The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has released some data to illustrate how British people gambled in the period from March 2018 and April 2019. According to the details unveiled, local citizens gambled away the overall amount of £14.4 billion in the aforementioned period, with their spending being divided into seven major types of gambling.
The data provided by the UKGC shows that online gambling has become more popular among British residents. Their spending on remote gambling websites and applications amounted to 37.1% of the overall spending in the period between March 2018 and April 2019, which represents about £5.3 billion of the total amount cited above.
Sports betting and the games offered by the National Lottery, representing 22.7% and 21.4% of the overall Brits’ spending on gambling operations in the twelve months mentioned above. The expenditures of local people on casino gambling remain relatively small, 7.4% of the total amount, followed by bingo (4.7%), large society lotteries (3.8%) and arcades (3.0%).
Lately, the gambling watchdog of the UK, as well as some anti-gambling campaigners have shared some concern regarding the rising popularity of online gambling. The thing is that the easy accessibility and great variety of gambling options offered on the Internet are found attractive by many people, and some of the features offered by mobile gambling apps and gambling websites could, unfortunately, lead to serious financial losses.
UK Gambling Watchdog Unveils Stricter Regulation to Tackle Gambling-Related Harm
As part of its efforts to reduce the possible harm that could be inflicted by online gambling services, the UKGC has unveiled a decision to ban credit cards from being used for both offline and online gambling transactions. The gambling watchdog said that the ban, which has been revealed after an extensive review and consideration on online gambling, is set to come into effect on April 14th.
According to estimates, about 24 million people gamble on the territory of the UK nowadays, with almost half of them (about 10.5 million) gambling online. UK Finance data has shown that approximately 800,000 online gamblers used a credit card to pay for their online bets in 2018. After the ban is brought into effect, such people would have to use a debit card for such transactions, as credit cards would no longer be available. By imposing such restrictions, the UKGC is hoping to tackle serious financial harm that could be inflicted on customers, as they could generate serious financial losses by using money they do not actually own.
As Casino Guardian reported, the ban imposed by the gambling regulatory body would also cover e-wallets funded by credit cards. An exception is to be made for credit card payments for lottery tickets sold over the counter.
The UKGC believes that the measure would be beneficial, as it would help the authorities provide better protection to vulnerable people.
- Author
Olivia Cole
