Today, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) published its Industry Statistics report on the shape and size of the UK gambling sector. The report, which is published twice a year (in May and November), provides an overview of the country’s gambling industry and is based on data reported to the regulatory body by the licensed and regulated gambling operators.
The latest statistics provided by the gambling watchdog cover the period from October 2018 and September 2019 and does not include the period of the country’s coronavirus lockdown.
The UK Gambling Commission revealed a slight 0.5% decline in the total gross gambling yield (GGY) of the country’s gambling industry from the previous period (April 2018 – March 2019) to £14.3 billion. When lotteries are excluded, the overall GGY of the UK gambling sector suffered a 1.9% decrease to £10.5 billion.
The gambling industry in Great Britain reported a decline in the number of individuals who are employed there. A 4.4% decrease from March 2019 to 98,174 people employed in the industry was deported. Another considerable decline was registered in the overall number of land-based premises in the country, which fell by 9.6% from March 2019 in 9,745 in September 2019. The total gross gaming yield for land-based casinos in the UK suffered an insignificant 0.6% decline to £1.1 billion.
Online Casinos Generate the Largest GGY, the UKGC Says in Its Latest Industry Report
Speaking of gambling premises, high-street betting outlets in the UK were the venues that registered the biggest decline in number in the period between October 2018 and September 2019. Their number was reduced by 12.1% to 7,315 in September 2019.
With more betting shops across the country ceasing operation following the stricter measures imposed on the companies offering fixed-odds gambling terminals (FOBTs), the total GGY generated by gambling machines in the UK was also subjected to a decline. The gross gaming yield for gaming machines across Great Britain, excluding the ones requiring only permission from a local authority, fell by 11.8% to £2.5 billion.
The GGY generated by the gambling terminals from Category B2 declined with the mind-blowing 46.4%, reaching £624 million in the period between October 2018 and September 2019. In contrast, an 18.5% growth was registered in the GGY generated by Category B3 machines in the above-mentioned period.
Unlike the brick-and-mortar gambling operations, the online gambling sector was on the rise between October 2018 and September 2019. As revealed by the UK Gambling Commission, the gross gaming yield for the remote betting operations increased by 4.3% from the previous period to £2.1 billion, while the GGY of the online casino operations in the UK rose by 3.9% to £3.2 billion. An increase of 12.5% was also registered in the overall GGY generated by online bingo services to £198 million.
The UK gambling watchdog also provided information about the contributions to good causes from The National Lottery and large society lotteries. The amount provided by The National Lottery to the country’s good causes rose by 6.5% to £1.6 billion, while the contributions from large society lotteries increased by 3.7% to £345 million.
- Author
Olivia Cole
