Welcome to Grace-Net - the Gambling Resilience and Community Engagement Network. This network has been established as the UK's first dedicated research and innovation network for gambling harm prevention, protection, and recovery (P-Pt-R). Funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the Gambling Harms Research Innovation Partnership (GHRIP) programme, Grace-Net will initially operate from 27 April 2026 to30 April 2027.
About us
Gambling is woven into everyday life across Great Britain, and patterns of risk are changing rapidly. In the North West, one of the country’s highest-harm regions, the challenge is acute. Easy online access, in-play betting, personalised advertising and a dense network of late-opening venues have made gambling available everywhere, all the time. While it may appear harmless, for many it quietly drives debt, family breakdown and mental distress. Unlike alcohol or drugs, harms often go unseen until crisis point.
The project is rooted in the North West of England, one of the country's highest-harm regions, and will serve as both a regional testbed and a national catalyst, with the network aiming to spread initially into neighbouring regions (West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside) and then around the UK. Across Grace-Net's 5.8 million-person initial region, 50% of the most deprived councils in England sit alongside areas of affluence, providing the scale and contrast needed to understand how place, inequality, and access shape vulnerability and resilience.
Grace-Net's work is organised around three interconnected themes, the P-Pt-R framework (These themes operate simultaneously and inform one another):
- Prevention: reducing exposure and risk before harm occurs
- Protection: advocacy, education, and early intervention for those at risk
- Recovery: support for individuals and families experiencing or recovering from gambling harm
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