Video Games and Gambling-Related Harms
Supports United Kingdom studies on video games and gambling through multidisciplinary innovation on safer engagement.
The Video Games and Gambling-Related Harms call is a cross-council programme coordinated by MRC, AHRC, EPSRC, ESRC, and UKRI, funded from the same statutory gambling levy that underpins the broader ESRC gambling harms programme. The total fund is £5,000,000, with a maximum award of £1,000,000 per project at 80% full economic cost — no additional matched funding is required beyond the standard 20% institutional contribution. Projects run up to 36 months and must start no later than 1 January 2027. The call published on 24 April 2026, opened for applications on 8 May 2026, and closes on 23 July 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.
The programme funds interdisciplinary research investigating the relationships between gambling and video games, covering both regulated gambling adjacent to gaming and unregulated gambling-like activities such as loot boxes and social casino games. Priority research areas include prevalence, the impact of age-rating systems, esports betting, influencer marketing, and the interactions between gaming disorder and gambling disorder. UK research organisations eligible for UKRI funding must serve as project lead; international researchers may participate as co-leads only, and UK-based businesses, third-sector, or government bodies may serve as co-leads. Gambling industry organisations and Gambling Commission licence holders subject to the statutory levy are explicitly excluded.
All applicants must complete a Declaration of Interests Form demonstrating independence from gambling industry influence — this is a hard application requirement and not optional. Applications should demonstrate robust ethical oversight and a clear pathway to policy, regulatory, and practice impact. The cross-council structure means assessment draws expertise from medical, social, computational, and humanities disciplines, and teams that span multiple of these areas will be best positioned. Given the July 2026 close and January 2027 mandatory start, institutional sign-off timelines are a critical pre-submission risk.
Interdisciplinary research on relationships between gambling and video games, including regulated gambling adjacent to gaming and unregulated gambling-like activities (loot boxes, social casino gaming).
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