The city council is waiting to learn how much funding it could receive for prevention work from the levy on gambling operators.
It is estimated around 32,000 people in Southampton are affected by gambling-related harms.
Earlier this year, 14 recommendations were presented to the local authority’s cabinet following a scrutiny panel inquiry focused on the issue.
An action plan identified that six of these recommendations required funding from the gambling levy.
Members of the overview and scrutiny management committee were told the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, which is responsible for allocating 30 per cent of the levy, was planning to give all local authorities a portion of funding in April next year.
It is not currently known how much Southampton City Council will receive or what the funding formula will be.
Speaking at the committee meeting on Thursday, November 20, Clifford Enobun, senior public health practitioner, said decisions would need to be made on which projects to prioritise if insufficient money was provided.
Director of public health Dr Debbie Chase: “We don’t have any details at this point as to how that money will be apportioned.
“We are in a really strong position in terms of understanding our need, so if that is part of the criteria that determine the proportion of funding I suspect that this local authority will receive more.”
Green Party councillor Matthew Renyard said he was cautious around the funding situation but added that gambling harms were a growing problem which desperately needed attention.
Cllr Renyard said: “I would say it is a bit of a scourge particularly among those people of lower income because they are desperate to try and win back some of their monthly budget that they are short on almost to the point that it is like a virus spreading amongst our communities.
“We really need to take that quite seriously.”
The Coxford ward member said children were particularly vulnerable to gambling, referencing that some games on mobile phones appeared to be leading youngsters directly down that path.
Cllr Marie Finn, cabinet member for adult social care and public health, said alongside pushing for funding at the national level, it was important to highlight the need for wider reforms.
Cllr Gordon Cooper, who chaired the scrutiny inquiry panel, said he was optimistic about the funding because the city council was one of the first local authorities in the country to look at the issue in detail.