As part of a speech at the World Regulatory Briefing that was held within the ICE London Expo’s framework last week, the chief executive officer of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), Andrew Rhodes, has rejected an alleged explosion in online gambling since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, saying gambling participation rates of local residents have not soared in recent years.
Mr Rhodes addressed the audience at the Consumer Protection Zone at the ICE London Expo with a speech named “Latest research shaping regulatory decision in safer gambling in the UK” to explain that online gambling activities have not gone through the roof over the last few years. According to the boss of the UK gambling regulator, local data suggests that gambling may well have become part of “a new normal” only three years since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, with the country’s economy still facing various issues associated with it.
The chief executive officer of the Gambling Commission confirmed that Brits’ overall participation in gambling in the last four weeks of September 2022 remained statistically stable, at 44%. On the other hand, online gambling has continued the long-term trend of popularisation of up to 27%, with brick-and-mortar gambling also keeping stable participation rates thanks to the end of the lengthy lockdowns. The overall headline problem gambling rate for the nation also states statistically steady.
Main Gambling Groups in the UK Boost Their Market Share, UKGC Boss Shares
Although there have been some concerns that gambling participation rates in the UK have soared, the UKGC boss claimed that Brits’ participation in gambling activities has not gone “through the roof”. According to him, this basically means that gambling companies in the country have realised they have to be more innovative and competitive in case they are willing to continue to expand their footprint and customer base in Britain’s regulated market, or otherwise, will have to diversify their presence abroad. As shared by the Gambling Commission, both trends are happening, with a wave of mergers and acquisitions seeking more stability and consolidation still continuing throughout the local gambling sector.
According to data provided by the UK gambling watchdog, the top three operator groups in the country have managed to boost their market share from approximately one-third to one-half in the last five years alone. In addition, the top 10 gambling groups currently account for 77% of the overall gross gambling yield (GGY) of the B2C (business-to-consumer) services in the country. Some of the largest gambling companies, however, have experienced a revenue decline as a result of some new safer gaming measures that are being introduced ahead of the Government’s much-awaited White Paper on gambling.
Latest innovations and developments in the sector have also taken place in the sector and the products and services offered in the regulated gambling industry of the UK, such as “synthetic shares”, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and cryptocurrency. Although they are not exactly a form of gambling, or at least, not under the existing laws of the UK, the regulator is monitoring them closely.
- Author
Daniel Williams
