GambleAware sets out plan to change gambling behaviour at scale

GambleAware has published a major report outlining how gambling behaviour can be changed “at scale” through coordinated communications, policy reform and cultural shift.

The paper, How to change gambling behaviour at scale through communications, draws on seven years of national prevention campaigns and public health research.

With changes afoot in 2026, the charity says now is the moment to embed long-term, evidence-led strategies to reduce gambling harms.

Gambling framed as “harmless fun”

One of the  report’s central arguments is that gambling remains culturally positioned as low-risk entertainment. This is despite growing evidence of harm.

According to the paper, gambling operators spend an estimated £2bn per year on marketing, often presenting gambling as “harmless fun” and risk-free.

GambleAware argues this:

• Normalises gambling.
• Increases stigma for those experiencing harm.
• Frames addiction as individual failure rather than a public health issue.

The report warns that counter-messaging will struggle because operators dominate advertising. It calls for stronger marketing restrictions and independent health warnings embedded across gambling advertising and sponsorship.

"Most of the public agree that the gambling industry promote gambling as risk-free and harmless fun. Three in four children aged 11-17 agree that gambling advertising makes gambling seem more fun (76%) and/or harmless/risk-free  (73%). This framing is particularly appealing to children." - GambleAware Behaviour Change Legacy Report

Three pillars for behaviour change

GambleAware outlines three interconnected areas where communications can drive change:

1. Landing the health harms of gambling

The report stresses the need to shift public understanding of gambling as a health issue. Personal and emotive lived-experience stories are found to resonate more strongly than purely rational messaging.

It also recommends government-led guidelines to improve “safer gambling” messaging, warning that some operator campaigns risk backfiring.

2. Building a coalition of voices

Unlike operators, which benefit from high-profile ambassadors and partnerships, the harms reduction space lacks influential champions.

The report calls for broader alliances across banks, broadcasters, employers and community organisations to amplify harm-reduction messaging and create what it describes as a “burning platform” for change.

3. Empowering individual behaviour change

At a population level, GambleAware argues “we cannot treat our way out of it”.

The paper promotes low-barrier tools. Things like self-assessment quizzes and spend calculators should be available alongside clearer behavioural guidance like Lower Risk Gambling Guidelines.

Structural reform in 2026

The report lands at an important time for the sector. From April 2026, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will commission prevention services, NHS England will oversee treatment and UK Research and Innovation will lead research funding under the new statutory levy system.

GambleAware will close in April 2026 as a commissioner.

Its final recommendations include:

• Implementing marketing restrictions.
• Creating a single trusted brand to simplify the support ecosystem.
• Establishing agreed “safer gambling” guidelines.
• Aligning national strategy across research, prevention and treatment.

A public health turning point?

The report positions gambling harm as a public health issue. This means it requires the same coordinated strategy seen in tobacco and alcohol policy.

Communications alone, GambleAware argues, are not enough. But without them, cultural change will not happen.

As the UK transitions to a levy-funded system, it’s now up to the government and regulators to decide whether these recommendations become policy. Or whether they remain guidance on paper.