis of the responses to the consultation, the government has introduced a statutory levy charged to all licenced gambling activity. This is at varying levels depending on the sector and nature of the gambling activity to ensure impacts are proportionate.

The statutory levy was introduced via secondary legislation and commenced in April 2025 with funding flowing later that year. The levy will be collected and administered by the Gambling Commission under the strategic direction of the government, replacing the current system of voluntary industry contributions.

Levy funding will be directed in specific proportions for the purposes of research, prevention, and treatment. Each stream of the levy system will also have a central commissioner. The streams are:

• research (20% of funding to UKRI and the Gambling Commission for the establishment of a bespoke research programme)
• prevention (30% of funding to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) to create a co-ordinated GB-wide approach to prevention)
• treatment (50% of funding to the NHS in England, Scotland, and Wales to commission treatment and support services)

Within the stream of funding allocated to UKRI for the new Research Programme on Gambling (RPG), UKRI have commissioned a multi-disciplinary Gambling Harms Research UK (GHR-UK) Evidence Centre.

This will coordinate a cohort of GHR-UK Innovation Partnerships that have been funded to fill gaps in the existing evidence base and assist UKRI in developing a research agenda following the introduction of the levy.

For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the ‘Additional Information’ section.

Gambling harms research grants

This opportunity aims to deliver high-quality research projects and build capacity in the research ecosystem. UKRI welcomes applications addressing any question or challenge that deepens understanding or supports solutions for the prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms.

This opportunity is open to the research and innovation communities across all UKRI research councils, and interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary approaches are encouraged.

UKRI will take a managed portfolio approach to ensure a balance of research topics and geographic regions are represented across the programme.

Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches

We encourage research projects to bring together different disciplines to address a challenge or question in gambling harms research, either through an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary approach. Single discipline projects will also be considered.

Definitions

Interdisciplinary research combines distinct components of two or more disciplines through the integration of separate disciplinary data, methods, tools, concepts or theories in order to address a complex issue, question, or problem. Interdisciplinary projects will be co-created or co-designed with input from all disciplines involved and the disciplines genuinely integrated with each discipline gaining something significant by being part of the project.

Multidisciplinary research involves different disciplines working towards the same challenge. The work packages do not require integration and remain largely separate and independent of each other, with the outputs of each combining to address the research challenge.

Whether your project uses an interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary or single discipline approach, you should clearly articulate throughout your application how the challenge can only be address through your chosen approach. You should include the appropriate measures for team management and project governance to ensure a successful outcome.

Guidance

Strong interdisciplinary projects demonstrate active integration of concepts, methods and perspectives across all participating disciplines. Integration is intentional, supported by clear processes for communication and shared working. Teams work jointly rather than in parallel, managing differences in disciplinary languages or culture to ensure equitable involvement across all fields. Methodologies, tools and processes may need to be adapted in order to integrate the different disciplines.

Effective interdisciplinary projects are co-created from the outset, with all disciplines contributing to shaping the research question, project framing and design. Teams build shared understanding through early collaborative discussion, valuing and challenging each other’s expertise. The project is guided by collective goals rather than any single discipline, supported by governance and working practices that foster open dialogue and ongoing development.

Interdisciplinary research should deliver meaningful reciprocal benefits for all participating disciplines, enriching each field’s knowledge base through new insights, methods or perspectives.

Guidance for effective interdisciplinary research approaches was initially developed for the UKRI Cross research council responsive mode pilot scheme. Further guidance can be viewed in a webinar recording (YouTube) for the second round of the scheme, particularly from the 10:45 timestamp.

In multidisciplinary research approaches the disciplinary methods and processes remain largely unchanged but the outputs of each disciplinary workstream will come together to address the research challenge.

For both multi and interdisciplinary approaches the team should put in place the appropriate management and governance structures to ensure a successful outcome and outline these in their application. Research approaches should also consider the cross disciplinary support and development for early career researchers through mentoring, skills exchanges and opportunities to engage with approaches across disciplines.

Research ethics

You must ensure that the activities and research is carried out to a high ethical standard, particularly given the sensitivities of research on issues concerning public harm and health. Gambling and the themes and topics highlighted have the potential to be very sensitive and applicants are expected to have carefully considered all potential issues, integrity and conflicts of interest, safeguarding requirements, and best practice.

You must clearly state how any potential ethical, safeguarding, and health and safety issues have been considered and will be addressed, ensuring that all necessary ethical approval is in place and all risks are minimised before the award commences. This is particularly important in the context of any planned public engagement activity and the involvement of people with lived experience, both of which may require specific consideration.

We encourage applicants to make use of relevant resources on UKRI’s Good Research Resource Hub.

Duration

The duration of this award is three years.

Awards are expected to be offered in July 2027. A period of up to six months from the date of the award letter to the commencement of grant activity is permitted, as per standard UKRI terms and conditions.

Funding available

The FEC of your project can be up to £2,000,000.

UKRI will fund 80% of the FEC.

What we will fund

Costs for project leads and UK project co-leads with standard eligibility can include:

• contributions to the salary of project lead and co-leads
• staff costs
• equipment
• travel and subsistence
• other directly incurred costs
• estates and indirect costs

Doctoral students are not eligible for this opportunity, and funds are not available for PhD studentships. Further details about eligible costings for organisations with standard eligibility can be found in the AHRC research funding guide.

For organisations with non-standard eligibility, UKRI will award funding to the UK lead organisation, who will be responsible for distributing funds. Justified costs will be funded at 100% FEC and should be included under exceptions.

Further guidance on costings for project co-leads from UK organisations with non-standard eligibility is provided in the ESRC Project co-leads from UK business, third sector or government organisations policy.

