Politicians in Wales are currently deciding exactly how to spend £5 million in problem gambling service funding from the new UK-wide statutory gambling levy, at a time when sweeping regulatory reform is facing the gambling sector. The levy was introduced in April 2025 and has raised some £110 million in its first year. Most operators previously paid on a voluntary basis, but all are now required to by law. Already announced by the Senedd is a Welsh-oriented and NHS-integrated problem gambling treatment and helpline.
The new levy is just part of a raft of changes to gambling in the UK that effect Welsh customers. Surveys suggest around 10% to 20% of people in the UK gamble online fairly regularly, so any changes to the market can effect the experiences of a lot of people. Recent regulations include changes to deposit limits, slot bet sizes and a potential ban on greyhound racing.
£5m in Gambling Levy Incoming for Welsh Problem Gambling Services
The UK’s statutory levy on gambling revenues came into force on April 6, 2025. Operators had until October 1 to begin making (backdated) payments. The funds are for research into and carrying out problem gambling prevention and treatment. Some funding will be spend on nationwide campaigns, but each UK country is to receive dedicated funding for local initiatives. For Wales, this amounted to £5 million.
Just recently, the Welsh Government announced £1.3 million of this money will be given to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. This will be UK’s first NHS-integrated problem gambling treatment centre.
The funding has also paid for the establishment of a Gambling Levy Board for UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments. These boards will monitor local fund distributions, assess the impacts and suggest improvements and updates if needed.
20% of the total £100 million was directed to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC), which will contribute to continued safe regulation for Welsh gamblers in the long run.
Some Welsh organisations also currently receive funding through national organisations, which should go up when those groups see their own funding boost from the levy.
Problem gamblers represent around 0.3% to 1% of the UK population according to various recent estimates. Around 10% of UK residents gamble online occasionally, and around 40% of people gamble in some form. Although that drops to around 15% if you remove the National Lottery.
Recent UK-Wide Regulations Affecting Welsh Casino Gamblers
As well as the gambling levy, quite a lot has changed for operators in the Wales and the UK in the past few years. Regulation has been increasing, but so have gambling operators’ revenues.
The UKGC is not afraid of introducing new measures or clarifying existing rules if it feels gambling operators are not adhering to the spirit of its regulation. It also spends significant amounts into research to identify player behaviours it considers concerning. The latest measures of the past couple of years have included:
- Mandatory deposit limit setting
- Maximum wagers on slots
- A ban on auto play features in slots
- New financial reporting rules
- Lower threshold for affordability assessments when players spend more than usual
Given all those regulatory moves, and others introduced in recent years, comparative resources – such as a guide to the best payout casinos in the UK from casino.org – are increasingly common for players to use. Some casino operators adapt faster than others, meaning bonuses, game libraries and payment options can change rapidly. Gamblers turn to these frequently-updated review sites to determine which casinos offer the most competitive rewards, game selections and bonus terms.
Casinos change up their offerings in response because margins change after adjusting for compliance to new rules. Although other sectors of the UK economy potentially benefit from this spending.
While the UK market continues to grow amid new regulation, a situation operators are broadly on board with, gambling companies are not overly happy about the prospect of further tax rises for the sector. Increases to Remote Gaming Duty that were confirmed in 2025 are due to take effect in April this year from 21% to 40%.
Some large operators with dozens of physical betting shops across Wales and hundreds in the UK have said they will consider closing them all if gambling taxes are raised even further. The Labour government has shown little interest in it so far, although influential figures like former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other campaigners have regularly proposed it to the media.
Greyhound Racing Board Challenges Wales’ Ban in Court
In another piece of Welsh-specific gambling news, the Senedd’s 2025 decision to ban greyhound racing in Wales, and make it a criminal offence to organise, is under legal appeal from the UK’s biggest greyhound racing body the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB).
Despite Wales only hosting one dog racing track – Valley Stadium in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly county – the case attracted national attention due to the generally declining British (and global) greyhound racing business.
The Bill saw some scrutiny, especially over the criminalisation part. Lawmakers also debated how long to give the final racing track to close down. The measure passed the second stage of the Senedd in late 2025, but there has been no public news on it since then and it hasn’t been certified. That follows GBCB’s statement that it will take the ban to the UK’s High Court if it is enforced.
