UK citizens seem to be spending staggering amounts of money when betting on sports online.
Following the latest industry statistics update released by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) yesterday, market analysts calculated that the average amount spent on sports betting online every second in the country equals £626. As revealed by the main gambling regulatory body of the UK, the overall turnover of sports bets made online by UK residents in the period from October 2016 to September 2017 amounted to £19.7 billion, which accounts for the amount of £626 being placed on sports online every second.
The Chief Executive Officer of GambleAware, a charity organisation set at helping problem gamblers deal with their gambling addiction, Marc Etches, explained that the new figures released by the Gambling Commission prove that more and more people prefer placing their bets on the Internet. According to Mr. Etches, online gambling is often chosen by British gamblers as there are literally no limits when it comes to stakes and prizes. In addition, the process is much easier for gamblers because they are normally allowed to use their credit cards.
As reported by BirminghamLive, the GambleAware’s boss further highlighted that the increased number of people who prefer to bet online as well as the constantly rising amounts of money placed on sports by using the Internet was exactly the reason why raising customers’ awareness of gambling-related risks was a matter of paramount importance.
UK Gamblers’ Self-Exclusions On the Rise
As mentioned above, the gambling regulator of the UK yesterday published its latest six-month update of the local gambling industry statistics, providing data about players’ activity, market changes and trends brought to the sector from October 2016 to September 2017. The Commission has revealed that the overall gross gambling yield (GGY) of the local gambling sector in the above-mentioned period has risen by 0.7% from the figures registered for the period from April 2016 to March 2017, reaching £13.9 billion.
According to industry statistics provided by the UK Gambling Commission yesterday, the number of players who have chosen to self-exclude themselves from online gambling operations in the twelve months from October 2016 to September 2017 has also increased significantly.
The self-exclusion option seems to be gaining popularity among British gamblers, as it allows them to prevent themselves from placing a bet for a period of at least six months. When it comes to online self-exclusion, a year ago, the Remote Gambling Association revealed the national online self-exclusion scheme GAMSTOP which is aimed at making it easier for local customers to lock themselves out of gambling websites to prevent negative consequences associated with gambling addiction to take control of their lives.
The gambling regulator revealed that a total of 1,309,740 self-exclusions were made in the above-mentioned period, with this number being more than 50% higher than the 612,427 self-exclusions made only 18 months ago.
- Author
Daniel Williams