For international organisations, further information on eligible costs is provided in the UKRI project co-lead (international) policy and guidance.

The combined total costs claimed for by all organisations with non-standard eligibility (both overseas and from the UK) must not exceed 30% of the overall cost of the project, calculated at 100% FEC.

This limit only applies to costs associated with co-project leads and does not restrict your ability to extend further support to enable participation through, for example, funding travel costs for participants. However, these additional costs would be funded at the standard 80% FEC.

Supporting skills and talent

We expect you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment. You are also expected to comply with our statement of expectations for technology and skills specialists (PDF, 31KB).

Applicants are encouraged to consider how you can use a range of technical and specialist expertise available at their research organisation to deliver the proposed work and to mitigate against risks presented by fixed term contracts.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.

See further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support.

How to apply

Expression of interest

You are invited to complete an expression of interest (EOI) in applying for this opportunity. It provides us with key information about your project and team ahead of the opportunity opening.

This survey can be found on the UKRI Engagement Hub. This should be completed by the prospective Project Lead by 17 July 2026.

The purpose of the expression of interest is to:

• understand the level of demand for funding to support gambling harms research
• identify any research projects that are not in scope for this opportunity
• understand the spread of proposed research topics and the organisations involved to secure appropriate experts for assessment

The information you provide will be used by UKRI staff only and will not be assessed by expert review. If a proposed project is considered not to be in scope for this opportunity, applicants will be informed prior to the opportunity opening.

We strongly encourage you to submit an EOI so that we can secure appropriate expertise to assess your application. However, if you do not submit an EOI this does not prevent you from applying to the opportunity when it opens in the Funding Service. Submission of an EOI has no impact on any future applications.

Applicants will be required to provide detailed declaration of interests as part of the application, details of which may be published when the opportunity open.

The UKRI Funding Service

We will be running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system. We will publish full details on how to apply when the funding opportunity opens on 21 September 2026.

Application sections

The application will include, but not limited to, the following sections:

• a summary
• core team member details
• vision
• approach
• applicant and team capability to deliver
• ethics and responsible research and innovation
• resource and cost justification

Further details will be available to when the full stage opportunity opens, due on 21 September 2026.

Deadline

UKRI must receive your application by 8 December 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to apply after this time.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.

Following the submission of your application to this funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and submitted applications will not be amended. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

Personal data

Processing personal data

UKRI will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.

We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.

We will need to share the application (including any personal information that it contains) with the Department for Culture, Media, and Sports (DCMS) so that they can participate in the assessment process.

For more information on how DCMS uses personal information, visit the DCMS personal information charter for further detail.

Institutional matched funding

There is no requirement for matched funding from the institutions hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the application, beyond the standard 20% FEC. Expert reviewers and panels assessing UKRI funding applications must not consider levels of institutional matched funding as a factor on which to base recommendations. Direct and in-kind contributions from third party project partners are encouraged.

This policy does not remove the need for support from host organisations who must provide the necessary research environment and infrastructure for award-specific activities funded by UKRI. For example, research facilities, training and development of staff.

Publication of outcomes

UKRI will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at What AHRC has funded.

If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.

How we will assess your application

Assessment process

A panel of experts will independently assess the quality of your application. Shortlisted applications will be discussed at a panel meeting. The panel will make a funding recommendation.

UKRI will make the final funding decision.

This is a pre-announcement. Full details on the process and assessment areas will be provided when the funding opportunity opens on 21 September 2026.

For more information on how we prioritise applications for funding please visit How we make decisions.

Principles of assessment

We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.

Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making.

Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in expert review

Reviewers and panellists are not permitted to use generative AI tools to develop their assessment, including to correct language, spelling, grammar and formatting. Using these tools can potentially compromise the confidentiality of the ideas that applicants have entrusted to UKRI to safeguard.

For more detail see our policy on the use of generative AI.

Sharing data with co-funders

We will need to share the application (including any personal information that it contains) with the Department for Culture, Media, and Sports (DCMS) so that they can participate in the assessment process.

For more information on how DCMS uses personal information, visit the DCMS personal information charter for further detail.

We reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed.

Contact details

Get help with your application

If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page.

The helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue. Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility, content or remit of a funding opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.

Contact details

For help and advice on costings and writing your application please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process.

For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact operations@ahrc.ukri.org

Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.

Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org
Phone: 01793 547490

Our phone lines are open:

• Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm
• Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm

To help us process queries more efficiently, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time.

For further information on submitting an application read How applicants use the Funding Service.

Additional info

Background

Further information on the gambling levy can be found in the following resources:

• government White Paper following review of the Gambling Act 2005 (April 2023)
• public consultation on structure, distribution and governance of statutory levy on gambling operators (October 2023)
• Public Health England review on Gambling related harms (January 2023)
• Gambling Commission Evidence Gaps and Priorities 2023 to 2026
• government response to consultation on structure, distribution and governance of statutory levy on gambling operators (November 2024)

Research and innovation impact

Impact can be defined as the long-term intended or unintended effect research and innovation has on society, economy and the environment; to individuals, organisations, and the wider global population.

Research disruption due to COVID-19

We recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major interruptions and disruptions across our communities. We are committed to ensuring that individual applicants and their wider team, including partners and networks, are not penalised for any disruption to their career, such as:

• breaks and delays
• disruptive working patterns and conditions
• the loss of ongoing work
• role changes that may have been caused by the pandemic

Reviewers and panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts that COVID-19 related disruption might have had on the capability to deliver and career development of those individuals included in the application. They will be asked to consider the capability of the applicant and their wider team to deliver the research they are proposing.

Where disruptions have occurred, you can highlight this within your application if you wish, but there is no requirement to detail the specific circumstances that caused the disruption.